Volvo RWD 700 Forum

Sib,

It's possible the timing may appear to be way advanced if the inner and outer rings on the harmonic balancer (crank pulley) have separated. The rubber that is sandwiched in between can let go and the outer ring with the timing mark will shift, making the mark useless. You can check to see if they have separted by scribing a line from outer to inner rings with a white paint. After the engine runs a bit(that could be a problem in your case) you can check to see if the line on the inner and outer rings still lines up. If not the HB needs to be replaced. There's no way to use the timing mark to set the ignition timing if the outer ring isn't locked to the inner. For what it's worth, when my daughter's 86 245DL AMM went south it wouldn't rev, backfired through the intake and did act a lot like what your Brick seems to be is doing. So that could be the problem or part of it. If the AMM is bad check the air box thermostat and hot air door. Replacing the AMM with the hot side wide open may just toast another Air Mass Meter. Check the FAQ and archives for details on the HB, AMM and air box thermostat. Hope this helps. Good Luck