Hello everyone,

I was wondering how to properly set the air/fuel mixture on my 82 wagon with k-jet. I have the tool, and know that turning right is rich and left is lean but i dont know how to properly set it. Any help would be greatly appreciated, honestly i dont even know if its off but i want to make sure.

 

If its too rich the car will have black smoke coming out of the tail pipe at idle. if its too lean you can pull your spark plugs and see evidence of that on the insulator.

Well. its really not a lean rich mixture screw as much as it is a CO adjustment. Buuuutttt on the Kjet Fuel distributor between the actual distributing unit and the the air cover hat. is a hole. Sometimes it has a little ball bearing in it to keep you from messing with it. I would recommend not messing with it. BUt if you decide to. Start your vehicle and allow it to warm up. Make sure all your hoses and everything are connected correctly. Once the car reaches operating temperature you can turn the screw to the right til the car bogs. Then back it off 3/4 to1 1/2 turns anything more than that and the car will be running rich. You must do this within 8 minutes of the car reaching operating temperature. Why I don't know.

If you feel you are having running issues with your kjet its more likely your injectors. YOu can pul them and remove them from there lines. Insert the straw on a brake cleaner can into the input end on the injector and spray it til the injector creates a nice even cone shape spray on the output end. ANd when you stop it shouldn't drip, maybe one drip, but no more. then. Remove the lines that go from the fuel distributor to the injector at the distributor. wrap a rag around the end at the distributor. Stick the straw on the brake cleaner can into the end of the line that connects to the fuel injector and spray.

Other than that, make sure your flap is centered in the bowl on the airplate side. Make sure it moves freely up and down, of course there will be a little resistance from it moving the metering guage up and down. NEver, ever ever ever ever take apart the fuel distributor. Once you do, its done for. I always put a new filter in for the gas and remove the hose at the pump so I can blow the gas lines out backwards. After that your car should run great.

 

You stated, "NEver, ever ever ever ever take apart the fuel distributor. Once you do, its done for." My official Volvo manual gives instructions on cleaning the plunger and spring, and replacing the O-ring and gasket on the fuel distributor. And, there is a Bosch fuel distributor valve kit available from an auto parts supplier, but I haven't found the O-ring and gasket. I don't know why you claim that "its done for" if I take it apart. Where did you get that idea?

 

While a person can take apart a fuel distributor, the chances of it ever operating correctly again are quite low. While the k-jet distributor has a greater chance for success in that it is more simple and does not require a gasket, just a sealant, the ke-jet is a different animal. They are much more involved and just getting the two halves back together with everything in place is very difficult. Beyond that, the average person would not have the means and equipment necessary to balance the flow of the individual valves were they replaced.
Edit: One can certainly remove the distributor assembly to clean the metering rod if it is binding. Be aware that the metering rod is machined specifically to the fuel distributor. If it is dropped or damaged in any way, the fuel distributor is junk
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Edit:Just realized OP was from 6 years ago, but anyway:
OP: There is a book entitled "Bosch Fuel Injection & Engine Management" by Charles O. Probst, SAE which does describe the process. There is more to it than just the mixture as turning that screw affects the throttle and air plate positions. Better you leave it alone unless you have cause to mess with it.

There are some methods for doing this adjustment which are not "by the book". If you search and/or ask on TURBOBRICKS, you will likely find answers there. The turbo 240's all run a variant of the system on your car and those folks over there like to fiddle with that sort of thing.

 

My 1982 Volvo has had a strange problem ever since I bought it in 1996, and the problem has gotten worse. Sometimes when I start the engine it runs rough and low on power as if running too rich or not firing on all cylinders. When it does so, I shut off the engine and restart it then it runs good. Sometimes I have to restart it 2 or 3 times before it runs right. A mechanic at Herb's Independent Volvo service in Fullerton, CA recently told me that the problem is in the fuel distributor, and recommended that I replace it if I can find one. I found one at $1,500, so I won't be replacing it. The Volvo service manual (TP30454/1, CI System, Section 2 (23)), which is a bit confusing to me, says clean the plunger and spring in clean gasoline, and reinstall it with a new o-ring and gasket. I can make a gasket if necessary, but where can I buy the o-ring before I begin? Is it a standard sized o-ring that I can buy at a hardware or auto parts store? Can someone tell me the exact dimensions of the o-ring? There is a Bosch fuel distributor valve kit available for $105, but all I want is the o-ring. And, I'm not sure whether that kit includes the same plunger.

 

I have only worked on VW fuel distributors, but they are nearly identical. The KE-jet distributor body should have an oring that is standard type that joins the distributor body to the airflow sensor unit and a flat special o-ring which seals the plunger rod. This o-ring is a different measurement on the top vs the bottom. If you perform the operation, you will need a depth gauge to measure how deep the nut sits on the bottom that the plunger comes through and reinstall to that depth.

The manual is likely referring to the special plunger o-ring as a gasket. And you cannot make one.

Do not split the two halves or it's game over.

I would venture that the fuel plunger o-ring (gasket) from a K-Lambda Jetronic (cabby) Volkswagen will be an exact fit for the volvo plunger. There is also a good chance you do not even need a new plunger o-ring (gasket) unless it is dripping fuel out the bottom of the distributor into the airflow unit.

I think a good thing to do would be to add in some good injector cleaner like Lucas brand in your car for a while before you start fiddling with the fuel system.

If you want to see the basics for this, search some for the operation you wish to perform on K-Lambda Jetronic VW's. There is just a lot more info there. The setup is in different locations on the car, but is nearly identical in reality.

You could likely get the plunger o-ring (gasket) and the distributor body to airflow o-ring from the dealership. Why not?

 

I am sorry to hear that you have kjet.


Oh my bad, typo, I meant to say, "I am sorry that you have k-jet PROBLEMS." hehe. I am mean.

jokes aside, cant be anything tracking down old hard-to-find/expensive/NLA parts won't fix.

Ignore my bias against kjet and fix it!

Is the car even a turblo or is it a non turbo.

I forget the real name for the slang term "fuel distributor". Isn't it the accumulator? whatver. I know what you are talking about, but I don't have much knowledge of the system. I suggest you look around at k-jet.org and:

Volvo Wiring Diagrams

In my ten seconds doing a google search I found a company that might be of interest to you too. Their webpage has lots of nice shiny pictures of parts I loathe, but you may be what you need.

http://www.cisflowtech.com/


Instead of tearing into things and trying to find broken parts, if you plan on keeping the car, you should find a way to buy/make/borrow the tools to measure the fuel pressure at the critical points in the system. Line pressure, control pressure, etc. If you don't do your proper tests, it will just be a long process of trial and error. Probably mostly error and failure unfortunately. Get the right tools and knowledge and you will be able to get it done!