I'm a novice at cars. I drove my son's 1989 244 automatic home from the mechanic on Friday (horn repair) and it sounded funny (like a hand dryer in a public restroom), didn't shift properly, and wouldn't accelerate much over 40mph. Research on this board suggested a kickdown cable issue, and when I checked this afternoon, there was sag in the cable that I don't think should be there. I shoved the cable back in the housing, took the car around the block, found the performance laggy and accelerator harder than I expected to push in. The slack was back in the cable afterward.

Here's my question: obviously the kickdown cable needs seeing to, but do the symptoms suggest other throttle issues? (It's been 5 years since I drove the Volvo, and 4 since I've driven an automatic, but I don't remember it being that sluggish.) We don't really have Volvo mechanics in my neck of the woods, so it helps if I have an idea of what's going on so I can explain it to Ford people. (There was, for instance, the one that told me he took off the MAF because I didn't need it. We don't speak so much anymore.)

 

yeah, thats a fried kickdown cable. see that metal bead on it? at rest that should be about 1-2mm from the end of the ferrule. that cable should freely and quickly retract back to that state.

you might try and find a toyota mechanic who's worked on 1980s RWD toyotas (supras, pickups, etc), they use the same transmission. get the real Volvo throttle cable appropriate for your car, but they should easily be able to install it. the transmission end is behind a cover plate.

 

Not being able to accelerate beyond 40mph indicates that there are more issues than just a kickdown cable. A stuck kickdown cable will delay shifts so they happen later - as if you kept your foot to the floor.

Did you say that the MAF has been removed? If that is the case your car is running in "limp mode" which means that it isn't going to get the type of performance it should. Whatever you do, don't take it back to the mechanic who said you didn't need it.

 

Thanks for the diagnoses. The MAF evolution was years ago, fortunately, and I had it put back on by someone else directly. (I don't believe much in "sensors you don't need.") So if it is in limp mode, it is for other reasons. The guy who did the horn/lights might be able to sort it for me--new throttle body, maybe?-- and there was an imports mechanic two counties over who had a 244 in his parking lot once. I'll see if they're still in business. The age and make of the car between them kind of hang me out to dry in this regard.

 

Both cables look to be in pretty sorry state. Badly adjusted throttle cable can cause the car not to accelerate, go over 40mph...

 

Yeah - but it looks like the accelerator cable is tight. If it were loose I could understand that it wouldn't accelerate at full throttle.

I doubt that you need a new throttle body. There really isn't much to the throttle body other than a butterfly valve. Clean it out good with some throttle body cleaner. Check your air intake path and make sure that there are no restrictions. Air filter clean? You note that your son's car is an '89. If so, it should be LH2.4 fuel injection which came with an OBD box. You can read the codes from the box. Take a look at this link https://www.volvoclub.org.uk/faq/EngineOBDCodes.html