Well, I am about to give up on my 1990 740 GL wagon. I love it, but it's been problem after problem, which I understand will happen with 22-year-old cars, but I'm starting to wonder if it's worth the time and energy. The latest issue is that my car suddenly went from running smoothly to only being able to go 10 mph -- and that's with my foot all the way down on the gas pedal. More specifically, the car will run fairly smoothly at regular speed if I'm going downhill and will do the same on an even grade about half the time. It labors to go uphill, and probably goes less than 5 mph at that point. When I hit the brakes, the car stalls out, but it will start right back up and it chugs along until the next red light, basically. A couple of weeks before this happened, I had been having issues with the car shifting gears, and my husband thought it'd be a good idea to use seafoam to clean out the engine. (It was fixed by a mechanic) Anyway, I took it to the same mechanic for this latest issue, and he replaced the fuel pressure regulator. I tried to take it home, but it had the same problem. He thought it was because I was low on gas. So I filled it with gas and took it home, and it was fine for exactly one day. Then it was back to the 10 mph maximum, which is where I am now.
So I have concerns about spending more money on this car. I know it's older and it'll run into problems, but I also know these cars can run forever. My question is two-parts: Has anyone ever had this problem before? If so, what's the problem? And should I keep it or can it? (That was three questions, I guess ...)

 

Just for grins...Has anyone checked the catalytic converter? Sounds as if it could be clogged. I have someone rev up the car in park while I hold my hand an inch or two from the tail pipe. I look for 2 things. The first is particulate matter blown into my hand from a broken element. The second is to see how strong the exhaust flow is when the engine is revved. Pretty much an arbitrary test, but I have a fair idea what the force of the exhaust should be when the engine is revved. If it is suspect, the exhaust line can usually be removed immediately in front of the cat to see if it drives correctly when removed. It'll be loud but saves buying a new cat if it isn't the problem.

 

I would also bet money it's the converter. I had this happen on another car, and stupidly threw parts at it- what was annoying was that supposedly reputable mechanics helped me waste that money, and now that I do a lot more work on my cars, I realize it's almost always the cat. Of course they didn't want to send me to a muffler shop, but from what I can tell, most garages just do not think much in terms of the exhaust system, like it's an incidental addition. Really, it matters a lot! 300 bucks and you can zoom up hills again.

 

No, no one's mentioned the catalytic converter. As long as I've had it -- about three years -- it's not been replaced. Thanks for the tip, guys. I'll pass it along. It'll be a relief if that ends up being a problem, but it'll also be really frustrating, considering that I've handed the car off to three different mechanics. As I said, one of them tried to tell me I didn't have enough gas in the car. Sigh. Well, thanks, and we'll see how it goes. I'll be limping it over to another mechanic in the morning.

 

The thing about it running better with a full tank sounds like a classic in-tank fuel pump failure to me...

 

Hi, Joseph: Well, the last time I dropped it off, he told me it was very low and he put $15 of gas in and drove it around and it was fine. The second I took it out of the shop, I stopped and put another $25 in. So now it's right about 3/4 tank and I have the same problem. Although the mechanic did say it could be that, but he said the sending unit and assembly are so rusty that it'll break when he tries to remove it. A new one would cost about $400, and I'm not sure if I want to spend that -- especially if it's not the problem. If it was definitely the problem, I'd find my own part only and have him do it, but I'm not convinced the gas level is to blame here ...

 

Whoa! Unlike the 240, the 740 has a plastic gas tank and plastic lock ring. While 240's definitely can rust to a point where disassembly is precarious, that issue is all but done away with. Granted, I'm in Texas where gas tanks don't rust anyway...but I've seen a fair amount of "Yankee" cars come through the shop. 7's have never been an issue. Perhaps someone from the north could correct me on that...but to me, it sounds as if either he doesn't know what he's doing or just doesn't want to mess with it. The sender is not something I would buy new anyway. Used ones can be had for cheap (I have one sans pump in my parts bin) and the fuel pump, only because it is a high pressure, high volume unit, can be had aftermarket for ~$100. It's nearly impossible to be very accurate diagnosing cars over the internet...but I still lean towards the catalytic converter. If the cat is marked Volvo, it's most likely original and never been changed. It bolts to the header pipe in front of it (although may be grown together w/ rust). If it can be broken loose...it's easy enough to drive it around for a bit to see if you get the power back. Pieces of the ceramic within will break loose and bounce around, alternately clogging the exhaust flow and then bouncing around and allowing some or all gas to escape.
Incidentally, you may have mentioned earlier but I'm at work and don't have time to re-read it all...as your car has onboard diagnostics....has anyone checked the codes?

 

... and the winner (it appears) is ... Joseph! Took it to another mechanic, and he said the fuel pressure is only at 25%, and the in-tank fuel pump needs to be changed. I am looking at an $800 bill for this. That is just about what I paid for the car in the first place. Unfortunately, this guy isn't interested in us bringing in our own parts, which is what we usually do. I really just don't know what to do. So far, all told, I've spent somewhere around $1,500 on repairs (most of which didn't take) and at some point I'm going to have to decide on a limit. Blurg.

 

Do it yourself! It's not hard, just takes a little time. It's mostly an exercise in hose clamps and maneuvering the sender carefully. The big lock ring and seal require some carefulness, but nothing that a novice can't do with time and perseverance. Then it's just the cost of a pump! Maybe you have a friend with some experience nearby who'll be will to help for some food.

Fuel Pumps and Parts There are 3 different pumps. The bottom one it the one I think you need. The strainer sock is a good idea too and regularly required to maintain any guarantee. The first pump is for a car with "regina" fuel injection, and the other pump is the main fuel pump for your car.

If you do decide to do it yourself, first make sure that your car is not a "regina" car. We can help you determine that if you go that route, or if anything else does not make sense.

 

the ring on my 1992 740 wagon was a huge pain in the butt to reinstall, we ended up having to get a new ring as the old one simply wouldn't go on right with or without the clamp.

 

Pretty sure ALL 90 GL's are Regina...

 

to further clarrify this Regina thing, since the OP seems a novice in these things...

there's two different EFI (fuel injection) systems on some vintages of 240/740/940 non-turbo redblocks. Bosch and Regina. The Bosch system has two fuel pumps, a 'booster' or 'transfer' pump in the tank, and another main pressure pump under the car. The Regina system has only one main pump in the tank.

 

$800 is extremely high IMO. Labor is 2 hours. Volvo currently charges $356.47 for the pump but it can be had aftermarket for $45 on Amazon.com Here at the shop, for sourcing the pump, we'd charge $100 plus 2 hours at $85 an hour so...$170 +100 = $270 plus tax. Quite a bit of disparity there.

 

Just re-read all the posts on this thread. Looks like there were two different times when adding fuel made it run better. My first thought is usually fuel pump, and I still kind of like that,but I have also experienced these symptoms when I had water in the fuel, which has become more of a problem in large cities where they dilute the fuel with ethanol (attracts water) and aren't real great about keeping the tanks clean. The other thing that comes to mind is crud/rust in the fuel tank clogging the pickup filter. You can toss a can of Heet in the tank (couple of bucks) and see if that helps. If it cures it; probably a water problem. If not, I'd be going into the fuel tank and seeing whats going on in there. Once you get the pump/fuel sending unit out you can just shine a flashlight into the tank and pretty much see all the way to the bottom. The only thing I don't like about the convertor theory is that the car responded positively to adding fuel. Don't think that would happen if it's the convertor..

Titan Joe is right; the fuel pump/sending unit is certainly do-able. Even if you don't feel up to tackling it there's no reason a competent mechanic should be scared. And I think we all absolutely agree with Swift : 800 bucks is unconscionable; sounds like he just doesn't want the job. The Cadillac dealer that I worked at long ago used to do the same thing if anyone brought in a car that was over about 5 years old. We wouldn't actually refuse to work on it, but we'd quote them something high enough that they would almost always take it down the road. The theory was that old cars have brittle wiring, hoses, etc and if something else gets broken in the process of fixing your problem you're going to blame us.

BTW, I don't think you ever answered Swift's question about the codes. Is your check engine light on?

 

10% or 20% ethanol in gasoline is still strongly hydrophobic, it won't mix with water.

urban gas stations usually move higher volumes of gas than rural ones, so I'm not sure I buy the 'clean the tanks' thing either (anyways, I've never heard of a gas station 'cleaning' its tanks... the filler trucks will dipstick the tank to see if there's an accumulation of water in the bottom, and if thats excessive it will be pumped out as toxic waste), although certainly an older gas station is more likely to have crap in their tanks

 

Yeah, well, I'm in Pittsburgh, and it doesn't seem that any of the mechanics around here (who actually know their way around a Volvo) will touch this for any less than $800. In fact, that's the low end. (Funny side story: The last time I took it to the last guy, he kept it for a week, didn't return my calls or emails, and then finally called to tell me it needed gas and charged me $40. Gee, thanks.) My husband had a BMW, and in our experience, any mechanic in this area that focuses on foreign cars seems to think their expertise is worth another $500 on top of whatever the problem is. I wish I felt capable of doing this myself, but honestly, I wouldn't know where to start. Maybe it's time to learn, because there's nothing worse than knowing you're being screwed and having to pull down your pants anyway. This place is asking $360 for labor, which is more than the fuel pump. He gave me some spiel about making sure everything lined up correctly, blah, blah, blah. How does a novice such as myself, with no real car savvy, go about even beginning to understand working on a car? I'm asking honestly.
And no, the check engine light isn't on, not even with this latest problem, which made me laugh a little bit, considering the car won't go faster than 10 mph.

 

Sadly, your predicament is not uncommon. These old rwd Volvos are wonderful cars but as time marches on, if one can not do some (most) of the maintenance at home, they quickly can become money pits. I had a customer give me an 84 245 simply because the oil light came on intermittently. I told him it was most likely a broken wire, but he had had enough...Sure enough, it was a broken wire. After fixing that and replacing the timing belt for good measure, I sold it on eBay.
I might have a low cost solution for you. If you were to go on turbobricks.com and listed in the want ads, you may find a youngster there in your area who might just do the labor for a couple of hundred bucks or less. Just a thought.

 

If I were home I would come and do it, but alas, I'm at school very far away. I drove through Washington, PA two weeks ago.

 

Exactlly. For an interesting experiment, try adding some water to your fuel next time you fill up. Be sure to let us know the results.

 

@(*$&#&#@&#!!!!
I just got off the phone with the mechanic. Get this -- he says they got the wrong part and the real part is going to cost me another $300 for a $600 part! WTH??!? He says it's because the system in my car was only for this model, which makes it harder to find or some crap like that. I told him I wanted to try to find the part myself and he gave me the runaround, then finally told me he would call back with the part number so I can look for it myself. I don't think he'll be doing any more work for me. Does anyone know any mechanic in Pittsburgh who works on Volvos AND who does not try to rip you off on top of that? Sheesh. Maybe Joseph is right -- this guy doesn't actually want the job. But then why tell me off the bat that you don't mind working on older cars if you really do??
And thanks for the advice, all. I will give that turbobricks.com a look. I am in shock right now. I have never had a mechanic try to charge me $1,000 for a repair. Unbelievable.