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Friends,
I'm currently working on my Daughter's 2007 S60. the car has 150,000 miles on the clock, and its been well cared for. On the way back home this past Monday evening, she told be the car began to mis-fire and shudder violently while going up a very long hill, to the point that the car threw a code and had to be towed back home. After getting her back home, I read the codes and it claimed a misfire on coil pack 3, but also had catalytic converter damage to boot! I immediately changed the plugs(all looked good) and ordered 5 new coil packs.I did the extended test drive after the plugs and coil-packs only to have the car exhibit the same shuddering that she described before this recent work. Car runs great on the flat, but exhibits this shuddering while going up a long grade, then straightens out immediately after. (no new codes after the plugs/coils, just the shuddering).
Could I have a plugged catalytic converter?
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Does it feel like the car is losing power during its shuddering? A catalytic converter may not get plugged instantly. You have to experience gradual loss of power over time, before the catalytic converter is plugged.
Also, 150k miles are not too many for a plugged cat. converter, unless the gas that has been used over time was not of high quality (e.g., top tier gasoline). Other complicating factors are also the maintenance of the car over time and the way it has been driven.
Also, there is a rather simple check to do and see the condition of your cat. converter. There is a way of probing the T before and mainly after the converter and that could give a rather good ballpark idea of the cat. converter's condition. About 9 years ago, one of the dealers I no longer go to diagnosed that among other things my car's cat. converter (an 850 turbo sedan 1995) was shot! After I thanked them, I went to an indie who did the kind of test mentioned above (and I can tell you as a chemical engineer that it really makes good sense and it is effective) and he told me that our 850's converter was fine. 9 years later (and 23 years, 215+k miles since I bought the car) my converter is fine, perhaps with a slight loss of power I feel when I really accelerate hard for quiet a bit and many times in a row!
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Thanks for your suggestion, but the car runs great now that I've replaced the iridium plugs with the NGKs as suggested by Chris. These iridium plugs were the curse of this problem.
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I would suspect fuel filter at 150K, not a defective cat. But, you are correct that it would be nice to watch a fuel pressure gauge while driving.
For recall info: http://www.volvocars.com/us/own/additional-choices/recall-information
You will need the VIN.
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Keeping it running is better than buying new
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Thanks for the link to the Volvo web site to check he vin for recalls, no recall on this vehicle. I do have access to a scan tool that allows me to view selected attributes of the car. I used this scanner to view fuel pressure. I was thinking the fuel pump might be failing. Unfortunately, the fuel pump pressure corresponds with the demand placed on it.
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Gents, thanks for your help. Since my 1st post, I have replaced the fuel filter and put 2 treatments of Lucas fuel cleaner thru the system ( I've driven 300+ miles this week), but I still get a miss when the cars under a load going up hill and now under hard acceleration on the flat. If I let it buck long enough, I can get it to throw a code showing a misfire in cyl 3. So, with the coil pack and spark plugs replaced, I moved onto a possible injector failure. Went to the pick and pull and pulled all 5 for $25.00, replaced #3 and went for a test drive only to have the same miss crop up? Could it be the autolight iridium plugs that I gapped to .028"?
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I was going to ask you what plugs you are running but the folks here are tired of hearing my my song and dance on that subject. Personally I wouldn't use the iridium plugs. Like so many parts on these cars, the safest bet is to use whatever Volvo sells. They're a bit pricey so I installed NGK BKR6ES in both our 2.4NA and 2.5T cars with VERY satisfactory results. One of them has rolled well over 80,000 miles on the NGK's and still runs great. They're cheap enough ($1.50-$2.50 ea) that it's worth the financial risk to throw a set in there just to see what happens. Oh yeah, the auto parts store will tell you they're the wrong plugs for you car - ignore him/her.
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Chris,
Thanks for your suggestion on the plug change, I picked up a set of the NGK BKR6ES plugs and I'll give them a try this evening. I'll also check out Claus's suggestion and swap the #3 coil pack to the number two position to see if the mis code is triggered by the coil pack.
Here's the odd thing that I learned this weekend. the mis not only shows up while climbing hills, but also while under hard acceleration! Here the kicker, once the car starts to mis, you can resolve the mis-fire by turning off the motor and restarting!
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Changed the plugs tonight to find that one of the fresh the Autolite iridium plugs that I had installed last wee was missing it's electrode. Changed to the NGKs as recommended by Chris. Went for a short 5 minute mile test drive with no misses. Tomorrow I do my normal 120 mile commute, I'll report back.
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OUCH! If that electrode gets caught in the exhaust valve...
I would find a local mechanic and pay him to make a house call with a scope and a magnet. It is possible for the electrode to be cleanly sucked out the exhaust, but a valve replacement is expensive.
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Keeping it running is better than buying new
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When I discovered the broken electrode, I did the fishing expedition with a magnet, but no luck finding the missing bit. I'm more concerned about it coming in contact with the turbo exhaust fan more than the exhaust valve. As for the plugs, I've now driven the car on the fresh NGKs for over 275 miles without a miss. While I can speak for all iridium plugs, the Autolites need to be avoided for Volvo S60 applications. So much for Advance auto's computer listing claiming that Autolite Iridium plugs were OEM spec.
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Move the spark plug and coil to #2 and see if the code moves to #2 cylinder?
I assume the plugs are clean. While I am not a fan of iridium plugs, you may want to get a compression test/leak down test for #3.
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Keeping it running is better than buying new
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I would suspect a fuel pressure issue, especially when it occurs going up hill and you're demanding more power. It would be nice to connect a fuel pressure gauge to the fuel rail schrader valve and place the gauge where it can be monitored while driving, like tape it to the windshield where you can watch it.
If it hasn't been replaced yet, and maybe even if it HAS been replaced sometime in the past, the fuel pressure sensor may be failing. Volvo had a recall going that would provide one free sensor for certain VIN numbers. You might call Volvo customer service and see if your daughters car is included.
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Current rides: 2005 Volvo S80 2.5T, 2003 Volvo V70 2.4NA, 1973 Volvo 1800ES (getting ever closer to road worthiness)
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