Hi there! Long time lurker, first time poster. Been having some car issues that seem to have amped up today, & am hoping to get some answers from you guys if you have any ideas!

We bought an 87 volvo 240 DL in april in arizona & drove it back to the northeast. Did a bunch of work on it before the trip: tune up, brakes, shocks, struts, new tires, filled a crack in the windshield, replaced some bulbs, got the 'ok' from a volvo specialist in albuquerque NM (with great online reviews) to drive it across the country back home to New Hampshire. A month or two ago, starting the car began taking a few more cranks & it would stutter before it turned over (mostly on wetter days we think) & would stutter when changing gears, especially getting going in first & lower gears, & we noted this more when gas is low. Occasionally, when the car baked in the sun for a few hours, these problems seemed to be much less, & the car would start right up no problem. Today, upon leaving work to head home, it took way more cranks than it ever had before, & unless I kept the gas pumped, it would choke itself out. It was a nice, warm day, not wet. In addition to this, I noted the muffler sounding significatly louder than average, & what i can only describe as a loud 'air whooshing sound' come from the back right corner of the engine (if you're standing in front of the car) closest to the steering wheel, although I could not identify exactly where this sound was coming from. After more than a few start/stall attempts, it stayed running without pumping the gas & I headed home... it was very 'chuggy' & a few times felt right on the verge of choking out, but didn't. Also, the brakes felt extremely hard, & almost wouldn't stop unless I pushed very hard. Not sure what of these is or isn't related! Thoughts? Ideas? Where should we start? We are fairly mechnically minded, although not car or volvo experts, so we're down to try a couple fixes or troubleshooting ourselves if it's doable!

Thank you so much for any advice you may have!!

-Ben

 

first thing to determine: is it missing/weak sparks, or fuel delivery thats causing the stuttering.

 

Sounds like a vacuum leak? Maybe one going to the brake master cylinder or booster, which would tie in why the brakes aren't stopping like they are supposed to do, just something to check for.

 

That would also be around the same place as the master cylinder too.

 

Thanks guys, the vacuum leak totally rings a bell & makes sense... the wooshing sounds like it's sucking/blowing air, & matches up with the brakes not working. Would this also affect why I need to pump the gas to keep it going? We just went back out & started it again, & there is definitely a sucking sound & loud flowing air sound, & smells a bit like gassy fumes, & the engine is choking & sputtering out unless I pump the gas. Is there a way for us to identify ourselves if it is indeed a vacuum tube/hose? Could we see something cracked/broken/disconnected? & is this something we can fix or is this something we are going to have to take to a mechanic? and what exactly is the function of these mysterious vacuums?? Thanks for your help, you are definitely shedding some light!!

-Ben

 

You should be able to see it if it something was wrong with it. It'll be a black rubber hose of some sort and it may be something as simple as it just slipped off, ya know? I honestly wouldn't take it to a mechanic to get it fixed because they usually aren't to hard to find, you just have to follow all of your hoses to trace down a leak. If it is too difficult to find or fix, you could probably just take it to an auto parts store and they would be able to find it for you. And honestly, I don't have to much of an idea of what the purpose of all of these vacuums are other than to keep your system pressurized, and for brake purposes I would suppose it just is used as an assist to make it easier to stop, but those are just guesses to be completely honest haha. Good luck on finding your mysterious vacuum leak though, like I said it shouldn't be to hard to find, and in your case I would start by looking all around your master cylinder to see if a hose is disconnected or anything else like that. Keep us updated!

 

We fixed it!!! oh yes and yayness!!!! The large circular enclosed 'disc' thing behind the master cylinder (that the master cylinder goes into?) had a little white plaster cap on its face, almost directly behind the plastic brake fluid reservoir. This cap had come loose, but thank the lord, hadn't fallen out, it was being kept in limbo by the brake fluid. This cap snapped back into place, & the car started right up, & brakes were back & working perfectly. Thanks for your help!!!!!! Your master cylinder tips led us right to it. Whew! Glad we found that before jacking the car up & chasing lines & visiting mechanics. Any idea what that cap was and/or its function?

Many thanks and good vibes sent your way,
namaste,
Ben

 

that drum/disc thing is the vacuum booster (puts the 'power' in the power brakes.

there shouldn't be any brake fluid there, the fluid is in the actual master cylinder in front of the booster.

the only fitting I can think of on the booster is a right angle plastic fitting for the ~15mm diameter vacuum hose, as visible on this picture of my 1992 740 turbo engine compartment.

 

Alright!!! I'm glad you got it fixed and glad that I was able to help. Hopefully everything else stays in fine running order for you, Ben!

Y'all have a good one,
-Dillon