Volvo RWD 200 Forum

INDEX FOR 10/2025(CURRENT) INDEX FOR 9/2010 200 INDEX

[<<]  [>>]


THREADED THREADED EXPANDED FLAT PRINT ALL
MESSAGES IN THIS THREAD




  REPLY TO THIS MESSAGE    PRINT   SAVE 

Not a happy runner - PCV woes?? 200 1990

posted by  berryb on  Mon Oct 18 09:44 CST 2010
Author: [PROFILE] [EVERY POST] [THREADS] [BEST POSTS] RSS Feed     [IGNORE ALL POSTS]
last visit: Tue May 21 18:01 CST 2013
[RELATED]

My engine isn't the happy runner it was only months ago. I have done a bunch of trouble shooting and checks and nothing has resolved it yet. Two mechanics have pocketed about $100 each to state that everything seems to be in order (pisses me off slightly).

Symptoms: Not quite sluggish but certainly less peppy acceleration. Some faint additional noises sounding like air leaking or metal to metal friction. Noises are continuous but more pronounced when engine is under load.

Tested: flame trap, breather box, and attached hoses and nipples are all clear. Oil filler cap seems to fail the jiggle test nevertheless. Cleaned all earth connections I could find. Replaced the 25A fuse. Checked for vacuum leaks but all hoses looked good. No oil loss. Engine codes are 1-1-1. Spark plugs were gray with a bit of carbon on the ring. Engine has 152,000 kms (95,000 miles), been running on synthetic oil and premium gas for the past two years. Timing belt to be done next spring.

NOW - what should I do next!!?!?
Compression test / leakdown test? Start a long replace-this-and-see chain? Look more closely at electric / vacuum / fuel / air systems?

Any help greatly appreciated,

Berry







  •   REPLY TO THIS MESSAGE    PRINT   SAVE 

    Not a happy runner - PCV woes?? 200 1990

    posted by  berryb on  Tue Oct 26 04:26 CST 2010
    Author: [PROFILE] [EVERY POST] [THREADS] [BEST POSTS] RSS Feed     [IGNORE ALL POSTS]
    last visit: Tue May 21 18:01 CST 2013
    [RELATED]

    Thanks for all suggestions,
    This weekend, I cleaned out the IAC and hoses, inspected the AMM and switched out the TB with a cleaned-up one.

    Again it seems to run a bit better now but still not awesome. There is a rough band in the RPM range around 2200-2500 RPM, with more noise and noticeable vibration. Also, the engine takes it time to drop to an idle below 1000 RPM so decelerating and shifting is a bit weird. I have only made three, four trips since the work so it could be that the computer is still optimizing.

    I'll make two more trips tonight - in the meantime... further suggestions?

    B.







  •   REPLY TO THIS MESSAGE    PRINT   SAVE 

    Not a happy runner - PCV woes?? 200 1990

    posted by  j.pelchat on  Sat Oct 23 00:41 CST 2010
    Author: [PROFILE] [EVERY POST] [THREADS] [BEST POSTS] RSS Feed     [IGNORE ALL POSTS]
    last visit: Fri Oct 24 07:02 CST 2014
    [RELATED]

    No one has mentioned removing and cleaning the throttle body, So I will. I consider it an annual job, along with the idle air control. Inspect the hoses and things down in there and have a new gasket ready.
    --
    89 240 Wagon 225K, 94 940 190K








  •   REPLY TO THIS MESSAGE Replies to this message will be emailed.    PRINT   SAVE 

    Not a happy runner - PCV woes?? 200 1990

    posted by  hotcrowd on  Tue Oct 19 14:58 CST 2010
    Author: [PROFILE] [EVERY POST] [THREADS] [BEST POSTS] RSS Feed     [IGNORE ALL POSTS]
    last visit: Fri Feb 1 08:54 CST 2013
    [RELATED]

    Hi Berry,

    I have the same model 240 as you. I have gone through nearly everything on my own car to get it running perfectly. Here is what else I would do.

    1. Clean off all the fuses. (I assume you did)
    2. Spray AMM/MAF meter with proper cleaner. Let dry completely before starting.
    3. Check for frayed wires on the Crank RPM position sensor and wiring under the front of engine oil pan.
    4. I completely replaced the pcv hoses, oil separator box and flame trap on mine before it cleared up and ran smooth.

    That's all I know at this point. Best of success!

    See also my blog - (volvo 240 page tab at top of blog)
    www.hotcrowd.wordpress.com

    Brandon in Franklin, TN








    •   REPLY TO THIS MESSAGE    PRINT   SAVE 

      Not a happy runner - PCV woes?? 200 1990

      posted by  berryb on  Fri Oct 22 06:51 CST 2010
      Author: [PROFILE] [EVERY POST] [THREADS] [BEST POSTS] RSS Feed     [IGNORE ALL POSTS]
      last visit: Tue May 21 18:01 CST 2013
      [RELATED]

      Thanks Brandon,

      A bit of progress: it's running better now - it's running okay, even, I'd say. Still not super so I might continue tweaking things.

      Did two things between then and now:

      (1) changed the oil, and as the drain plug was out, poured engine flush down the breather box. Junk in the breather box and in the pipe down the oil pan may have flushed out. Then filled it with fresh Mob1l-1 (5W30).
      That improved things a little;

      (2) took out the intake bellows to inspect the TB and AMM. Brought it inside and lo and behold, found two small rub holes in the bellows. This underlines an important thing: holes can be impossible to spot when the bellows are still in the car, will still be hard to see when out of the car, but become clearly visible only upon close examination. The ideal way to spot holes is: shove a worklight into the bellows in a darkened room. The holes light up like distant stars.
      Changing the bellows with a better one I had kicking around helped another bit.

      I'll look at another few things this weekend and will keep you posted.







      •   REPLY TO THIS MESSAGE    PRINT   SAVE 

        Not a happy runner - PCV woes?? 200 1990

        posted by  transit wind on  Fri Oct 22 07:24 CST 2010
        Author: [PROFILE] [EVERY POST] [THREADS] [BEST POSTS] RSS Feed     [IGNORE ALL POSTS]
        last visit: Fri Aug 15 22:40 CST 2014
        [RELATED]

        Someone was failing smog this year and reported having a smoke test done on the intake. The smoke poured out of the intake hose where it met the throttle body. I found it helped my 83 to put some paper gasket material you can buy in a roll. I just cut about an inch or less wide and the width of the roll. Wrap it around the throttle body tight and mark a spot to cut. Try and get it perfect. Then the intake hose can rests on the gasket material rather than only having a lip on the throttle body to seal it. Might help might not. But the material comes in a roll that will last for years to come. It made a noticeable difference on my 83 so I recently added it to the 90 even though it was running fine.








        •   REPLY TO THIS MESSAGE    PRINT   SAVE 

          Not a happy runner - PCV woes?? 200 1990

          posted by  berryb on  Thu Nov 4 03:20 CST 2010
          Author: [PROFILE] [EVERY POST] [THREADS] [BEST POSTS] RSS Feed     [IGNORE ALL POSTS]
          last visit: Tue May 21 18:01 CST 2013
          [RELATED]

          It seems that something I did straightened out the rough running. The car is running well again (knock on wood).

          The last few things I did was re-clean the throttle body and IAC, and clean the in-wire O2 sensor connector.

          I had cleaned the TB and IAC but redid it using Throttle-Body-Cleaner--The-Aerosol rather than Fuel-Injector-Cleaner--The-Fuel-Additive. Although the FI cleaner removed the grime quite well, it left an oily film. If this stuff has a shelf live, my bottle surely surpassed that.

          The O2 sensor was a suspect because it was part of the last job I did on the car a month or two before it started to run rough (I switched out a rotten cat for a good one (+ O2 sensor) I had lying around). Upon reexamining, the connector contacts seemed only slightly corroded but supposedly a small voltage drop could confuse the ECU. So a quick spray with contact cleaner it was.

          After that, of course, it took two, three days for the computer to reoptimize -- so which of the last jobs did the trick will stay a mystery.


          Thanks, all,

          Berry






<< < > >>



©Jarrod Stenberg 1997-2022. All material except where indicated.


All participants agree to these terms.

Brickboard.com is not affiliated with nor sponsored by AB Volvo, Volvo Car Corporation, Volvo Cars of North America, Inc. or Ford Motor Company. Brickboard.com is a Volvo owner/enthusiast site, similar to a club, and does not intend to pose as an official Volvo site. The official Volvo site can be found here.