Performance & Troubleshooting: KISS Your Throttle

I remembered this tip from my days driving my grandfather’s-passed-down 1971 yellow/black, 2-dr Dodge Dart 318 V8 with “Rallye” wheels (somewhat rare). He bought it new off the lot here in Denver when the kid who ordered it custom couldn’t find the money to complete the purchase when it was delivered. When I got it in 1995 it had 77k miles. True story. Anyway…

It would go like this: I heard from a hot rod friend about a guy with the most hot-rodded car. Problem was it would not perform well, and the owner would scratch his head. He’d think “I’ve got a Holley 4 barrel, a hood scoop bringing in fresh air, new fuel pump, big V8 engine in good tune but I’m not putting in good 1/4 mile times. Why?” The engine was just not making near the horsepower it should have, on paper. Then a buddy one day noticed the throttle would not open all the way when the gas pedal was down because of a simple slack cable condition, or sloppy throttle linkage.

So check that your pedal moves the throttle into wide-open range, with a friend. It’s easy to miss because you need two people to do it (or a brick on the accelerator pedal).

Caveat: 1998 and earlier Volvos only. 1999+ uses an electronic system (ETM) with no mechanical cable.

In automotive troubleshooting philosophy, I’m a big proponent of looking for the simplest, cheapest most obvious solutions first, then move out to the complex solutions. This is possibly the best example of that. KISS = Keep It Simple, Stupid.

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Upcoming Fuel Pump recall

I have a 2001 Volvo S80. Just got off the phone with volvo to see if all the recalls had been performed on the vehicle (ETM software – done; cooling fan – done).

The rep I spoke to informed me that there will be a fuel pump recall on these vehicles. It apparently has not been announced yet, so I dont have any details, but just something to watch the mailbox for

…

If I read the letter correctly, it is Advisory # P29075. It goes on to say that there is a large amount of vehicles involved, so notifications will be done in stages. Since this is from Volvo North America, I’m not sure what other non-US cars would be involved, if any.

If you smell or see fuel, by all means get it checked out right away. If it’s a recall item, you’re eligible for a free repair or reimbursement. If not, you’re out some money, but you’ve taken care of a potentially bad situation.

Upcoming Fuel Pump recall

960 Transmission shift prob, blinking up arrow, code P0500

Just bought a used 1996 960 and it’s started having a transmission shift problem. Sometimes when I drive, the transmission suddenly changes gears, usually downshifting, and seems to have a hard time staying in high gear (overdrive) with steady (slight) throttle.

I get blinking UP arrow on dash, the blinking W S E lights, and Check Engine light. The code reader at Autozone gives code P0500 Speed Sensor.

From what I can tell by searching the forums, the P0500 is many times treated as an ABS problem, but in my case, I don’t have ABS light and my ABS works. Other threads seem to indicate P0500 is PNP switch on gear selector. But I don’t have any problems getting the shifter out of Park and it seems to select lower gears (3 L) just fine.

960 Transmission shift prob, blinking up arrow, code P0500

More problems with the 940

Idles, then Dies – Turns Out it Was the Fuel Pumps

So I got the 940 station wagon running good again. Both fuel pumps were toast. The one in the tank was probably toast some time ago and the one under the driver was doing all the work. I installed pumps from Autozone parts house. The one for the tanks looked exactly the same and fit like a glove. The one under the driver(high pressure)looked to be a universal application and fit with rubber sleeve to make it the right diameter for the clamp. Had to do a little wiring change as the OEM terminals would not hook up. Runs fine though.

Buy the Lifetime Warranty Fuel Pump

When you purchase electric fuel pimps you should purchase one with a limited lifetime warranty. When I drove an 84 VW Jetta, the fuel pump went out. I purchased one from Autozone and it worked for 14 months. The warranty was for 12 months. I bought the replacement one with a lifetime warranty from Carquest. The difference in price was about double. $69.99 compared to $138.99

More problems with the 940

Where are adjustment points for front alignment

That’s correct there is a small amount of adjustment at the bottom strut bolts. With those bolts in one can move the strut in or out slightly to get more or less camber. As the knuckle moves it changes the toe setting slightly, therefore an alignment is a good idea. On my cars I always set the camber as far neg. as it’ll go, it maybe ends up -.25 degrees or so., then I don’t have to worry about resetting the toe if I do upper strut mounts or a lower control arm. Besides, it corners better .

Where are adjustment points for front alignment