Flame trap removal 240

The recent thread on flame traps and oil being blown through seals
caused me pause. I've got oil blowing through the front seals, behind
the water pump pulley and the lower pully from the looks of it. The
odds are better that 50-50 that the flame trap is clogged. After much
searching under the hood of my 1990 240, I think I've found it by
tracing hoses to it (none of my manual actually show the location, and
none have instructions for removal).

How the heck do you get the danged thing out of there without removing
the injector rail? Sheesh! And what was volvo thinking? This is a
simple and important item, it ought to be trivial to access and replace.

 

This is a plain text attachment. It should help.
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http://freevision.org/michael/index.html

There really needs to be a weekly FAQ posted here about the flame

trap. On early nonturbo (the turbo doesn't have one) fours, it is

located between the third and fourth branches of the intake manifold, a

bit below the manifold. On '88 and later models, it is located in about

the same place, but is a bit higher - a little above the manifold. It's

a plastic "Y" or "T" - like junction, containing a plastic screen (I

believe the turbo has the junction only). While the screen can be

cleaned and reused, it is much easier to replace the whole unit - it's

cheap. The two large hoses that connect to the trap just need a quick

look to be sure they aren't blocked with gunk, while the small vacuum

hose (that runs from the small (and fragile) plastic nipple on the trap

to a small brass nipple on the intake manifold) should be replaced, or

at least checked carefully for free airflow. The brass nipple should be

unscrewed from the manifold, cleaned out, and replaced. The job takes

from 45 to 90 minutes the first time, but should be much easier and

quicker once you've done it once.

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"Against ignorance, the Dogs themselves contend in vain."

 

Thank you. The question remains as to *how* to get the doggone thing
out. I can't reach it from underneath the intake manifold because my
ham-like hand won't fit, and I can't reach it from the top because the
big fat tube attached up there leaves just about no space to get my
fingers around it to grab it and yank it off.

Can I check the flame trap without removing it? For example, if I pull
the small rubber hose that runs from the small nipple on the trap to the
brass nipple on the intake manifold, should there be positive pressure
or a vacuum? Or could I not tell from this if the trap is blocked?

Also, this small hose, which is rubber, seems a little bit deteriorated
from oil and seems kind of smooshy. Is this just a standard piece of
hose I can get at any auto parts store?

 

You just need small hands and a fair amount of patience, it does come
out though. IPD sells a relocation kit to move it up above the manifold
as it's placed on later model 240s.

 

Well, I don't have small hands and patience is not abundant in my soul.
But I did finally get the thing out and no sign of clogging
whatsoever. How does one check the lower hose from the crankcase to the
flame trap? It looks big enough that it oughtn't clog, but you never
know.

Thanks for the tip on the IPD kit, I'll look into that. This ought to
be trivial, and it isn't. I'll have to peek under the hood of the
wife's 1993 240 to see where it is there compared to my 1990.

 

I wouldn't have thought so either, but mine did <8^P

You can do a confidence test by removing the oil filler cap and hooking a
piece of hose to the top of the flame trap housing. When you blow through
the hose and through the crankcase the restriction should be a bit more than
you'd expect from the hose, but not much. If it feels like you are blowing
through a soda straw or worse, plan to remove the hose along with the
oil/air separator box it connects to. (You're gonna wish you had small hands
again! Maybe you can get a helper.) It is held by two bolts with 10mm heads,
and needs to be coaxed up after that due to friction of the o-rings.
Replacement is usually preferred to cleaning because it is hard to clean
well.

Mike

 

Thanks for the idea. Jeez. looking down there, there is no way that I
would have a hope of doing that job myself. One downside of being 6'4"
is hands to match. Headroom is one of the reasons I drive a 240!

 

I tried to check for a clogged breather box while still attached to the
engine. I think I got it here or on the Brickroad site. I have oil
leaking from the front end (seals), above water pump.The flame trap
hoses were checked out and found clear. The flame trap was removed and
cleared. I know I have the leak, but I weanted to find the cause.
Anyway, I drained oil, and puored Gunk engine flush through large hose
on breather box. It flowed right through. Supposed to indicate clear
box. If it goes slowly your supposed to pour through some carb
cleaner and then try the more engine cleaner. After that I poured some
of the old oil through the oil fill to run out some of what was left of
the cleaners in the pan, then return plug and fill with oil.
You do not need to remove the filter and I saved and reused my oil
because I had just changed it, and its leaking pretty good so I have to
keep adding to it. They recommend you do this prior to an oil change.

 

" I have oil
leaking from the front end (seals), above water pump."

Sounds like front cam seal.

I had one work itself loose, causing a major leak.

An easy R&R, if you are mechanically inclined (need a torque wrench to
retorgue the bolts holding down the cam and the valve cover).

 

Those seals do not last forever. Most likely the seal has simply gotten
too old to do it's job.

I just replaced the three front seals on my '93 20 which doing a timing
belt replacement. The cam seal and crank seal were both leaking.

I got Elring replacement seals from eeuroparts.com very inexpensively.

John