Hello, I am new and I need some help/advice. I just bought a 1998 volvo s70 from the auction. When I got it the check engine light was on. The codes that came up were P301-P302. It said I had multiple misfires. It was driving like I needed a tune up. I had it tuned up and the problem didn’t stop. I had it tuned up again and the problems were still there. I had the distributor cap and rotor changed and all the codes disappeared except one: P0302. Auto Zone said it was a fuel injector, gave me some cleaner, and told me to fill the tank and let it run through. I did that and two days later, the car cut off on me. Now as I look online, it doesn’t say code P302 is a fuel injector. The car won’t give me any gas. It will start, but when I accelerate nothing happens, and it cuts off. I have had bad experiences with mechanics being a female with no male around to watch out for me. I don’t want to pay for unnecessary things. I was quoted $400 for a fuel pump and $245 for an injector (parts only). Does that sound about right? Any advice would be greatly appreciated.

 

Insanity = doing the same thing and expecting a different outcome.

Is yours a turbo? What symptoms did it have when it wasn't running well? Was it rough or just *******? What did the old plugs, cap, and rotor look like?

Lots of things cause misfires. Before you replace anything else, make sure the part you're replacing really is broken.

Test your fuel pressure.

If you're not doing the work yourself, ask these questions to your mechanic.

I've had poorly running cars run better with just plugs, others needed head work. You really need to find a mechanic that diagnoses based on more than just engine codes. Codes should only be a place to start.

 

It's really dangerous buying cars from auction. Here are the main causes for misfires:

1. Bad spark plug.
2. Bad spark plug wire.
3. Bad distrubitor.
4. Low compression in that cylinder.
5. Bad injector.
6. Burnt valve in that cylinder.

So, one tune up was due. You can have a fuel injector swapped from one cylinder to another and see if the problem follows. I would swap #2 with #5. After that, I would check compression. You can check the sticky DIY thread to see how to do the compression test.

Low compression or a bad valve can cause the car to fail to start. Is the timing belt still on and in tack? If you want to do this stuff yourself and need some step by step instructions let us know.

 

Hello there - happy Wednesday!

This has been a less than favorable week packed with codes
ok, 1999 Volvo V70R 2.3 - 156,000 miles.
car has been well maintained and a lot of work done in the last year, PCV, timing belt water pump, spark plugs, ignition coils (before my time), vacuum hoses, turbo manifolds, intercooler the list goes on.

about a months ago, CEL comes on with a P1332 and P0422 code.
got a new CVVT (continuous variable valve timing) solenoid replaced it -code P1332 Gone!

at this point in time, the p0422 code was the only left on the screen and no issues of any kind at this point ion time.

the day after the car started to go postal on us and felt like it was running on 4 cylinder instead of five. pulled the car back in the garage and since
according to the previous owner the front O2 sensor was replaced just after the 100,000 miles. I gambled and purchased only the rear senor replaced that one. picture of the old one attached.

- P0422 code gone!! -BUT! P0302 (misfire Cyl #2) arrived smiling at me

thanks to All the forum tips - i moved on to investigate the fuel/ignition side of the car.

pulled the spark plug first - and noticed that plug on cylinder 2 had a lot more of deposit/build up than the other four spark plugs.

So I started with swapping cylinder 5 plug with cylinder 2 plug - no changes very rough idle and little white smoke.

FYI -coolant level - never changed.

did the swap with the ignition coil as well - no changes - same behavior.

finally moved to the injectors - here as well, injector #2 very dirty compared to the other four. also the o-ring on the manifold side of injector 1 and 2 are cracked.

gently cleaned the tip of n#2, greased the o-ring and re-assembled everything.
at this point in time I have yet to swap the injector (for testing) as I am waiting for the o-rings and fuel filter to get here.
I will check all the vacuum hoses again today as well.


How am I doing so far? thank you!

 

her is the pictures of the spark plugs and injector -

 

There is serious oil on that plug. Run a compression test. I think you will find a problem there.

 

I usually #1 pull the plug and #2 check compression at the same time. Then move on to other things.

Looks like a lot of unburnt fuel on the plug.

 

Looking at your 4 picture series....


you have a quite a bit of oil/gas residue in the top. I think maybe PCV on that.


But, the more interesting piece is the cylinder galley for the plug, its spotless. So why so much oil plug and wrench. If its gas, that is a lot of gas too. I think its oil because of the dark staining... but its in front of you and not me, so you know.


Looking at the 3rd picture of the plug there almost looks like a water leakage issue. Are you using coolant? I say that because you have deposit buildup on the grounding electrode and it looks a lot like a sludge buildup on the insulator


I think your compression test will tell you a lot

 

Thank you All

I have been keeping an eye on the coolant as I thought my head gasket was shot - level has not changed 1 mm.

my fear is a combination of factors and issues with cylinder 2

1 - bad injector (I did buy one green giant to see if I see a change at all -I should get it this Saturday)
2 - bad compression
3 - PCV system - I got to tell you though it looks like this work has been done recently, too many after market stainless steel clamps.
and by the amount of build up on the old 02 sensor - plugged catalytic converter.

I will go at it tomorrow or Monday and follow your recommendations.
off course, I will post the pics (I will do a better job with it) of all the results.

Folks - thank you for your help....really!

 

good evening,

did not quite made it to perform the compression test, I will do it in the am.
However, I received the injector a day earlier, so I went ahead and replaced it to see if any changes will occur.

the car it actually started better and ran almost perfectly in sync for about 45-55 seconds and then back to the rough idle.

attached is the picture of the injector I have removed from cylinder TWO....2 of the four orifices have something in it. does not look right to me.

I have also purchased a new fuel filter, I will install it in the am as well.
as the car was idling, I was paying attention to the sound and it appears no strange knocking or loud valve noise was coming out of the block.

I will be back tomorrow

thank you, wishing you All a great weekend!

 

Happy Saturday,
Well, I just finished with the compression test.

The gauge did not move 1 mm....
so looks like a burned valve is what I am dealing with.

big question, what am I looking at to fix it? should I expect not to exceed $1,500.

thank you All...

 

RSPI has a pretty good video on pulling the head. If money is short, you can replace the burned valve yourself. However, you need to make sure you don;t have a cracked head/block. A shop could do the check for you if you want to be absolutely sure. If you want to spend the time you could buy the valve and lap them yourself. Either way I don't think you will be out anywere near $1500, assuming you do the work. Certainly you can ask questions to get info as you go

 

I am actually entertaining the idea to take this on. I will start with having the mechanic check the block (thank you), do a price check with the two mechanics I have around here for the full deal and then make a decision then. yes save the money is always good, however, the time to perform this work is what I am short of.

man...I still can't believe it. I will look at the video RSPI has posted to gauge if I can do all this in a three days span. thank you for your time and help kwatt, greatly appreciated!

 

A shop can not tell you if you have a problem with the block until the head is removed.

The down side of doing the job in your car is that it's a '99 model and has the VVT on the exhaust cam. That cam has to be properly set and loaded when it goes back in. It also requires a special tool that you may be able to barrow (from all that I have read).

If it were me, I would pull the head and see if it has a burnt valve. If so, I would have the valve replaced, valve stem seals replaced, and put the car back together, short of the timing belt. Then I would have the car towed to a shop that would do the timing for me (load the VVT cam).

The cost of doing the job yourself, without doing valve stem seals will cost about $800. A new valve is about $75 and there should be no addition cost as far as labor goes, the valve has to come out to lap and replace the seal anyway. If you just replace the valve the cost should drop $250, which is not worth it to me, having old valve stem seals.

The cost of having a shop do the job will exceed $2,000.

Here are a few video's to show you what I posted. Pulling the head should take about 4 hours and you will see if a valve is burnt or not.