Howdy all,

I'm a newbie to this whole volvo scene, especially the repair and maintenance aspect. I'm reasonably mechanically inclined, but I'm starting from scratch here, and there's a lot of info to digest, so I appreciate your not flaming me for asking a question on something that's been covered ad nauseum.

Though I've scanned the archives a bit for info regarding 240 stalling, I haven't found exactly what I'm looking for, so figure I'll ask, before screwing something up ;)

I've owned a stock '89 245 with 180k for about 15 months. I started experiencing intermittent stalling several months back. This would happen only when the car was in gear and idling (traffic light, stop sign, etc). Usually it would start right up after stalling, but occasionally it would have to sit for a few minutes first. This was before I decided to try fixing things myself, so I brought the car to a local volvo shop. They replaced the coil wire, cleaned the throttle housing and adjusted the throttle valve switch, installed a new air filter, and replaced the spark plugs and battery. Two days later the problem reappears, so back to the shop. They check the cooling system and end up replacing the thermostat. Problem disappeared for the most part, though the car idled rough for a second or two (more like a single "hiccup") every once and a while. Last week the stalling problem reappeared, and the car seems to be starving for fuel at higher RPMs as well. It's to the point whare I have to pump the pedal at stop signs and such, to prevent a stall. I've decided to tackle this problem myself because the idea of spending $450 for a repair that lasts only 3 months is unacceptable to me, and I'd rather avoid such an expense in the future. The only things I've done so far:

- checked all grounds (all seem fine)
- checked all hose connections between AMM/MAF, throttle housing, and intake manifold (all seems fine)
- cleaned pump relay contacts
- checked throttle valve mechanism -- didn't hear the "click" that apparently I'm supposed to when you manually activate the valve, so I imagine this is at least part of the problem...is this solved by simply adjusting the throttle valve switch?

Part of me thinks it may (also) be the AMM/MAF (which I haven't checked yet), because changing the thermostat solved the problem in the first place, and I've read that a bad AMM/MAF can damage the thermostat...so maybe the thermostat was not the root cause. Also, the stalling doesn't seem to occur until the engine gets up to normal operating temperature (i.e. car runs fine when engine is cold).

Here's what has me confused, though...the car stalls when idleing in gear (and "hiccups" at higher RPMs), but idles absolutely fine when in "park". It's not clear to me whether or not this necessarily implicates the throttle valve.

So, where's the problem...AMM/MAF? thermostat? throttle valve?

Also, the latest emissions readings (taken a few weeks prior to first stalling episode) might provide some insight (the values seem low to me...):
@IDLE @2500RPM Limit(PA)
CO% 0.12 0.51 1.2
HCppm 82 41 220

Any suggestions would be greatly appreciated. Sorry for the long post.

Thanks.

- Mark

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'89 245DL 180k
'84 245Tic 155k