Yesterday the beloved 240 DL Wagon seemed to have a stroke. My wife was driving it down the highway (with a batch of 4th graders on a field trip inside) when the oil light flashed on immediately followed by all the dash indicators flashing on and the car dying. The car thereafter completely refused to start.

We had the car towed home and I've been going through all the suggestions I have been able to find here (and I have the skills to do) yet still no idea what is up. I'm not a mechanic, but I follow directions pretty well.

I have checked for spark at the coil and at the plugs. I don't detect any smell of gas at the exhaust or in the engine bay and I have gone through all the fuses, checked the relays...nothing.

Before I resign myself to a significant bill at the local Volvohaus, does anyone have any additional ideas about where I might focus my attentions towards solving the problem?

Thanks.

Classic broken timing belt symptoms. The I-shaft stops instantly, so no oil pressure. The engine coasts to a stop after a few seconds, so the dash lights remain dark a bit longer.

No damage to the engine.

If you have the tools, desire, and space, the repair will cost you about $20-25 and take several hours.

If the engine has 100k miles or more, consider a new tensioner with the belt. If it has 150k or more, you might also consider new front seals -- it's a logical step while the front of the motor is exposed.

Make a habit of changing the belt at 50k mile intervals -- 100k, 150k, 200k, 250k, 300k, and so on.
--
Don Foster (near Cape Cod, MA)

If it is the timing belt as he says why would he still have spark?
--
David Hunter

Hmm.

Doesn't a '90 use a sensor at the flywheel instead of in the distributor?

This might mean that you could really load up the cylinders with gas.....
--
Don Foster (near Cape Cod, MA)

Yes, in fact you could, or at least the intake manifold. I've seen that sort of symptom a few times.
Typical scenario as described above: Car dies while running. Mom tries to restart the car. And tries again. And again. Sometimes they stop after a few. Sometimes, all the way until the battery is dead.
Of course the car is towed, the belt is diagnosed as the problem, and it gets replaced. Then, it runs like hell for a while since the intake remains loaded with a bit of extra gas, plus you get the normal extra fuel of a cold start- there have been a few that fouled plugs right after a timing belt job.

However, the cylinders don't really get washed down. MAybe one or two- whichever have the intake valves open... because the cam's not turning. The fuel system gets the pulses, and fires the injectors a bit... but the valves never let it into the cylinders. And therefore also not into the exhaust either, which would quickly ruin the cat.
So other than the typical extra starter wear, the prognosis for a failed timing belt is almost always a complete recovery to health and happy Volvoness.

Yeah, ok, that's kinda corny.
--
Rob Bareiss, New London CT ::: '86 244DL- 215K, 87 244DL- 230K, 88 744GLE- 198K, 91 244 180K

Yes, I could see spark at coil (crank angle sensor), but distributor shouldn't be turning.
--
Art Benstein near Baltimore

"I have checked for spark at the coil and at the plugs." Was there any?

First thought is timing belt, as you've looked at the fuses. If you remove the oil filler cap and look inside while someone cranks you should see the cam turning.

An afterthought is the fuel pump relay, though you did mention checking the relays.
--
Art Benstein near Baltimore

Sorry, yes there was spark at the coil and at each plug. I even removed 1 plug to see if it had any issues - gap was good, spark fired, a little sooty but not bad as far as colors and deposits.

I'm checking the timing belt now....and BEHOLD...it's the belt.

Thank you very much for your help.

First, thanks for all the great help. I've made it all the way to removing the timing belt cover, but I can't get the lower half off. It appears to be connected somewhere behind the crank pulley. I've been reading all the posts I can find about securing the pulley so I can remove it, but I'm not having much luck figuring it out.

I also wasn't able to get the air conditioning pump to adjust so I could remove the belt. I loosened every bolt I could that wasn't holding it together and nothing. Trusty pocket knife helped delay dealing with that obstacle...but come time to put it back...

Could someone point me to the posts that have details on getting the lower half of the timing belt cover off? Thank you.

Try this link in the FAQS
http://www.brickboard.com/FAQ/700-900/EngineSealsBeltsVent.htm
Good pluck.