I have a 1996 Volvo 850GLT sedan with about 180,000 miles. I just replaced the exhaust manifold and had a complete tune up. This totaled $1468.00. Just before I had this work done my car would spit and sputter when idling. Not everytime but intermittent. It has stalled a few times. I thought getting the above work done would correct the problem. By the way, I had all this work done yesterday. On my way to work today my Volvo spit and sputtered and I noticed when driving it almost seemed like the car is being held back as I go down the road. I have looked on this forum and seen a few things that could be the problem but I am really not sure i.e fuel pump relay,EGR valve or mass air intake sensor. Am I on the right path? Any inputwould be appreciated due tothe fact of the amount of money I spent yesterday. Thanks.

 

First, check engine light on? If so, can you pull the codes from it?

 

I would say maybe bad Mass Flow sensor.

 

No check engine lights involved whatsoever. Also, I had a complete Volvo tune-up service done 2 days ago. Although, the Volvo sputtered yesterday and has not done it since. It is very intermittent. I also noticed it is more prevalent when it is damp and rainy. Usually after the rain. Anyone have any thoughts???

 

If the problem is more noticeable on a rainy day, most likely it is ignition system trouble. Verify that there is no vacuum leak (visually inspect the vacuum elbows, etc...). The tune up might have omitted something. Or, less likely electrical connections to certain sensors may be deteriorating, allowing moisture to cause temporary/intermittent short circuit.

Go over the service receipt and see if one or more of the following has been omitted:

- Volvo/Bosch/Champion spark plugs
- Ignition wires (Bougicord)
- Distributor cap & rotor (Bosch). The flash shield may have been forgotten.

See my 2nd reply in the following post to see if something hasn't been done:

https://volvoforums.com/m_48928/tm.htm

Let us know the current status of the car if you would.


JPN

 

Since starting this forum it has not given me a problem rain or shine. I had the engine flushed it gave me a problem that day 4 weeks ago and since then nothing. I brought to the dealer when it was giviing me a problem. He drove around with me in the car and hooked up his computer under the ashtray. The computer read nothing and it did not do it at all!!!. I am getting frustrated because it just comes on and stalls in traffic for a few seconds. I let it sit for 15 to 20 seconds then starts up and I am on my way until the next episode which can be a a week long then nothing again for 4-5 weeks. Any suggestions????

 

I am curious to know what a $1500 tuneup will get you in the US. Can you post the list of things they replaced and how much they charged for each item?

 

Hard to say at this point. If you have followed the above advice you have eliminated most of the usual culprits. How does the ignition coil look? Intermittant problems are probably the most frustrating of car issues.

 

Have you tried idling the car and wiggling electrical connectors in the engine cabin to see if you have bad contact somewhere?

 

I may be talking out my rear here, but what about the PCV? I have a very similar problem with my 93 and to correct it I take the air intake off and clean out my throttle body which will make things good for 2ish weeks when I have to do it again. (yes, I plan to replace the PCV soon) To check this, just remove the accordion hose thing between the air box and throttle body to see if there is oil entering it from the PCV hoses, if so, get a can of throttle body cleaner and go to town cleaning the hose and the throttle body itself out...

 

(quote)I am curious to know what a $1500 tuneup will get you in the US. Can you post the list of things they replaced and how much they charged for each item? (unquote)

I, to, would like to see a copy of your bill for the work done. If you could post a copy/scan, if that is cool [sm=smiley16.gif]with you, so that we might see the break down of parts and labor. Just pastea block over the shop name so there is no finger pointing. No matter what anyone says, some will find fault with anything.


[sm=icon_cheers.gif]

 

Ok guys, here is the break down of the tune up and replacement of the manifold exhaust.

manifold, exhaust 850 auto 96 EGR w/o$535.45
gasket exhaust flange non turbo w/EGR$11.59
gasket set exhaust manifold 850 non turbo $29.76



Tune-up

BG fuel induction kit $42.65
Seal, balance shaft and rear cam 700 16v bal $14.86
gasket, throttle housing$3.39
Flame trap, PCV placstic 200 nonj turbo$1.95
sparkplug kit$16.29
dist rotor iGN$26.88
fule filter $41.05
wiper blade kit $27.63
DIST CAP IGN $44.55
Wire set IGN $97.56
Air Filter $16.50

parts $333.11 + labor $262.50 = $595.61

Grand total $909.91 in parts + $450.00 in labor +$108.79 in tax for a total of $1468.70.

Note This spitting and sputtering happended this morning at about 9:00am. I went to lunch around 1:00 pm and nothing happened.

 

Quick comparison on parts. You would have to add S&H to the FCPGroton numbers. Regarding cost of labor, most of this is just swapping parts with basic tools and it could be done easily with help from this forum.

FCPGroton (no tax) Dealer (8% Tax)
Exhaust manifold p/n 9471934 (Scantech at FCPGroton, Volvo at dealer) 284.29 578.29
Exhaust gasket set (included with manifold at fcpgroton) 0.00 32.14
Exh flange gasket (included with manifold at fcpgroton) 0.00 12.52

Tune-up kit composed of: 123.00 217.91
5 Spark Plugs (Genuine Volvo Blister Pack) Volvo # 8642660
1 BOSCH Distributor Cap manufacturedfor VOLVO (OEM)
1 BOSCH Rotor manufacturedfor VOLVO (OEM)
Ignition Wire Set manufactured by Bougicord (OEM)
Air Filter manufactred by Mann #9186262 (OEM)

Windshield wiper blades (Genuine Volvo) 24.70 32.23
Fuel Filter 17.95 47.88
SUBTOTAL: 449.94 920.97

Could not quote these on FCPGroton.com
BG fuel induction kit 46.06
Seal, balance shaft and rear cam 700 16v bal 16.05
gasket, throttle housing 3.66
Flame trap, PCV placstic 200 nonj turbo 2.11

 

What is this part? BG fuel induction kit

Sounds like dealer snake oil.

Edit: I googled this. Seems to be a decent fuel system cleaning service.