Hey All,

Well I'm new to Volvo's and I recently got a 87' 740GLE for free however it didn't run. The p/o claimed it needed a fuel pump. So after some investigating I replaced the out of tank pump and it fired right up and drove great. After driving it around for a bit everything seemed in order however the next day I was driving it and as the fuel slowly dropped below a half tank it began to spudder during low rpm acceleration. It was also hard to start when the tank dropped below a half tank.

Since the in-tank pump is original (190k miles), could it be this?

Any help is much appreciated.

Thanks in advance.

Best,

Mike

**Update Below**

 

in tank pump, or the hose that connects it to the pick up bracket.

 

Thanks. I guess it wouldn't hurt to replace it and give it a try.

 

Update: I just went and drove the car. Still doing the same thing with more then 3/4 tank of fuel. I also pulled the in tank fuel pump fuse out of the fuse box and the car still runs and drives the same with just using the one pump. Does this confirm that the in tank pump is the problem? Quick response is appreciated.

Thanks!!

 

At idle with the fuse installed, you should be able to remove the gas cap and hear the in-tank pump running. On my 240 its fairly high pitched.

 

Update..so I replaced the in tank pump (HUGE pass in the ***) and it still has the same problem. If I give the car a good amount of throttle from a stop it feels like it wants to cut out and spudders. If I back off the gas a bit its fine and otherwise drives fine on the highway etc. So, should I now start replacing plugs, wires, cleaning MAF etc? Any help is much appreciated as I don't have a lot of money to throw into this car at the moment.

 

Check for water in the gas tank if you haven't already, I am currently in the process of curing just such a problem on my 240 and the symptoms are the same except below about 1/2 tank it stopped running.

 

How long was the car sitting? Did you change the fuel filter too? It might have gotten clogged again with the old crude in the tank... blow it out backwards to see. Also check around for vacuum leaks under the hood.

 

I had a '87, 740 GLE. Best car I ever had. My wife actually wish I still had it. Common problem I had was a hole in the throttle control valve intake duct. It goes from the Air Mass valve to the throttle housing. It would get a big hole in the under side of it where you can not see it, you can feel it sometimes. This thing would get a hole in it about every 5 years.

Another problem I had was the throttle body needed to be clean every 5 to 10k miles. I use to take it off, spray it down with carb cleaner, and slap it back on. Took about an hour. It has 3 bolts and a clip on a short rod. I never replace the paper gasket, just slapped it back on.

Hope this helps.

 

Thank you for the responses. It idle's fine however I'm going to check for vac leaks and also do plugs, cap, and rotor as they're old.

 

UPDATE! Alright so I replaced the following: Both fuel pumps, cleaned MAF, New air filter, new plugs and it now runs excellent! I just fixed it this afternoon and will continue to drive it around to make sure the issue is fixed. Thanks for all the help!

 

So what appears to have been the problem? A dirty MAF? Or did you do a bunch of repairs at once so it's hard to tell why the problem stopped?

 

I think it was the combo of everything. As I replaced more and more parts it seemed to get better. The MAF cleaning, flame trap cleaning, air filter, spark plugs made the biggest changes.

 

Congrats. Now make sure to start the car everyday. The thing that kills these older cars is not using them.