My mentality regarding my volvo has definitely changed over the past year. I went from wanting to drive it until something expensive broke and then ditch it; to wanting to dump it while it still runs; to wanting to keep it and turn it into a better than new. Though I care less about cosemetics.
My engine is running so well, not burning any oil (in fact I have about 800 miles on my current oil and it is still amber in color), passing emissions extremely well...I just can't let her die out of neglect.

Anyway. What's on my mind now is that I don't like the way my engine starts. It takes a good 5-6 turnovers before it ignites, and that is just not good for me. I want to just briefly tap the starter and have a nice purring machine. So I'm thinking 2-3 turnovers maximum.

I want to replace everything I can that would be getting in the way of a good quick start, with better than stock parts if possible.

Is it true that higher octane gas is actually more difficult to ignite than lower octane? If so, it may that I run 89 rated octane fuel in her that is possibly contributing to the "hard" starts. That's something I won't change.

So, if you have some advice or recommendations, please share.

This may sound silly to most of you, but I am increasingly interested in doing performance oriented tuning to my Volvo, perhaps tracking it lightly from time to time, someday. I love the "sleeper" possibilities with this car, and the thought of creating incredulity with other racers...

Kevin

Make sure you are getting enough intake air AND have very free flowing exhaust system.. I am sold on NGK non-platinum..I tried Bosch Platinum I was not impressed..Ran worse..I also use the Mobil 1 oil filter large can..and run Mobil 1 10/30..
--
j=hn,,1985, 245:GLTi 241k mi..so.california

fuel pump check valve... bad one causes the fuel to drain back.. and takes abit for the fuel pump when starting to get the fuel to the injectors...

Kevin
--
1980 244DL, 1982 245GL, 1987 744GLE, 1991 245SE, 1996 855GLT, 2001 V70

My '91 245 always starts on the third revolution, hot or cold, fresh tune-up or old. The '87 245 almost always starts with the touch of the key.

I always assumed it was the nature of the beast and never questioned it. The '91 is different in several regards from the '87. It gets more power from less fuel, so I don't complain.

I agree that platinum plugs (any brand) are a waste of money in a Volvo. I have Bosch platinums in the '91 245 at the moment just to try them out - no noticable difference. My favorite spark plugs are NippoDenso, but they are getting harder and harder to find. For vintage kick-start motorcycles, where you REALLY want it to start on the first kick regardless of the condition of the battery, coil, or points, I like racing platinum plugs (the center pin looks like a needle) but those are VERY expensive.

The comparison of platinum to copper was puzzling. The planinum is only plated on the tip. In theory, platinum is a good choice because it is not oxidized easily nor eroded by the arcing. No plug has platinum up the center, nor do any plugs have copper at the tip exposed to combustion and arcing. Also, relative resistance is not really an issue in spark plugs because they have a significant amount of electrical resistance by design.

Besides tuneup, I would look into getting high performance ignition cables (8mm at least), platinum spark plugs (not sure if there are ny for Volvo) and maybe replacing the battery. I have hig perf cables and a new battery...mine fires up at the turn of the key!!

I have used synthetic oil for the past 10k miles (changed every 5k) and no signs of it burnng oil. I use 5w30, if that tells you how tight the engine is. It has over 175k on it and drive it 3 days/wk, 160 miles/day at 80-90mph avg speed. After all that driving, the oil is still golden (maybe with a little carbon in it)!

Like you I am bit of a perfectionist....more like a crazy-ass perfectionist! I am always looking for ways to 'better' things. The car is always crispy clean, inside-out (snow/rain/sun)....any slight vibration, I am under the car checking things....am I crazy? My wife thinks so...I tell her it sort of a sickness I was born with!! I doubt there is any cure for this...

Cheers,
SM
--
90 BMW 325is, 98 BMW 528i, 90 Volvo 240DL

Given that the Bosch ignition system (and I suppose the Chrysler one too)
will deliver more than enough electricity to ignite pump fuel, IMO up
rated plug wires are a waste of money. The Bougicord (the OEM) wires I
got from IPD (and are available from most every Volvo parts house) work
great and apparently tend to last for a while.

Platinum plugs also strike me as a waste of money. Why? Copper is the
better conductor of electricity, copper is cheaper, and copper works
extremely well for a spark plug. I haven't heard too many good things
about platinum plugs (especially the Bosch ones), but I've heard plenty of
bad to awful things (again, especially about the Bosch ones). Why spend
the $$? NGK makes a great plug, for great money. Hey if copper is good
enough for an OE plug on a rotary engine and *most* forced induction
engines, who am I to say different?

- alex

'85 244 Turbo

Hi Alex,
I just wanted to ask you to step back and think about judging the high performance parts as a waste. It's all relative. In three, no more than four
years, especially with a turbo you are going to be buying those cheap Bougicord wires again. In three or four years the lifetime warranteed Bosch wires should still be doing their job and if not you may be able to replace them for free/cheap.

Platinum plugs were developed to help high performance motors prevent spark plug
fouling. The different metals used in plugs all have their benefits and uses. I
agree for many applications you dont' need anything more than copper. However,
even Volvo specified silver spark plugs for your car (1983) from the factory. The heat conduction of the metal is another factor considered, not just the electrical conduction.


Buying high performance or higher quality parts is very often a savings because
the service life of the part is much longer. Sometimes more than 3 times the
length of time. Hope this helps you some. Happy rolling!
Dave 82 242ti 277k mi.

Zuh? High performance parts are great. If I found parts that I believed would make a difference over the stock parts, I'd buy them hands down. Gotta love the polyurethane alternator mount bushings. K&N air filters, silly platinum plugs, and expensive wires really aren't high performance. The stock air filter flows more than a stock Chevy 350 air filter, the copper plugs withstand the turbo abuse better, and the stock wires hold up extremely well.. I'd have to be running quite a bit more boost than I am right now before I'd consider any part of the ignition system a weak link.

Bougicord is the OE supplier to Volvo, IMO at about $40 they hardly qualify as cheap wires. I don't recall seeing any real complaints about the quality of these wires, turbo engine or not. Nor do I recall seeing Bosch wires (except for the OHV engines) being sold my my two favorite parts houses (IPD and FCP Groton), but they do offer the Bougies.. I'm quite confident that the wires will last a while, but of course only time will tell.

From what I've seen, most auto makers do not recommend the use of platinum plugs in their forced induction (or otherwise high perf) engines. My Taurus with its Vulcan V6 had platinum plugs, yet the SHO V6 motor (roughly twice the output) did not. If the platinum plugs are superior, why would the SHO motor not have them? In fact of th¯ Taurus motors, only the Vulcan V6 came from Ford (at least in 89) with platinum plugs. Neither the larger, more powerful, V6 nor the Super High Output V6 came with em.

It's my understanding that the platinum plugs were mainly an choice of economy. They can be ignored for about 100k miles, and thus allow auto makers to claim rediculous tune up intervals. Let's not forget the explicit warnings against running platinums in a turbo motor.

Again, my choice on plugs (NGK Copper) is based on seeing:

a.) complaints of poor running with platinum plugs (lots of them Bosch)
b.) complaints of poor QC with Bosch plugs in general
c.) Mazda recommending NGK plugs for the Rx-7 (certainly a demanding motor)
d.) IPD selling the copper NGK plugs almost exclusively
e.) FCP Groton explcitly recommending against Bosch +4 platinums being used with 700 series turbo motors
f.) My favorite warning (http://forums.audiworld.com/a4/msgs/1144943.phtml):

"WARNING: These are NOT for a turbo!!!! The higher temps in a turbo's cylinders can cause one of the platinum tips to burn through and fall into the cylinder. You don't wanna think about what happens next *shudder*."

g.) Price. The NGK copper plugs aren't the cheapest out there, but they're quite reasonable at about $2/plug.

How great could they be if they can't stand up to my motor?

- alex

'85 244 Turbo

The indie Volvo shop I use recommends against platinum plugs on *any* engine. They pull them in favor of standard copper whenever they discover them on a customer's car.

The owner says they burn out the rotor.

Doug Harvey

It is most likely a leak in you fuel system. Quite possibly the fuel pump check valve. The valve costs a few bucks and screws into the fuel pump. What I do is turn the key on and off really quick and it cycles the fuel pumps. THe pumps dont cycle with one turn of the key for some reason. After I do that, she starts in like 1 turn of the engine, even in cold weather. If I dont cycle the pumps, it takes 5-6 turns to start. The problem could be anywhere in the high pressure side of the fuel system. Could also be the cold start valve but doubtful. I would start by replacing the fuel pump check valve and see if that does it.

Matt
--
'82 DL - 150k, '93 945 - 96k

I agree with you 100%... think check valve.

My car used to cycle the fuel pump(s) any time I flicked the ignition into
position 2. This made for easy starts. Now I've gotta flick it to start
momentarily so the pumps will cycle. *sigh*

Of course the proper way to do this is to check the residual fuel pressure
(I believe the Bentley manual states that it should retain x PSI for about
20 minutes after you've run the car). Checking the pressure is, IIRC,
easier on the LH-Jetronic cars.. at least on the K-Jet cars you need all
sorts of funky attachments.

- alex

'85 244 Turbo

Sounds like you would want first to do a complete engine tuneup. This would include plugs, cap,rotor, wires, filters (air and fuel)and then see how it runs. There really are so many maintenance items to cover. All vac hoses, throttle body cleaning etc.

I would start there and see what gives. Have fun from CS,TX

dick
--
93-940T + 91-940SE + 87-740GLE = One Happy Volvo Garage!