So, I've fixed the tranny line leak, replaced the tranny filter, fluid and gaskets, all belts/hoses, changed oil, thermostat (temp gauge now working), coolant, and odometer gear (odometer now working). Car sounds better and I feel much more confident driving it around. Still has some rumbling which I think is the center bearing because of the presence of rubber burning smell when I get done driving it a short ways.

Still have a few issues that I have no idea what they could be though. I think someone really messed with the wiring on the car. As I mentioned in another post, some black wires around the AC compressor were not connected to anything. I looked on my 245 and these 2 black wires were both attached to a clear yellow plastic looking something on the left side of the AC compressor mount.

There also was a big WHITE insulated wire that is not connected to anything that looks like it is coming from behind the AC compressor and runs close to the engine? It also looks like it was attached to a bolt or something with a hooked end, this is attached to nothing as well.

I'm wondering if I get all these electrical issues fixed if the fan/blower motor might magically start working without me having to rip the whole dash apart. (that would be nice).

The other major concern is loss of power at times. This is intermittent. Sometimes when I start the car, it will die quickly a few times if I'm not feathering the gas. Other times it will die as it is shifted into drive or reverse. If the car makes it through those 2 situations, it will sometimes become unresponsive to throttle. I can literally floor it and get nearly no response. Then everything sorts itself out and the car runs great. ??? I have some ideas, but where would be the best place to start diagnosing such a problem? Maybe I should also mention, that when the car is unresponsive as described, it also doesn't shift as well either.

Thanks for any help.

Sorry that was so long. I'll try to get pictures of the loose wires up soon.

 

Does the AC compressor go on? The black wires usually are the ground wires . Don't know about the white wire but it seems these are related to the AC compressor. As to the stalling did you do the normal stuff like replacing the fuel pump relay and the radio resistor (FI) relay. Have you verified that both fuel pumps are running (if you have 2 pumps) and have you changed the fuel filter. Also does the engine run when you have a full tank of gas but gives you the start/run problem when you have a 1/4 tank of gas. Keep at it you're getting closer.

 

thanks jagtoes. It actually has been stalling on a full tank and on a near empty tank. Seems to be worse when there is more gas in the car though.....
I'm wondering if the O2 sensor could be jacked up since it appears the thermostat was stuck in the open position (car never registered warming up until new thermostat was put in), I've heard that open thermostats can foul up cats, maybe 02 sensors as well? The car also appears to be getting terrible MPG, but I've yet to calculate it (didn't have odometer).

I'll definitely look into that other stuff. what's the best way to test for the fuel pumps running correctly? Would you suggest just replacing those relays as regular maintenance or only if they are bad?

 

If you haven't changed the O2 sensor, do so. It's always a good thing to do when you have no service record. LH fuel injection relies heavily on it's input. Generally, only one wire goes to the a/c clutch. Usually it is black and is the signal /energizing wire for the clutch. The compressor will often have a ground wire running from the case to the engine block for ground. I can't imagine underhood wiring causing the blower fan to stop. Easy enough to see if the blower is getting power.

 

just got done checking into some of the more easy fixes. Tried to divide them into different sections.

1. Electric-

Can't hear the "in-tank" pump at all. Never. I assume I should be able to hear it prime after I turn the key to "on", right? Took the gas cap off and had helper turn the key, nothin.

Pulled plugs and each one I pulled resulted in rougher idle, and much better idle when plugged in again.

Cleaned all the fuses and the terminals, including 25 rated fuse under the hood.

Gas/Air/sensors-
Air Filter is dirty, but I've definitely seen worse on cars that ran much better.

Unplugged the MAF and the car immediately sounded better, but it WILL NOT even attempt to drive with the MAF unplugged... can't even get out of driveway without stalling, completely unresponsive to throttle. As soon as I plugged it back in, the car died. Started the car again with the MAF plugged in and everything sounded ok, unplugged MAF while car was running and the car died. So I don't know what to make of the MAF sensor. it does seem like it has a lot of gunk from what I assume is power steering fluid on the sensor body though.

O2 sensor- anyone have a brand they like? should I just hit pepboys up and get the generic/cheapest one? I do have a ton of records for the car dating clear back to the original window sticker when it was bought at the lot and the cane of the original owner in the trunk as well!!! No indication of an O2 sensor change though so I'll be changing that little sucker out today if I can along with fuel filter. I'll wait to see what that does for the car before replacing MAF which I think might also be having some issues.

EDIT: one of the records indicated that the intake screw was adjusted. How much could that throw everything off if someone didn't know what they were doing? Should I try adjusting it? If so, any good instructions?

 

re: O2 sensor, the volvo one is the only one I'd use. its made by bosch, and has the right wiring harness on it to plug into the car's systems.

the inpump tank is pretty damn quiet on my cars, you should be able to hear it if you hold your ear to the open gas cap and have someone else turn the key on/off with the driver door closed (so you don't hear the warning bell).

that intake screw is probably the idle air bypass, and I wouldn't mess with that until everything else is sorted out. randomly replacing parts and twiddling adjustments is not a very effective method of troubleshooting.

you haven't mentioned in this thread what car year/model/version this is...

 

sorry, 88, 244DL.

 

Maybe I should also mention that the car will rev up fine, as long as I do it very slowly. It's only when I try to punch it that the unresponsiveness happens.

 

I'm with Swift and Pierce on this one. I always change plugs, filters, oil and the 02 sensor when I first acquire a car just to establish a baseline. Generic 02 sensors are available, but I have read about some people having drivability issues with them. I'd play it safe and go with the factory plug and play sensor (Bosch) even if it's a few bucks more. Worth it to me to eliminate that as a possible problem.

At some point, most troubleshooting guides suggest that you "replace component with a known good one". I get known trouble items at the junkyard - fuel pump relays, MAF sensors, and so forth - and test them by installing them in my car when it is already running good, then I have a "known good" one to use for test purposes and a spare for emergencies. These items go for about 10% of the new price at my local junkyards and I have yet to get a bad MAF sensor, although I have gotten a couple of bad relays.

Any trouble codes?

 

in the days of vacuum advance distributors, I'd say thats the first thing I'd check. But these cars have electronic ignition, so thats pretty much off the list.

fuel pressure/flow rate is a possibility, you could have sufficient fuel for idle and gently revving with no load, but not enough for any horsepower.

an 88 has the LH2.4 EFI right? (my 87 has the LH2.2). The LH2.4 has a diagnostic block under the hood, this is a rectangular plastic block an inch or so thats just forward of the left hand wheel well on my 700/900's. this block has a plastic cover you remove, and 6 numbered holes inside along with a little jumper wire thats stored plugged into a 7th hole thats outside the cover, there's also a push button and LED.

See http://www.matthewsvolvosite.com/for...hp?f=2&t=24944 for how to use this OBD system. Hmm, that document says the OBD was new on non-turbo bricks in 1989, and turbos in 1990. k, never mind.

 

Yeah, pretty sure I don't have the diag tool. Too bad for me.

I'll get the filters/o2 sensor/wires+plugs+cap+rotor done and we'll see what she is like after that. As was mentioned in another thread, the guy I bought this thing from didn't have a gas cap on the car (maybe someone stole his?) And I didn't notice that until I went to fill it up the first time. He hadn't driven it all winter so I'm guessing the fuel filter is clogged pretty good.

Should I just drive a few tanks of gas through it, or should I be taking a more aggressive approach towards cleaning the fuel system? It's burned about 8-9 gallons of gas so far without altering the performance too much, so I'm hoping that the fuel system isn't shot completely.

I did take it out for a drive last night. Decided to push the car a little and see what she could do. It had the same symptoms that I've described above (poor performance off the line when trying to accelerate quickly- if that's possible for a 1988 NA 240) but after getting warmed up a little, it drove great! Surprised me. I drove it pretty hard for about 15 miles (stop and go and 2 freeway onramps/offramps) and only the first 1.5 miles did it have the "problem" of not wanting to get up and go. Made me feel a lot better about the car anyway.

 

The best test for proper fuel pump and filter operation is a fuel pressure test, but this requires a fuel pressure gauge that only a mechanic will likely have, and volvo uses its own size attachments, so only a volvo/euro kind of mechanic will likely have the right attachments. the pressure gauge is installed into the fuel line where it attaches to the fuel rail that feeds the injectors. after connecting it, you start the car, and read the pressure, it should be about 44psi steady.

if the pressure is low or erratic, chances are the fuel pumps are bad, or the fuel filter is clogged. one pump is in the gas tank, the other (main or pressure) pump is in the middle of the car in front of the fuel pump, with the fuel filter next to it.

If the pressure is bad, you can disconnect the line between the fuel tank and main pump, and power the tank pump, and you should get a steady stream of gas (with a hose into a container, of course!). if you do, the problem is likely the filter or main pump, if you don't, then I'd guess the tank pump is bad. on my 740 its a real pain to change the tank pump (accessed from the trunk floor behind the back left seat). the main pump is easy enough, but fairly expensive.

 

So drove the car last night about 5 miles, and another 4-5 miles this morning. temperature is in the high 30's here in the late evening/early morning. Car drove great again after getting warmed up. But when the car is cold it struggles with the symptoms I have described above. Especially when it is first started. But after it's warmed up to where the temp gauge is near 9 oclock, it is suddenly a whole new car and accelerates great!

I'll get the fuel filter/o2 sensor changed/ and I'm going to dump a bottle of redline fuel system cleaner in the tank to see if that clears up some of the low idling issues.

I'll let ya'll know what happens.

 

89 was the first year for LH2.4 so your 88 doesn't have the onboard diagnostics...
A bad engine coolant sensor can provide erroneous readings to the ecu. Most of the time, they fail towards rich...meaning the ecu thinks it's 100 below zero and richens the mixture accordingly. I had mine fail on my 89 and it just wouldn't start when cold...I had to give it a squirt of ether to fire up and then, like yours, it ran fine when warm. That means it wasn't richening enough to start when cold. The ecs is located under the intake manifold inline w/ cylinder #3. Just in front of it on cyl. #2, is a similar looking sensor that is for the temp gauge...be sure you operate on the correct one. Clogged fuel filters can indeed cause intermittent running issues. The 100% test for the intank lift pump is to disconnect the hose off the back of the under car main pump, place a catch pan under the hose and turn the key on. Even the wimpy intank pump will produce a major stream of gasoline if operating correctly. Obviously, you don't want any open flames or other sources of ignition around when you do this. But...it beats replacing a perfectly good pump and still having the same symptoms.

 

Would the ECS be this little gadget?
1985-1988 Volvo 240 Engine Temperature Sensor-Bosch OEM

 

Yup..that's the little bugger...and a good price too if genuine Bosch...my cost is just under $16 so...$19 retail is darn good.

 

Nice, plus with FCP's sale going on right now, I figure that's could be a real home run if it works.

Thanks for the help everyone, I'll let ya'll know how it turns out.

 

Wow, the ECS got 90 percent of the problem out of the way. That's nice. It starts easier and runs much better right off the bat. Still a little sluggish at times, but a ton better than before.

WOW!!!! getting to that sensor can really mutilate your hands! I decided to try and take the old one out and install the new one last night. only had about an hour because it was getting dark, so it took me about an hour and 15 just to get the old one out. My wrists look like they have been in handcuffs and I got dragged for a while. I had to install the new one in near pitch dark. Not the most fun I've had working on the Volvo. getting that clip back on the sensor was the most interesting part. I just knew I was going to drop it at some point and it would be lost forever, but it got put back together somehow.

I also found 2 vacuum hoses that had come undone. One was right on top of the engine starts by facing the front of the car and immediately loops back and toward the firewall. the other was attached to some plastic white/yellow tube that comes up from the bottom of the engine compartment and loops to the intake manifold between 2 and 3. Hooked those back up as well. most of the vacuum hosing is really crumbly, so I'm going to replace all of it soon.

Next is the fuel filter/o2 sensor. We'll see what that does (if anything).

 

yeah, crunchy vacuum hoses often leak, and leaky vacuum causes all kinda side effects.

 

So, the car is driving much better now. It starts and stays on, and doesn't die when I put it in gear! WOOT. New ECS seems to have taken care of that. BUT, when I start driving it doesn't respond to throttle very well until it is very close to being completely warmed up, then it drives great so I'm kinda leaning towards another sensor issue being present that kicks on/off after hitting a certain temp.

Things I still need to do.
#1 replace all vacuum hoses
#2 replace O2 sensor (I've got the wrench, any suggestions for getting the old one out easily?)
#3 replace fuel filter
#4 replace air filter

Thanks for all the help. The car might just make it yet.