UPDATE UPDATE UPDATE

So I broke down and brought my car into the shop www.vol-tech.com. Theses guys are pretty awesome i use them for my 98 s70, any ways, so far they have 3 hours @90.00 and hour of dianostics they seem still not able to find a root cause, they know for sure my MAF is bad, but after 2200 RPMS the car bogs down and starts to miss fire. they are leaning towards a bad engine wiring harness.. but my question is since it sat so long, could the lifters be bad?? you know like on a V8 when you have floting lifters.. you get the same result, the lifters can't keep up with the cam or vise versa here are the parts that they put on with same results.

List of Parts that the shop put on to trouble shoot along with the status of my part.
ECU mine tested but good but they put there's on just in case.
Distrubutor BOSH mine tested but good but they put there's on just in case.
Ignitian Advance unit, BOSH mine tested but good but they put there's on just incase.
Fuel Regulator mine tested but good but they put there's on just incase.
Injectors and Rail mine tested but good but they put there's on just in case.
TPI mine tested but good but they put there's on just incase.
02 sensor mine tested but good but they put there's on just incase.tested but good
MAF as mine is bad>>>> So i know this needs to be replaced, but they are trouble shooting with a new one


Anybody!!

 

Forget about the lifters.
So, You are chasing a HIGH SPEED misfire? Could be wiring... I am sure Voltech looked all the ignition suspects... They are a decent shop... If they can't figure it out, well, be afraid, be very afraid...

 

'they know for sure the MAF is bad' ??? well, then, STOP RIGHT THERE, DONT GO ANY FARTHER TIL YOU FIX THAT.

as an aside, the only time I experienced high RPM/load power missing, was due to fuel starvation... my in-tank pump was dead, and the main pump couldn't keep up under heavy load, like heavy throttle, 3000rpm, 3rd gear, up a grade. this was on a 1992 740 turbo wagon

 

Pierce,
All the fuel pumps are new along with a new pickup unit. and they tested the fuel system as well checks out good. and for sure know the MAF is bad, they put a new one on to test with.

Lev.
They are testing with all of there gear and all new components, the only thing they have not started to do is really dig into the wire harness, and i am not sure i want to pay 90$ hour to trouble shoot, I am looking at buying a whole new harness.. if i know there is a slight possibility of fixing the issue. I was also thinking of the cat as well.maybe since it was running so rich it might be clogged up???..

 

an italian tuneup once the car is running right should clean the cat right out.

If the MAF is definitely bad, then I would want to stop right there, and drive it for awhile with the new MAF, and see if its not AOK.

complete harnesses may no longer be available for an 85, there's like 2-3 different harnesses under the hood and behind the dash. my daughter's 87, we can't get the ignition harness anymore, we'd have to make a new one from scratch.

 

All,


Well tonight was a productive night! I was able to track down my issue, I replaced the distributor rotor and cap with the original cap and rotor and the car is purring like a kitten. But one thing is still disturbing me, I replaced the cap and rotor 3 times with parts from Volvo. One thing I am thinking is the original cap was black, and the new ones were all orange. I know my year model came with two different distributor's Chrysler and Bosch, mine has the Bosh... Maybe they keep giving me Chrysler cap and rotors ??? thoughts ???????

 

the bosch caps are generally orange, although some have black plastic covers over them. I 've never seen a regina car, but I thought they were white?

 

Pierce.. I spent over 300$ at a shop and they replaced everything even a new well slightly used distributor,cap and rotor to test and did not pick up on the cap and rotor.. I am stumped as to why none of those fixed the issue..

 

I'm fixing an 85/245 for a surfer girl, it idles fine but backfires and gets wonky when it accelerates, & has the same symptoms as yours. I hope it's the same problem. It may be something about the rotor. According to availability on Rockauto.com (totally splendid site) there are 2 kinds of distributor caps for an '85. one is for 75 - 85 the other is 85 - 89. as far as I can tell from the pictures, they only differ in the rotor. There are others that are claimed to fit 76 through 89, but are caps only, without the rotor.

 

actual loud BANG! or BOOM! backfires, and even the PUTT! PUTT! kind on deceleration, usually mean its running too rich, and there's an air leak in the exhaust manifold

its rather nasty on a catalytic converter to be backfiring.

an 85 is the first year for LH2.2, I believe. some of those had funky ECUs ('pink label' or something).

they ALL have quite good electronic ignition, and the distributor caps and rotors last a long LONG time, and can be really ugly inside and still have great spark.

Yours probably has the 'chrysler' ignition system with an ICU on the right fender just behind the headlight that has a vacuum diaphragm on the bottom, and a electrical connector thats knwon to be problematic. Also, 1985 is in the middle of Volvo's 'Biodegradable wiring' era (1981-1987). Wiring problems can be very annoying.

ok, lets see... according to VADIS (the Volvo factory/dealer parts catalog circa 2003), a 1985 US market 240 with a B230F engine, has one of two distributors both by Bosch. Bosch PN 0237506001 and 0237520004. lets call these -001 and -004.

-001 uses Volvo PN 243797 cap and 1336240 rotor.
-004 uses Volvo PN 243797 cap and 1389425 rotor.


p.s I dont much care for rockauto. if you want real volvo stuff, try TascaParts.com or www.volvowebpartstore.com, and if you want good quality OE stuff try IPD USA or FCP Euro

 

what's the difference between the 001 & 004 rotors? are they specific to the ignition ecu type?

I'm not selling Rockauto but their prices are sometimes better than ebay & 3 day shipping is also reasonable. they won't take returns on wholesale closeouts, but sometimes it's so cheap it's worth a gamble. They also give good info w/o bias if you ask about something.

 

there are two different distributors, apparently they both take the same cap, but they use different rotors. both are used with the same 'chrysler' ICU. I didn't check the hall sensor PNs, those might differ.

the bosch PN for the distributor should be stamped on the outside, and based on that you should be able to determine which rotor you need.


my complaint about rock isn't their prices, its that they carry an indescriminate mass of all kinds of stuff, with very minimal descriptions, and not a clue as to what might work with what. if the price is all that matters, by all means, go find the cheapest chinese stuff you can, and good luck to you!

[I'm sitting here with a 1948 ford tractor distributor all taken apart on my table next to my computer, several sets of 'new' points, and nothing fits right except the old stuff that came off. indian and chinese replacement parts, ARRRGH]

 

thanks for the distributor info.

don't put words in my mouth though, Rockauto lists the manufacturer so it's not a blind purchase. some of it is good name brand stuff on a dealers closeout for < half price. I don't buy Chinese parts.

 

Jack,

So I think i found my issue, I believe it is the distributor. the reason i say this is if i scope my wires i get a miss, which should never happen. If i take my cap off and place it back on my miss skips to a different cylinder,which is very very odd.. I am thinking it is a the hall sensor in the distributor.. one reson i belive it is my hall sensor, is that for the first 48 seconds the car runs there is no miss, after that the disbutor or hall sensor warms up.. did a lot of research.. we will see here in the next couple of days.. I bought a lot of parts off of e-bay... 67.00 usually, i do not buy this type of stuff but hell look at what i was able to get.. I was also thinking of buying a real junker off of Craigslist and use it as a parts car..nothing beats old OEM parts!

Volvo 240 1985 88 Parts Lot 007 AMM Distributor Ign Module LH 2 2 B230F | eBay

 

Agreed! I rant about all the new crappy cheepo parts many throw in their Volvos just because the parts are "new". I myself prefer good used parts to new uncertain quality stuff...