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She was a drive-by sighting in front of a local towing company, grease penciled "For Sale" carelessly scrawled across her windshield..."Won't run," the man said. "I'll take her," I said. To make a long story less long...Like any true 240'ing Volvo lovin' person would do, I got her rollbacked to the house....$500, title and all.
I have worked diligently to resurrect this little cream-colored beauty, a 1985 244 DL automatic gracefully poised on jackstands for WAY too long, and have had numerous successes with rehabilitating her, and with getting her running smoothly again.
Enough attempts at creating empathy. Please accept my apology, and let me get on to why I am seeking the collective wisdom of The Board.
Last night, around 10:00 pm, after carefully replacing a "failed the ohms test" 501 IAC valve with a "tested good/came from a running car" 520 IAC valve, I started her up. What a satisfying moment when ones' hard work is rewarded with that Singer sewing machine sounding Volvo smoothness.
Approximately five minutes later, after the temperature gauge began to climb, I decided I would turn the ignition off, and restart the engine.
NOOOOOO! A no start moment. Mercy. I realize the fuel gauge is on d e a d empty. No fuel in the 5 gallon jug, either. So I go to the local gas station (10:30pm), get 5 gallons of 93 oct fuel, and try again.
Repeated attempts at starting the engine were unsuccessful. The engine occasionally catches, but does so with a terrible shaking, as if there were two or three people jostling the car. Hope fades as the battery loses its remaining reserve capacity....
Daaaawwwwwg gone it....
Pray tell me, please...it is not the timing belt, is it?
My thoughts are that maybe, just maybe, there was some water in the bottom of the tank that made its way through the intake fuel pump sock and into the fuel system as the fuel ran out, and this water was pulled into the fuel line/injectors/cylinders, and that this all coincided with those last moments of my successful test (before I shut her off to restart her, and before I dumbly realized the fuel gauge was on dead *ss empty).
Could water cause such violent shaking when cranking the engine, so shortly after a test where the engine ran smoothly?
Thanks for reading, and please help if you can...
Jackson
1985 244 GL, manuf. Jan, 1985, 225,000 miles, driven daily
1985 244 DL, manuf. Feb, 1985, 167,000 miles, too be driven soon
still looking for a March 85 one...
ps...I put polyurethane bushings all through the rear end suspension (yes, I did build that "special Volvo tool" for rear trailing arm bushings - anyone seeking a challenge, and who needs to borrow this tool, let me know!)
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Thank you to all who provided me with solutions for my problem. She is now running smoother than ever. I went through all the replies, and want to list what I did, and will let you determine what you think was the actual solution.
I purged the fuel line right after the FPR (my 12 year old son watching for me said he saw a lot of bubbles come out) and let the fuel flow until there was no more chance of air in the lines.
I changed the spark plugs and the plug wires...the old plugs were wet and very black with soot, but not in bad shape otherwise. The plug wires were definitely part of the problem...they were actually two different types, and didn't have proper resistance values.
Pulled off the distributor cap and rotor, cleaned them all up. They appeared in good shape, so I replaced them.
I cleaned up the braided ground strap from the valve cover to the firewall (gotta love these Dremel-type tools with the little wire brushes etc), and checked numerous other grounding points.
After checking that the battery was fully charged, I jumpered 87/2 and 30 at the main relay again to make sure I had plenty of fuel available to the injectors.
And Voila! What a sweet running engine...nicer even than the 244 GL I have been enjoying for the past few years.
Again, thanks to all who helped, and as to the intank pump advice, I will be pulling the sending unit out this weekend, and seeing what shape that system is in.
Grassyass, hombres!
Jackson Sadler
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Good score on the $500 Volvo. They are usually the best kind.
Everyone has offered good information and advice, but has focused more on fuel related problems. I lack much expertise, but will offer my $.02.
Did you pull a spark plug or two to check for spark and their condition? If, after trying to start the car, you find that they are soaked in gas, that would quickly indicate (admittably not conclusively) that lack of fuel is not the problem.
Now that it has had a few chances to buck around, look over the air intake hose and connections after the air mass meter. All that movement could have pulled a hose off, making the situation worse.
Good luck,
-Will
850 / Mini
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Cheer up, calm down, you are in good hands here. It is NOT the timing belt.
The timing belt, when it was going OK and then fails, is a go/no go situation. No mid-ground. Engine runs or not. If not, no internal damage from that. (Running rough right after a T-belt change can mean a tooth-off installation.)
The other answers have the right idea. Something that causes one or two cylinders to mis-fire. Fuel system or fouled plugs. When one cylinder quits, BTDT, the loss makes the engine unbalanced and it will shake like a toy in a dog's mouth. It also has 25% less power.
If you have not changed the spark plugs, it would me a good idea. Gives you a chance to inspect the old ones for clues. Get a set of Bosch WR 7 DC and gap them at .028 inches. Use a dab of Anti-Sieze on the threads, and a torque wrench. If the budget will hack it, get a set of Bougicord ignition wires, and a new Bosch Cap and rotor.
Make the ignition system no longer a suspect.
Keep on trucking rolling, you will yet be able to drive it over to wave at the seller.
Good Luck,
Bob
:>)
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Check fuel pressure by pulling the hose off the back of the regulator. Then, if pressure is lacking, try same at the inflow hose to the main pump. it should come out pretty strongly with good pressure. Almost every old neglected 240 has an in-tank pump issue and that is a good place to start.
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It could well be that you have sucked up water and/or other crud from the bottom of the tank. Try some more to get it purged out. Changing the fuel filter would probably be a good idea too, before very long.
Another, less appealing possibility is that the pre-pump in the tank has failed. They don't like having the tank run down all the way---they tend to run hot if you have less than 1/4 tank, and maybe this one was already on the way out.....
I doubt if the timing belt has anything to do with it, but even if it does, it's not a big deal, in fact, compared to trailing arm bushings it's a walk in the park. Probably wouldn't hurt to put a new one on in any case, as preventitive maintenance, unless you know when it was last changed.
85 is within the range of years for crumbling wiring, which could cause problems similar to what you describe. However, I think you would have noticed it when you replaced the IAC valve, if it was bad. Look closely at the ground bolt(s) on the intake manifold, where a cluster of brown wires are attached. Not a bad idea to take the bolts out, clean everything, and reinstall, to insure good metal-to-metal contact. Doing so will give plenty of opportunities for any deteriorated insulation to show itself.
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water in the lines can duplicate the symptoms u describe.
a can or 2 of dry gas should that trouble,
u may have water in the lines from the main pump forward which will take a bit to work thru unless u crack open the line at the fuel rail and run the pump to let it get pushed put until fresh gas is back to front.
kinda like a brake system flush.
just make sure no sparks are around if u do this.
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