For those who like sad silly tales: I was in a rush to get to work, stopped at a gas station filling up when I saw that I was a quart low on oil. As I put it in, a drop splashed on the intake manifold, right above the sign on the engine that says, "Warning! May cause a fire." Well it did.

My engine was joyously in flame as the alert attendant sprayed it with the fire extinguisher. When we were done cleaning off the white powder from our clothes and the exterior, he said, "You better have it steam cleaned right away!" The car ran fine for the next two days, just as is.

I had it steam cleaned and it looks great---but it doesn't run well at all. Bucking, alternately dying and coming alive, popping sounds inside the engine like a backfire, etc. I changed the cap and rotor and no help. The condenser has lessthat 10K miles on it. Airflow meter and throttle positioning switch check ok.

Any ideas? The mechanic says it is a diagnostic nightmare and want to know if I have $1000 to play around. Help! I like my car, a '93 Volvo Turbo Wagon with only 98K miles on it.