I have a 1992 960. This car DOES NOT have spark plug wires. It has coils that sit on each spark plug. 6 cylinders, 6 spark plugs, 6 coils. They have wires running to them, but the wires are thin, electronic type wires, not spark plug wires. My car is running rough...I would like to replace them. I have already replaced the sparkplugs.

BUT -> My local Volvo dealers have no clue about this setup. They act like I am speaking latin to them when I try to order these parts. I made one order, and they got a set of spark plug wires, just like on my Ford, that were NOT the rght thing at all. This doedn't seem like it should be that hard...I mean I see them right in front of me. I know they exist.

Does anyone here know what I'm talking about??? Please help me! I am pulling out my hair, and I just want to get my car fixed. If someone has part numbers, or an accurate description, or ANY help, please let me know!

Thank you!

Mike

My money is on the intake manifold gasket, mine had a miss for 5,000 miles then the check engine light went on, the code was for something like fuel trim beyond limits or bad injector. I don't remember the number. If its never been changed you have been quite lucky. Mine went at 56K.

Dan R 94 960 179K miles

I'm really glad you posted this as I am planning a tune up on my 1995 960. I am restoring an old corvette and can change the spark plugs and wires in no time at all. On the other hand, I can't even find them on the volvo. I was outside yesterday looking for spark plug wires and a distributor to follow to the plugs. I have never worked on a volvo before. Man it sure looks different than my 73 vette under the hood. I don't have any particular problems, just want to give her a good tune-up. How far down are the spark plugs under the fuel injection rail? Man do I feel stupid even asking this question :(

Regards,

Jim

The spark plugs are accessable under the long black plastic cover on top of the engine which has 'VOLVO' and '24 VALVE' written on it. You will need a set of Torx bits. Once the panel is removed, unbolt each coil pack. Remove the old plug and install the new one. The plugs sit quite a way down inside the head so use your fingers on the extention so you don't cross thread the plug. Check the wires and connectors for the coil packs to make sure they have not been damaged by an overheated engine.

Pretty simple really.

Chances are your coils are just fine. How rough-running are we talking about? Is the check engine light on? Just off the top of my head...here's some things to check:

-first, retrieve the trouble codes from the ECU per the 700/900FAQ and report back what you find

-O2 Sensor (instructions for checking it are in the 700/900 FAQ)

-sticking valves (run a bottle of Techron through and drive 10 minutes @ 5Krpm)

-bad AMM (should set a trouble code)

-leaking intake manifold gasket

There are a lot more possibilities, but this is a good start anyway,

Lance

Lance,

The Techron works? I should try this. A bottle in a full tank of gas I suppose. Any advantage of repeated applicatoion for 2-3 tanks?

Lance,

The Techron works? I should try this. A bottle in a full tank of gas I suppose. Any advantage of repeated applicatoion for 2-3 tanks?

I did three consecutive tankfulls. I bought my car from the quintessential little-old-lady, who used the car to go the grocery store, church, the vet, and her grand-kids' house...all within a 30 mile radius. I don't think the thing ever saw rpms over 2K. So, it was really gummed up when I got it. Anyway, three tankfulls w/ Techron and a really heavy foot cleaned everything right up. I still get noisy lifters when the car is stone-cold in the morning, but they go away once the engine warms up.

Lance

Mike,

While I can't help you directly, I'm sure others will offer some suggestions. However, I think it might be best to do some diagnostics if you can. You seem to be going through a process of elimination which could be costly and frustrating. There may be several reasons for a rough running 960. I know that if you have changed the timing belt recently, and you failed to align the teeth precisely, one tooth off will give you a rough idle. Although it might not hurt your car, more than that and its toast.

The basic tune-up on these cars is fairly simple once you gain access to the plugs. You change the plugs, air filter and flame trap (may be another source of your problem), but it has no distributor, points, etc.

Thanks Shatz.

I think I'm going to suck it up and pay the $70 to put it on the computer in the morning.

I just got a call from a little used car lot whose owner loves Volvos. His supplier in California knew about what I needed and he can get me all the coils and wires for $216 total. I may end up replacinf them anyways.

I am not familiar with the "Flame trap". Can you enlighten me on this part?

Thanks again,

Mike

Mike, since you have a 1991 model, you can pull the codes yourself. See the 700/900 FAQ via the 'features' pull dowm menu. Note the codes and take the necessary action. There have been reported problems with intake manifold gaskets.

You can also check the compression of each cylinder. Low compression in one cylinder could mean a bad head gasket or coked oil deposits on a valve.

It might also be a bad ground for the fuel injectors. The ground is located below the intake manifold.

My 960 has 2 boxes it looks like, to pull codes, do I do it all from box "A"?

I can't find the info on pulling the codes. The light is on, this will help greatly. I didn't get the coils yet..so I'll hold off until I can get these codes.

Thanks everyone for the GREAT help here! It really helps alot!

Mike

Here's the link: http://brickboard.com/FAQ/700-900/Engine-Codes1.shtml#Engine and OBD Diagnostic Codes This is for the 4cyl models but the process is the same. When you retrieve the codes, post them and one of us can look them up for you.

Lance

thanks, got it. I will do this tonight after work and post the results. And to think, someone was going to charge me $80 to do that!

Thanks again,

Mike

Volvo once charged me $15 to refill (the already full) wiper-washer reservoir when I took it in for an oil change (just didn't have time to change it myself that time). I told them where they could shove their 15 dollar washer fluid...they make their money on the little things.

Lance

Don't replace the coils just yet, they rarely go bad...you'll probably just end up throwing that $200 away. Check some of the more likely culprits first. The flame trap is what Volvo uses instead of a PCV valve. It's located on the big, black intake pipe between the throttle body and air cleaner. There's a pipe that connects to the intake with a plastic elbow. Twist the elbow counter-clockwise and inside is a plastic device that looks like a strainer. Clean it up well and re-insert it.

Lance