I've had this ol Volvo for 2 and a half years and it's a great deal when I got it...only 500 before fixing brakes and various body and engine issues. It even seems to run better in the colder monthes too.

One thing that's bothered me is that I usually keep accelerator pedal only slightly depressed running the manual transmission thru the gears at a steady 2500 to 3000 rpms and that's dandy for gas mileage and getting places at a reasonable but not speedy clip. I didn't buy a heavy car with relative low horsepower 4 banger for speed.

What annoys me though is going up hills. I use the gears and higher rpms then and I could get to a ski resort every day of the week and still keep up with the lighter Suburus etc with my cooper studded snowtires... But forever that last half of accelerator pedal is mostly useless for me. I steep on it and if is just past a third or half of play the engine just seems to surge and do nothing but seem to spin out of usefull momentum.........almost like an automatic trans, not working or something. I know I probably need new timing belt (still not done yet), new sparks, maybe new cap and rotor although with elect ignition maybe not so important.... (and I also couldn't get the rotor off...is there a trick? -- I pulled hard and don't want to break it..) .

My clutch is old and one mechanic thought it needed changing but he was wrong and you can get a lot of miles out of an old clutch as it's always changing gears fine enough. I have a rear oil leak but even that's a little less now since changeing PCV valve thingy...(didn't seem clogged but dirty and now, surprise, less leaking for and aft since...check them things!!)
This riddle is still bothering me. First part of accelerator pedal gives me the ompf to do normal driving, compression seems good, and am not losing hardly any oil, and starts up fine...but when I stomp on gas.... the last bit of accelerator pedal travel just makes the engine seem to spin out like it was on ice or something: drivetrain or electrical/fuel/engine problem???

Dave,

So these are the symtoms, you are in third or fourth, going up hill, you step on the gas and the revs come up but it adds nothing to you forward speed.
I'd say your clutch may slipping and could need the clutch cable adjusted. It's easy to check and adjust. You can adjust the cable where it attaches to the release fork extending from the bell housing, under your Brick. There is a plastic threaded adjuster at the end of the cable. What you need to do is make sure there's enough slack in the cable ... about 1/8" (1-3 MM)free play before the cable starts pulling the fork to release the clutch. If it's not slack enough it's like riding the clutch and having it partially disengage. As the clutch wears you need to extend the cable periodically or it will slip. Unusually slipping will show up under load in higher gears.Tightening the adjuster nut will extend the cable and add slack, turning it counter clockwise to will remove free play.
I'd check this adjustment first and you may find all that uphill slipping may just go away. Hope this helps. Good Luck.

Yeah, it's most likely. I've posted in the past about nearly ruining the clutch pulling a VW microbus out of a ditch over a year and half ago. I just expected an aging clutch to give problems in shifting, not higher rpms.

Unfortunately a mechanic said I was out of clutch adjustment travel... but I do the checking this time...(I think also said he changed my pcv...but probably didn't..)

I am surprised that the clutch would shift well but still be slipping in higher rpms. It still seems the most likely problem. I can limp through a few more months and even hills aren't a problem so far but as long as I don't push the accelerator more than a third and it seems fine until that surging, spinning out of motor feel..(like being on ice or having no drive train for a moment. )

I am surprised that the clutch would shift well but still be slipping in higher rpms.

This is actually not strange at all. A clutch that can be completely disenganged will allow a perfect gear change, it doesn't matter if it's worn or not. Only when a clutch cannot be disengaged completely will it give problems. And that has to do with the parts that operate the clutch-plate rather than with the plate itself.

A worn clutch-plate will more likely start slipping. And if the friction surface of a plate wears beyond the recommended minimum thickness, you risk damaging the flywheel (when the rivets start to stand proud of the friction-surface). If that happens, not only does the clutch need to be replaced, you will have to have the flywheel skimmed. So replacing the clutch in time could save you money.

You said that adjustment was no longer possible, then replacing the clutch is something you shouldn't delay much longer.

thanks, i needed that motivation. I can imagine a much better driving experience afterwards.

Dave,

So these are the symtoms ... oops let's try that again.

You don't mention if your car has fuel injection or a carburettor. I think you have the latter, right?

For a relatively small displacement engine you don't need huge carbs. The carbs that are on are probably more than enough for the engine's need for fuel and air. as a result the last bit of pedal travel won't make a lot of difference. In my Amazon it certainly doesn't beyond 3/4 until it reaches high rpms.

But if you mean that the last bit of pedal travel will actually reduce the engine's output, then you have a problem. In my case depressing the accelerator quickly and completely at low speed in high gear will cause the mixture to become too rich, to the point of flooding the engine. If I gradually depress the pedal, the problem isn't nearly as bad. Reason: worn carb jet (replaced needle: little effect, the jet has also worn).

sorry, it's an injected engine...next time I'll post the age too... an '86 245

sometimes I wish I had even an older one though. They had better colors and less electrical problems...but needed more tuning I am sure.