i have a 1978 volvo 244dl. i've spent so much money fixing it and getting it to run, i've had the engine rebuilt and the transmission rebuilt. and there are still problems. the car stops a lot when idle. i'm thinking it's the fuel injector. it has given me so much trouble that i want to sell it. i feel that it isn't worth fixing anymore. what do you guys think?

 

Sell it, and get yourself something newer.

 

You've had most of the power train rebuilt, so you've got a good base for a reliable car. If you can overcome the problems you have now, you'll be good for 200K+ and thats better than most newer cars can do. If you sell your car, you're most likely not going to get what you put into it, because a car with a rebuilt motor and trans simply isn't worth much more than one with the original motor. I think you should definatly keep it.

The problem of it dying at idle is somewhere in your injection system. Does it only die when its cold? How many miles are you on your rebuild? Even if you put Moly rings(which break in in about 10 minutes and reduce friction) on the pistons, the motor will still be stiff(hard to turn over) until you get to about 10K, but its more noticable during the first 3K. On motors that are fresh rebuilds, you got to crank up the idle to keep them going during the first startup. Then as miles are put on the motor, you lower the curb idle to keep it in spec. The higher setting of the idle is to overcome the higher friction in the motor. Also, full sythetic oil will atcually keep a motor from breaking in, so if you've been using it since the break in, try some dino oil and start your break in again, then go to synthic if you want. My 78 245DL kept dying at idle when I got it, but after I put STP feul injector cleaner in the tank, and cleaned the flame trap, it runs just fine. I also had to bump the curb idle up about 100 RPM.

These older Volvos are well thought out, simple and engineered very well. Not to mention safe. They call these classics volvos "swedish bricks" for a reason!! This forum can help you out with any other problems your having with your car. The general discussion group can point you to sources for cheap volvo parts too. Just ask!

 

Wait a second, don't sell the car. You think you're unhappy now, wait til the thing's no longer in the driveway. Volvo's are really, really simple cars, and the older the simpler. I had a 1979, and went through much of what you are going through. It is certainly disheartening.

One of the greatest things you can do when you own an older Volvo is get active on one of these forums. So let's make this thing work. What are the conditions when the car is stalling? It's idling, is the car at operating temperature? What are the driving conditions before? Does it stall under different conditions? If you've done the work you say you've done so far, I am sure it's nothing major and it can be done.

Share some more about the condition, we'll see what can be made of it.

Chris Mears
Charlottetown, PEI
1979 245DL
1988 245GL

 

okay. the car stalls a lot, even if it's warmed up. i did the the idle speed boosted up by the mechanic but it still stalls when i'm at a light. it gets a little better when driving after half an hour or so, but still it gets annoying and embarrassing at the same time, when cars are honking at you when you're stalled in front of them. also, recently when i turned on my car. smoke was coming out of the vents into the car. it smelled horrible. i really dont know what to do. other than that, the car runs super slow. goes 0-60 in 32168798434841 seconds. is a gas guzzler. i've averaged it out to be about 10 miles to the gallon. and gas prices these days. gheez.

 

hmm. lets see. what else can i add about my car. everything under the hood is pretty much new or rebuilt. alternator-new. radiator-new. engine- rebuilt, i think its at 157k miles. oh yea. gas gauge doesn't work, well kind of. but i dont know how must gas is left in my car. also. the speedometer goes crazy. if i know i'm going about 50 it says that i'm going 70 mph which is totally off. also. the odometer freezes sometimes so for sure i have more than 157k on my car. hmmm. i'm trying to remember...... electrically the car is fine i think other than that one time the car went crazy when i turned on the car and it smelled bad. not sure what the problem was with that. ever since that time (i think it was christmas eve) i haven't driven it. tranny- rebuilt. but i went to the mechanic once a while back and they said that i need new {something about bearings} forgot.
so please tell me what you think!

i'm a financially sturggling college student with a piece of crap car. please help. honestly i just want to sell it.

 

I don't know what you've done aready, but first I'd check the ignition system. Make sure all the holes are getting sparks, cap and rotor are good, wires aren't bad and the timimg is on. If that didn't help I'd check the O2 sensor. If your gas gauge isn't working because of varishing on your sending unit, your injectors are gonna have the same problem. Have you done anything to your fuel system, like replace/clean injectors? When it stalls, does it run rough and die, or does it run fine and cut out? What did the smoke coming from your vents smell like? did it smell like burning rubber or coolant? Was the heater blower on when it was smoking? Do you have 157K on the rebuilt motor or on the car?

 

i'm really tired of fixing it. does anyone want it?