1986 240 DL - intermittent lack of power coupled with overheatedexhaust manifold

Discussion in 'Volvo 240' started by David, Oct 2, 2003.

  1. David

    David Guest

    My 86 240 DL nearly left me walking home from work. Had 2 episodes:

    The first time, the car seemed low on power. Could only go about 65 mph.
    Got home and popped the hood, in the dark of night the #3 & #4 exhaust
    manifold pipes were glowing red. Felt like it was running on 3
    cylinders, checked plug wires and one shocked me, so I replaced them.
    Everything seemed fine during testing and the next day. Thought I
    was done...

    The next afternoon, however, the problem returned as soon as I hit
    the highway. I could only run about 45 on flat ground. Manifold was
    hot again. Tried slowly increasing the engine speed while in park,
    runs fine up to between 2000 and 3000 rpm, but after that the engine
    would just sputter.

    Parked it a few days, just drove it around town tonight, no problems
    at all. I hate intermittent problems...


    My thoughts, please throw in your $0.02:

    1. Clogged fuel filter (did check the fuel pressure regulator, it is
    working but I don't have a gauge to measure the actual pressure).
    I may just replace this over the weekend anyway, it is after all
    a regular maintenence item (got the car used, don't know when it
    was changed last)

    2. Clogged exhaust, as in the catalytic converter.

    3. Bad air mass meter.

    Thanks for the input - David
     
    David, Oct 2, 2003
    #1
  2. Sounds like a worn cam or something electrical. You are basically
    missing two cylinders and the others are running hard to compensate,
    probably quite a bit higher rpms.
     
    Joseph Oberlander, Oct 2, 2003
    #2
  3. I remember reading somewhere that could also be caused by timing being
    severely retarded; it applied to turbo-equipped models, but I'm assuming
    that it could also be applied to non-turbo models.

    Tony
     
    Anthony Flint, Oct 2, 2003
    #3
  4. David

    volvowrench Guest

    There are two problems:

    1. The engine is running rich for some reason--bad injector or pushing
    oil into the exhaust.

    2. Because of 1. the cat is restricted and overheating, hence the build
    up of heat in the exhaust runners.

    Bob
     
    volvowrench, Oct 2, 2003
    #4
  5. David

    David Guest

    Thanks for the advice. It *might* be running rich, will check the plugs
    & tailpipe for evidence. The engine has never used a drop of oil (hardly
    even gets it dirty). I'm gonna drive it locally this weekend to try to
    catch it in the act. But so far it ONLY fails when I'm making the 40
    mile trek home after a long day of work ;-)
     
    David, Oct 4, 2003
    #5
  6. David

    Mike F Guest

    I'd also try a new set of plugs in case they're breaking down, as well
    as the cap and rotor.
     
    Mike F, Oct 6, 2003
    #6
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