Hey,
I bought this Wagon three years ago with 100K miles on it and generally it has run well and not needed excessive repairs. It now has 134K miles on it. Things that have been done (of significance,outside of regular maintenance) since I bought it are as follows. Most work performed at shops. Have always maintained oil changes/brake pads,and all other regular ongoing maintenance in addition to what I list here.

1) Replaced main fuel pump and filter with after market shortly after buying the car.

2) 2000. I replace heater thermostat.

3) 2001. Volvo shop replaces timing belt,tensioner and bearings.

4) 2002. Muffler system replaced at Midas.

5) 2002. I replace main fuel pump and Volvo dealer replaces fuel pressure regulator.

Several months ago I noticed the car was hard to start cold. A month later I noticed difficulty in getting fuel and finally one day I barely made it home. Hesistations,sputters and 5 mph with the accelerator to the floor. Got fuel fine after putting in new Delco fuel pump. Still hard starting cold and after new fuel pressure reg. put in by dealer it starts fine. Concern is that with less that half a tank of gas I notice the fuel pump (which always emits a slight,consistent hum) has a louder,higher pitched erratic hum.
This erratic hum is not consistent either. More concerning is that I still notice an "occasional" hesitation in the car getting fuel. Very sporadic and mostly at low mph. Still starts fine however.

Currently being looked at by gargage which specializes in Volvos and friends who have Volvos have had great things to say about. He's done some diagnotics which tell him that the two pumps seem to be working fine. He did say I should have replaced the fuel filter at the same time as the pump and will be doing that now. He will be running some electrical tests to see if he can tie them to the erratic sounding pump? During test drives he noticed blue smoke indication high hydrocarbon? emmissions from the muffler. He mentioned he may need to replace some sort of computer which he can get used for $300.00. I'm obviously not a skilled home mechanic and am trying my best to relay the information I discussed with this mechanic. This need is yet to be determined. I only found this site and forum today and have quickly gleaned that this 16v model was a quirky one and prone to problems. I've put in $2600 over the past 3.5 years (which includes every oil change,light bulb etc) which I find acceptable. Tha car is paid for but I have no desire nor am I in the position to take on another car payment.

Thanks for bearing with me. I have two specific questions to ask after all this background.

1) What are your thoughts/diagnosis about this fuel/fuel pump problem.
Also with regard to the smoke issue.

2) What can I expect in the future based on the history of this model.

Thanks so much for any thoughts and observations.



Vance