'98 v70 2.4l loss of power

Discussion in 'Volvo V70' started by jciarlan, Sep 13, 2006.

  1. jciarlan

    jciarlan Guest

    Hey!
    I have a 1998 volvo v70 with a 2.4L engine. For quite a long time, it
    has had a noticeable loss of power nearly every time I drive it. On
    occasion, it feels like the the power is normal, -- I think this
    happens after a few days of relatively low humidity. Also, the gas
    mileage is nowhere near as good as it used to be. It seems like having
    the pedal down 1/4 of the way has the same effect as having it down 7/8
    of the way. When the pedal is to the floor there is a noticeable
    throbbing from the engine. When the preformance is poor (as usual) the
    pedal needs to be to the floor in 2nd gear to accelerate onto a
    highway. When the power feels normal I can achieve the same
    acceleration with the pedal about 1/4 of the way down. Spark plugs were
    replaced 12,000 miles ago along with the plug wires and (I think) the
    cap and rotor. If I had to guess, I would say a weak distributor coil.
    Mechanic says its possibly a plugged catalytic converter.
    Thanks!
     
    jciarlan, Sep 13, 2006
    #1
  2. jciarlan

    jciarlan Guest

    Sorry, I forgot to add that this has 140k miles on it.
    Thanks
     
    jciarlan, Sep 13, 2006
    #2
  3. jciarlan

    User Guest

    If there are no codes and the engine is not misfiring then the cat is
    probably restricted. If that's true, then you need to find out why the
    engine runs rich all the time, which is what probably killed the cat.

    Bob
     
    User, Sep 13, 2006
    #3
  4. jciarlan

    Tim.. Guest

    I would also err to a plugged exhaust. Sounds like the cat could have broken
    up and the pieces are moving around sometimes blocking the exhaust.

    Tim..
     
    Tim.., Sep 13, 2006
    #4
  5. jciarlan

    jciarlan Guest

    there are no codes and the engine doesn't misfire, but it does run a
    tiny bit hot, which is why I suspected a rich mixture. This may be a
    coincidence but our mechanic cleaned the injectors near the time this
    happened. Since it runs nicely sometimes I didn't suspect the exhaust.
    Is there some other way to check the catalytic converter without
    removing it? Like the compression being abnormally high or something?
    Also, how would I go about changing the mixture (if possible)?

    ps: right around the time this whole thing started happening the check
    engine light came on with a code PO404 or 440 (I think), meaning that
    the air pump was malfunctioning. The code was cleared and it was
    determined to be a computer glitch, though.

    Thanks a lot!!
     
    jciarlan, Sep 13, 2006
    #5
  6. jciarlan

    Tim.. Guest


    An engine running hot for no other apparent reason is also a sign of a
    plugged exhaust system.

    You may be able to remove the o2 sensor for a short time and road test it.

    Tim..
     
    Tim.., Sep 14, 2006
    #6
  7. jciarlan

    jciarlan Guest

    thanks a lot!
    I will try to remove the o2 sensor. Any ideas on why it would be
    running rich?
    thanks
     
    jciarlan, Sep 14, 2006
    #7
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