Is it normal for the 1990 740 GLE Volvo Wagon 16 valve to sort of whine while excelerating. The engine idles well. It has a new timing belt and all new belts. It has a new alternator. I change the oil regularly. It sounds like a high pitched sound only when I give it gas. Someone told me it was a normal sound of a Volvo. There are no leaks. The gas mileage is about 150 per tank is this good or bad? And does the gas mileage have anything to do with it? I changed the fuel relay recently since it was stalling, and it has not stalled once since replacing this a month ago.

Do you know if it has hydraulic lifters?

850s have hydraulic lifters and have almost no valve train noise.

Solid lifters or tappet buckets make some noise when cold and quiet up a bit when warm.

The B20 in my 544 has solid lifters, it is not really noisy, but does have a mechanical sound to it - it does not make more noise when accelerating as other sounds mask valve train noise.

If your car has solid lifters (I have driven one on a test drive and I think that it does) , have they ever been adjusted according to the schedule in your owner's manual? Many people fail to do this as the engine will run even if they are out of adjustment.

I would call some Volvo indies and dealers to find out if any of their techs are familiar with your engine (many are not). A mechanic who hsa worked on 16v engines probably can tell you if the noise is correct in a minute.

BTW - do a search for Volvo shops and dealers on the internet - I was surprised how many indie shops were listed for my state, MA.

Let me preference I know nothing about the 16v motor. But can you duplicate the sound in neutral reving the engine? If so, suspect engine, belts, pulleys, etc.
If only going down the road. Tranny, drive train, etc.
150mile per tank? That is horrible.
You can't accurately get miles per gallon by how many miles on a tank. Fill it up, reset your trip meter to zero. Drive until you need gas. Fill it, note the trip meter mileage and the gallons it took. Divide mileage by the gallons=mpg
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Post Back. That's whats makes this forum work.

Do you have an illuminated Check Engine Light? If so, use the FAQ and pull the OBD codes. If not, make sure your Check Engine light is working when you start the motor...it should come on, then go off.

I second that 150 miles is pretty low. Even your older 700 with the 60 liter tank (15.8 gallons) should easily go 200-250 miles around town and more on the highway. That's going from completely full to nearly empty. As stated by aleekat, you need to do some math to get an exact mpg figure and post back.

Mileage can also be affected by how much, if any, ethanol is in your fuel. On Ethanol-10, high teens is the minimum I would expect in normal city driving. If you're getting 150 miles on anything near 3/4 to a full tank, something is going on. Fuel doesn't disappear.

Malfunctioning lambda sensors or a malfunctioning Air Mass Meter (AMM) are common issues that can negatively affect your economy.

My knowledge is primarily with the single-cam motor, but the twin cams do have a different sound...cams do whine to a degree but it's all relative. I'd make sure all your belts are properly tensioned if cam whine is of concern. The twin cam motors are especially important to keep the belts properly tensioned as this is an interference engine and a belt breaking is a catastrophic event.
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A bottle of oil and some basic tools in the trunk. The highway is calling. Always remember the difference between durability and reliability. Embrace the old Volvo in your driveway. She's eager to please and, with a little TLC (and a few headaches), sh