Hello everyone I’m brand new to this forum, I bought a 1985 volvo 240 on 6/29 and there’s a handful of issues with it, very little things so far. Dash doesn’t work, panels a little janky, the usual stuff when buying close to a 40 year old car. The biggest issue of mine so far is this strange engine sputter i’ve been having issues with. The car runs good, surges a bit off idle but nothing alarming, but the issue i need to address is the sputter, whenever I rev it to about 3000-3500 RPM the car jerks around violently and sounds like it’s choking. My best guess is one of 3 things, fuel injection issue (injectors were just cleaned but might need full replacement), bad vacuum line or wiring harness, or an issue with timing, i’m going to try to rule things out over time and i will keep this thread posted but in the meantime does anyone have a good idea as to what it could be? Any and all help is appreciated, much love.

- L

 

Does this happen while driving or sitting? If the former, I'd change the fuel filter, the latter, I wouldn't worry about it.

 

This happens while both idling and driving. If needed i can post videos of it if i can get them to upload

 

I would start with the basics - what does it look like in the distributor? Condition of other ignition components. Any air leaks? Manifold gasket ok? Whats the fuel pressure? (yes it's hard to connect a gauge on some cars - you have to t into where the flexible hose connects to the fuel rail) The Injectors would be at the bottom of a possibilities list. Timing is automatic - set by the ignition control unit.