Hi.

We own a 740 GLE Manual Estate, C reg (1986) and has travelled approx 140,000 Miles (Speedo reset at last MOT - probably replaced). The thing is, a couple of weeks ago, the car refused to start. So, after calling out a local Volvo Garage, they diagnosed the problem as a faulty fuel pump. They came to our home and replaced it with a new one for a fee of £60 (inc. the part), which is approximately $85. I thought this was rarther cheap; especially for a specialist Volvo Garage. Also before the new fuel pump, the car would regularly kick-back harshly up slight hills or when cold. The new pump cured this problem as well.

Now, we have a new problem: fuel consumption. before the pump, the car was pretty decent (not noticably bad) and would travel to work and back and all around town on about £15 - £20 of petrol per week (around 5 gallon).

NOTE: Petrol prices in the UK are sky-high. Currently, it's 81.9p per litre, which works out at about £3 / USD$5 per gallon.

This week, we filled the car with £15 / 4.85Gallon of petrol which, according to the speedo, gave us 88 miles (seemed about right). Thats 18mpg. Surely it should be doing more than that (we expected at least 25mpg)? We do mostly town driving.

BUT the fuel gauge seems a bit faulty. Like yesterday: It showed nearly half a tank of petrol five minutes after starting. After going 2 miles, we stopped the car. Then we drove a futher 3 miles and after that, the fuel tank was nearly in the red! Could we be mis-reading the amount of petrol we actually have, and filling the tank without needing to and consequently calculating the MPG wrong?

BTW, the fuel tank does not leak.

You can't really sensibly calculate consumption from the fuel gauge, fill it to the brim, drive the car, take the mileage, fill it to the brim again.

18 to the gallon is pretty poor, you need to carry out some proper diagnosis, likely hood is the fuel pressure regulator is past its best if original, are the emisions OK, should have been checked at MOT, what were they?

Regards

Thanks for the reply.

I don't know the Emissions data, because we acquired the car a few months after its test and only have the certificate.

This 'Fuel Regulator pump'; is it expensive to replace? Where in the car is it? Is there any way to tell if it's faulty by its appearance?

Also, could the new feul pump have highlighted this component as a problem?Because the pump was on it's way out, maybe the car wasn't getting enough petrol? And now that's fixed, this 'vegulator' may be giving too much fuel? Is there a way to check if the car is getting too MUCH fuel?

Sorry for all the questions, but if the car doesn't get more miles to the gallon, we may be forced to sell it but I have grown fond of it and don't want to do that really.

Thanks in advance,

Ian.

The fuel pressure regulator is the small tin can on the nd of the fuel rail on the inlet manfold. Only test you can make on it is to disconnect the vacuum hose twixt it and the manifold and see if fuel runs out, if it does it is history Other ythan that it needs to be tested with a pressure gauge.

Where in the UK are you? I'm in Milton Keynes.

Regards