89000 miles any thoughts? any advice? i love the car i want i to run for a long time

 

Very low milage for an 83 and those red block engines are very durable. The important thing is to not overheat them and keep the cooling system in top working order, it is even more important than the oil changes. I recommend conventional Rotella 15w 40 oil and changing it every 5,000 miles. Another thing that I recommend is that you check fluid levels and visually inspect the engine bay every week or month, depending on how much you use the car. I have found a leaking radiator hose, leaking fuel hose, and loose alternator belt thanks to those brief inspections.

 

driving down the raod yestrday and my 83 245 started chugging then died completly. since my gas gauge doesnt work i tried gas first with no luck i unplugged the MAF and plugged back in and it ran fine does this mean the sensor is bad or do i have another problem???

 

my 245 is running like hell!! very rough idle wont stay running for more than a couple seconds there doesnt seem to be any vacum leaks so im geussing its a sensor i unplugged the MAF and plugged back in and it ran fine for an hour or so then it died again any suggestions?????

 

Since you mention that your gas gauge doesn't work, I would check out your fuel system and make sure it is all working properly. You have two fuel pumps - one pre-pump in the gas tank and one underneath the car just forward of the left rear wheel. Many times with age and rust, the wiring going to the in-tank pump/fuel guage sender breaks and you lose your in-tank pump as well as your gas guage.

Use the steps found here to check out the fuel system:

In the Tank - 240 Volvo Tank Pump and Sender

If your fuel system checks out, the next place I would check is the hall sensor in the distributer. I'm not familiar with your vintage of cars but do a search here and you should find other threads about how to diagnose a faulty hall sensor.

Good luck.

 

the fuel pumps seem to be fairly new the undercar looks brand new and based on the silicone on the in tank pumps cover id say that one was probably done too

 

I think you have a good case for a bad MAF sensor. They will do exactly that, off/on, intermittently acting up, driving one crazy--they do go bad, a LOT!

 

i got it started by unplugging the maf does that mean its bad????

 

I'm here trying to guess what a MAF sensor is, please educate. Thanks

 

MAF sensor = Mass Air Flow sensor
aka
AMM sensor = Air Mass Meter sensor
located after the air filter in the big hose the runs to the throttle body.

 

anthony1000, your 1980 is probably KE-Jet aka CIS-E, and won't have a MAF/AMM at all. the MAF/AMM is used with LH electronic injection.