One day suddenly without warning my ’97 V90 wagon became hard to start. I spin it and after half a minute it finally kicks over and runs, At first it runs with a hint of roughness; that is some noticeable stumbles but within seconds it smooths out and drives well. After I shut it off and restart immediately it starts normally but give it a little time and try to start it and it takes a lot of spinning to get it to catch and start. The starter spins the engine like a top.

The fuel pump is something I was thinking and had I been trying to figure this out on my own I’d have replaced it on a bet. I took the car to my mechanic, Independent Volvo in Bakersfield, and I did mention the fuel pump as a possibility but because it ran after starting I still thought something else is the cause. Paul went ahead and replaced the fuel pump and asked me to take it home and drive it to see how it does. He saw some improvement which is true speaking to the likelihood that the old fuel pump was getting close to failure anyway. But even if not running like it should it beats leaving it at the shop over a long weekend. It's drivable but still behaves badly and the new fuel pump's help is marginal.

A significant aspect is that on a day before it ran like a new car. The difficulty starting was sudden and a complete surprise when I came out one morning to start it.