I'm the grimly ignorant owner of a 1985 244 automatic. It stopped running abruptly about a year ago. After getting lots of help here, and months of weekend efforts, I was able to get it to run --but very poorly indeed, and I could not drive it.

Last week I took the shocking step of paying a professional to diagnose it. The mechanic confirmed that I had the cam, intermediate shaft, and crank marks correct after I replaced the old harmonic balancer with a new one (slipping rubber) many moons ago. After checking everything on the four page list of operations documenting everything I had tried to get the car to run correctly, he is convinced my problem is twofold.

I had the wrong AAM, and he's right - I had swapped a non-007 unit in.

Also, my kickdown cable is broken at the end near where it is supposed to be anchored to the throttle pulley assembly. A working kickdown cable must be absolutely necessary for proper engine operation right? I had assumed that it was only for a downshift when flooring the gas pedal.


I had a junkyard 007 AMM in my spares box so I disconnected the battery and put the cable ends together to reset the ECU while I installed it. However, it might not be working well. It seemed to help a bit, but that might be the placebo effect. However, when in desperation I tried timing the engine to 0 degrees according to the crank pulley the car became technically drivable. It was clearly undrivable at 12 degrees of timing, with very little power and acceleration extremely poor, with random stalling. Timed at the zero mark, the car starts readily and has enough power to drive around, but acceleration is unacceptably sluggish. Also, the idle hunts around as if it's getting mixed signals.

One more thing, and I have no idea if this is significant: The car does not stall when the idle air bypass knob is screwed all the way in. Probably a sign of something wrong? The idle does speed up briskly when I screw the air bypass knob out.

Today at the Pick 'N Pull I felt fortunate to find one old Volvo uncrushed, and happily it was an 86 244. I obtained the ECU, AAM, and ICU. They all had the correct numbers.

I want to swap them in systematically,hoping they are not the reason the car was sent to the junkyard. I should disconnect both battery terminals. For the next steps I'm seeking advice. Which to try first? Just the 007 AMM? Install all three?

I'm guessing you may have multiple problems and by fiddling around in trial and error mode you may have made some things worse, like idle speed. It's a rooky mistake we often make, you'll quickly learn.

1) Kickdown cable does not affect engine operation, just shifting, but will noticeably affect driveability and engine load until you get up to road speed. Once you get the engine running properly you will need to address that. Bit of a PITA job, but quite DIY doable, do some google searching, but everything you need to know should be in the 700/900 FAQ here. Remember, your engine and trans are exactly the same as that used in the 740 models of your vintage, so there's a ton of stuff in the FAQ that applies to your car.

2) You need to be sure you have a properly functioning AMM before carrying on. Simplest thing to do is try swapping in a known good working AMM (like from a friend) or better yet in your situation would be trying your AMMs in a known working LH2.2 car. AMMs need to be tested out at both idle and higher rpms as well as response during engine acceleration. There are formal testing and adjustment methods in the FAQ if you want to confirm the diagnosis (at your level, probably best not to attempt adjustment, I don't even do that, easier to just swap). As a bit of an aside here for your added edification, if pulling the AMM connector (puts the ECU into what's called limp home mode) ever makes things start and run any better (albeit with rough idle and weak acceleration) then you would definitely have a failed AMM -thinking of that, be sure to disconnect the pre-heat hose from the exhaust manifold shield (or alternatively screw the internal air box flap shut if you have to undergo vehicle inspection) to prevent frying the AMM if the air box thermostat should fail (which they periodically do).

3) Make sure the whole throttle and idle setup is clean and properly adjusted. Most especially the throttle plate, the center area of the throat and the two tiny vacuum ports (also check the associated vacuum hoses and check/clean your flame trap). When using the air bypass knob to adjust base idle, you need to force the idle air control valve (IAC) to stay closed. There's an open connector on the fender wall you jumper to ground to disable the IAC. Related to that, when you first aquire a car, you should check and adjust both the throttle spindle linkage rod and the idle sense switch, which as I recall for your car is a microswitch sitting out in the open (kickdown cable adjustment is normally done at the same time). Again, a good place to start reading is here in the 700/900 FAQ Setting Base Idle Specs and Mixture on Bosch LH2.2-Equipped Cars. I highly recommend you start by removing both the throttle body and IAC to the bench for a thorough cleaning and properly set the throttle plate stop position (again, see FAQ). As an aside, once everything is clean and properly set, if the idle is ever erratic or stays a bit high during warmup, then it's quite possible you have a sticky (worn) IAC. If tapping on the IAC while running (like with a wood stick) causes the idle to change then that's the sign of a sticky IAC -could be deposits in the chamber with worn/dirty bushings, but most likely wear grooves are starting to form where the contacts ride on the armature, not at all uncommon in older LH2.1/LH2.2 spring loaded IACs (the LH2.4 floating IACs seem less susceptible to that). Although many recommend against it, for a really grungy IAC, I have no hesitation in soaking it in solvent, just keep the motor end up and out of the cleaner, shake it out and dry it thoroughly. And as for contact wear, until you can find a better uased one, rather than prying it open to try polishing out the grooves, my favorite temporary fix was to lower the base idle a bit to keep the contacts normally riding away from the notch that develops at the end of the grooves.

4) And finally, it really sounds like your ignition system may be giving you grief. First off the proper setting is like 10-12 degrees. If setting the timing at zero degrees is an improvement and the timing belt was recently changed then I'd say the odds are high (as in almost for sure) that the intermediate shaft was improperly aligned with the belt mark. Your mechanic may only have checked the cam pulley alignment in relation to the crank at 0 deg. He'd have to pull the crank pulley and lower timing cover to properly check everything, not exactly a 5 minute job. Additonally with your distributor and in order of likelihood, the distributor cap and rotor may be worn (if they haven't been replaced in living memory, time to do so), or you may have a failing Hall Effect sensor inside the distributor or the distributor shaft may be badly worn. On my old 1985 240 DL, I had a mystery hard starting and startup rough running condition that I couldn't figure out which eventually turned out to be a worn distributor shaft. And finally, make sure you've got good plugs and ignition wires, again maybe time to treat you car to new wiring if they haven't been replaced in recent years.

Good luck. I've loaded this reply with lots of extra tips for future reference. Keep at it, you will eventually get it running right and will learn a lot in the process -all very satisfying, at least for me.
--
Dave -still with 940's, prev 740/240/140/120 You'd think I'd have learned by now

Thanks, Dave.

My 1988 240DL N/A has 300k miles. Are there hard-to-find parts that I should start collecting when I go to junkyards?

Recently, it had oil in the top of the distributor.

Is there a lifespan for distributors? I priced rebuilds and they're over $200, but I can't find any rebuild kits; are you aware of any.

Do you have any tips for inspecting junkyard distributors?

My advice would be to find and support a ReCycler/Dismantler with an indoor facility.

Back in the day, there were more than several around...a couple in Arizona - Hersch Industries (I got an M57 from them), REVOLVO also in that state, one in Maryland, one in Michigan. I think Hersch and REVolvo are still around but no longer for 70-90s Volvo 4 bangers. the last time I looked ReVolvo was basically a repair shop.

There are currently 2 Recyclers around now. Both in the Atlanta area. The one I always recomnd http://www.voluparts.com/ and the other http://www.autodisassemblyvolvo.com/parts.html.

You want to be able to talk to someone on the Phone...someone who knows what they are talking about---more importantly What You are asking about.

Could I just put in a positive word for Voluparts. The dim dip relay failed on my 1992 960 and I tried a host of suppliers before I came to them.

They told me that this relay is different between Canadian and American cars because of the different traffic laws in the two countries.

Canadian law demanded daylight running lights [DRL]. American law did not. Thus, cars sold in Canada had a different relay to those sold Stateside. This made the pool of used relays much smaller for Canadian cars.

I bought an American version of the relay from Voluparts to replace mine and was able to simply plug it in. Result: no DRLs but everything working fine otherwise.

Only Voluparts educated me on this and for that I am grateful.

Apart from stuff you can find on distributors in the FAQ and elsewhere here and on other sites using a search, our 240 gurus will be able to give you far better guidance on distributor issues. A good idea to start that discussion in a new thread specifically seeking advice on worn distributors.

Many of us would say the single most important part to have is a spare fuel pump relay (failing that, at least carry a jumper wire or paper clip and instructions on how to bypass the 240 FP relay at the fuse panel). In the electrical department, next thing to grab would be a spare AMM (as you have done) -do remember that unplugging a bad AMM will often get you started and able to limp home. Everything after that is pretty much personal preference and knowing what's gone or showing early warning signs. For me, electrical stuff I would want to keep an eye out for would be a bargain bulb sensor relay, ignition amplifier, alternator, coil, decent distributor, maybe an ECU (except your LH2.2 ECU is much more reliable than the early LH2.4s). If you're going to keep your Volvo forever, it's hard to imagine not wanting spares of everything electrical when the price is right.

Actually, when cruising 240s in yards, the stuff I was always on the lookout for were things like undamaged door pockets, good front seats, floor mats, door/tailgate hinges, taillight lenses, clear headlights, wheel covers, nice rims, radio antenna, radios, door panels, other bits of trim, ... -stuff that is no longer avail new or hard to find, especially in good condition.

I'm sure others will have all kinds of suggestions of what to grab. When it comes to old volvos, indeed any old car, the only constraints are the size of your wallet, the amount of storage space you have and the willingness of your family to put up with it all.
--
Dave -still with 940's, prev 740/240/140/120 You'd think I'd have learned by now

Thanks.

What years were the LH2.4s unreliable?

Hi,

I cannot say that the fuel injection of the LH 2.4 is unreliable in itself.
It's more likely the peripheral things or things connected around it that cause most of the issues.

A fuel pump relay or a faulty CPS can start things off for a headache!
1989 was the first year for a CPS. Flakey shielding or insulation around the wire is one cause or the probe goes out of calibration for the ICU. The ICU is fairly bulletproof from what I have read. Windshield wiper water drips can cause headaches!
A sensor, like engine coolant one can be another cause.

In the later nineties they started messing around inside the instrument cluster speedometer giving off information to the ECU for idle or movement or both.
Speedometers, I'm finding out, are year specific in some cases.

The LH 2.0 and LH 2.2 had wiring harness problems out around the engine. That was not the fault of the fuel injection system unless you want to point to the engine bay ignition unit and THAT was back to the wiring connector, to it!

So trying to catalogue or categorize a system worse than another is not realistic.
Each have their own technological advancement, with costs, as a weigh-in factor, for that improvement.

So far, I have been very impressed with Bosch products. Considering, for all the years that have gone bye, it just proves my point, to me!

I Hope this was an answer you were looking for?

Phil

Thanks.

What does ICU stand for?

Dave,

I'm astonished by the authoritative and comprehensive practicality of your suggestions. You offered so much useful advice here that can help me and others, that I wish it could be join the FAQ verbatim. You are a mensch sir.

Thanks for the compliments. There are many here just as experienced as I and a few quite a bit more so. Having had the same year and model as you and as well remembering where I started out under the hood of my own Volvos almost 50 years ago motivated me to respond to your situation and I just happened to have enough room in my life today to write it all up. I wish you well in mastering the care of your Swedish iron. I hate admitting to that as I wish I could say I was still a babe in arms when I got my 120, but at least it's truthful to say I was still a teenager.

Regrettably the FAQ is no longer maintained and cannot be added to. Steve Ringlee did a truly heroic job creating and maintaining the 700/900 FAQ for all those many years. Regrettably, during numerous edits some of the rambling sage advice related to quirky things about our old Volvos that used to be in the FAQ was replaced by more concise information from general automotive sources. Still, there is no better single source of information for 700/900 owners, and indeed much valuable common information for 240 owners as well.
--
Dave -still with 940's, prev 740/240/140/120 You'd think I'd have learned by now