Hey everyone, I just bought my first Volvo, a 1990 740 Turbo with 110,00 miles, $300.00. It was so cheap because it didn't run. I have gotten it running by replacing the plugs, but it's still pretty rough. The air filter housing was cracked and the filter was pretty gross, I've got one on order now. The distributor cap appears to be either the wrong one or has a gasket or seal missing, because there is a raised bump kind of thing that allows air to freely enter the cap. So this is definitely a problem, but I don't know if it needs a new cap or a seal or gasket. Any suggestions would be greatly appreciated.

 

Looks like a cheap aftermarket Cap.

 

i have a 88 740 gle non turbo. the cap and rotor were replaced with oem parts and as you can see it has that same gap i dont think your have a problem there.



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Thanks for the replies, I am thinking part of my problem might be the intake manifold gaskets, I sprayed some WD-40 on the intake today and it started running a little faster, a general sign that the intake is leaking. Another problem may be the cooling fan, it seems to run crooked when its first started up, but runs a little truer when the engine gets up to speed. I put in the new air filter and that seemed to help it alot, it is now more or less driveable. But, it is still running rough, and there seems to be a leak in the exhaust just before the catalytic converter, so I will just have to start picking away at it. Thanks again for your help.

P.S.-The Chilton's manual for the 740 absolutely sucks, it has very little info about the 740 at all, it covers too broad a range of models to be applicable in alot of cases.

 

Update: The exhaust is very very black at idle, speed it up and it gets whiter. If i remove the hose connecting the air filter to the turbocharger, it starts to run alot smoother but I am unable to give it gas. It is running very rich, the plugs are sooty but not oily, so I don't think it has to do with the oil system. It seems to be some kind of problem with the air intake system somewhere, it's not getting enough air. It might be a computer thing, which I know very little about, and this is my very first experience with a Volvo. Any suggestions or comments on similar issues would be very much appreciated. Thanks.

 

take it to a mechanic and have them clear out the codes. I've sid it before and i'll say it again, for whatever reason old Volvos like to run rich after running them at high RPMs. If the person you bought the car from did that often enough, the computer would have remembered it and started the car at that rich mixture everytime. It's a Volvo "ghost" that i heard my dad and all his old volvo mechanic friends (he used to work for a Volvo dealership) talk about everytime i went to visit him at work. I even got the same song and dance from the guy that i had fix my 240 over in South Dakota (far and few between are the Volvo mechanics in South Dakota). Add that little problem with all the other minor issues with the car and i'd say thats a pretty good reason for it to be pissy.