Volvo service... new throttle body or ETM?

Guest · Post by **Guest** » 02 May 2005, 09:03

I just wanted to let WhiteTurbo know that cleaning the Throttle Body (ETM) appears to have worked for now on the '94 850. No stalls during deceleration into stops today on the way to work. (See "Official Stalling" Sticky Thread at top of thread index). It was cooler this morning though so I won't really know until the warmer ride home this afternoon. Crosses fingers for stress-free rides to work again. One strange side effect, the battery appears to be stronger now. Could be the slightly higher idle speed now.

I decided not to take the TB off the engine due to having to possibly replace the engine side mounting gasket which I didn't have so I only cleaned it from the flexible hose side after taking the hose/plastic hose elbow off. I used a gasoline soaked rag since it seems to be metal and also a can of rusty bolt lubricant because I have that small straw that comes with the can sometimes mounted to it to direct spray right to the flap (butterfly valve?) hinge area spots on each side. Let it air out a long time before I reassembeld everything. It was crusty looking with that brownish varnish build-up. The plastic hose elow had al kinds of oil laying in it but I didn't want to use gas on that cleaning so I just tried to clean up with dry paper towel.

I also tried to clean out the Flame Trap while I had the hard plastic flexible hose elbow off which I heard may affect this stalling problem but even more importantly will prevent oil pressure build-up in the engine if it gets too clogged (I was having oil seemingly disappear, it didn't seem to be burning but I was filling the level a lot more) . Thing is though, the FT was so old and crusty that the Flame Trap AND the FT housing it was in crumbled apart at the bottom. Since I didn't have a Flame Trap I just put the assembly back together after dry towel cleaning it up WITHOUT the Flame Trap. I was going to run it a week to see if it was OK and then replace it (FT, housing and rubber O-Ring next weekend. The connection is shaky since I only have the top "nob" holding the asembly together since the bottom "nob" is gone. I probably should have electrical taped it for now to beef up the seating.

Is this a bad idea to run W/O the Flame Trap? Will it cause permanant damage to the engine? I thought I read a guy who was a former volvo mechanic saying although there is no official guidance on this, he felt you could probably get away with not replacing it.

WT, Thanks again for your help and what do you think of the FT issue?

Guest · Post by **Guest** » 03 May 2005, 18:45

Only the N/A engines use a flame trap. The turbo leaves it out.

Guest Too · Post by **Guest Too** » 04 May 2005, 08:32

My 850 is an n/a.

Does this mean that the Turbo model engines can't blow up from an improbable engine "backfire event" since it's a different fuel delivery/fuel ignition design (or is it)? ; ) or are you in the FT not needed for either model camp?

AJU · Post by **AJU** » 04 May 2005, 08:53

The turbo itself acts as the flame trap in turbo models.

papasven · Post by **papasven** » 12 Aug 2010, 14:11

Ok here we go again.. If I had known in 2004 when we bought our 2000v70xc that I was about be taken hostage by the dealer I would have never bought the car. I haven't taken the car to the dealer as of yet and our 10 extended warranty expired in February. "bring it in and we will read the codes for you , $52.50 ,, and let you know what it needs." I got a pretty good idea of what it needs, after all they extended the waranty to cover this issue.

According to the way the car is running, all indications are that we need a new throttle body or ETM . As I look through this thread there is a nice diagram and tips on how to clean the ETM . Just as I found a video on another thread of how to clean it. However, nothing under my hood is familiar in that diagram or the video. I believe that the item with the yellow sticker is the ETM or damn close to it. The fans and hoses involved make it barely visible let alone workable.

Got tips?

Post by **gmh** » 12 Aug 2010, 20:28

Check out the Don's ETM Room forum on this website. If you read through some of the threads, you'll discover:

You can replace your ETM with a permanent fix available at http://www.xemodex.com/xemodex_013.htm

You can read about others' experiences (myself included) with this product in this thread: https://www.matthewsvolvosite.com/forums ... 12&t=19102

If $550 seems like a lot to pay, you'd almost certainly pay more at the dealer (starting with the $52.50 to read the codes) for an ETM that will eventually fail again even if it were still under warranty! Since yours is not, double!

Your yellow stickered ETM is already the second one in the car as the originals had white stickers.

You can do this yourself with the instructions on this website and the XeModeX website or have an independent Volvo repair shop do it for you and it will still cost less than the dealer replacing it!

Just my $.02

Post by **BEJinFbk** » 12 Aug 2010, 22:06

Guest wrote:I just wanted to let WhiteTurbo know that cleaning the Throttle Body (ETM) appears to have worked for now on the '94 850.

850's don't have ETM's. They were introduced in '99 on the '70 series cars.
Here's the ElDorado of ETM info: https://www.matthewsvolvosite.com/forums ... m.php?f=12

papasven · Post by **papasven** » 13 Aug 2010, 13:50

A little more food for thought. Check engine light has not come on in the past. I just changed the timing belt, water pump, etc.

Erotic idle was a problem before and after TB replacement. The car drives fine other than the throbbing rpms at idle. I fuss about a bit under the hood and disconnect the battery to turn off the check engine light and see just when it comes back on. Today my wife dove the car 100 freeway miles. Turned it of and when she restarted the light came on. gmh says that yellow sticker means that the ETM has been replaced . We bought the car with about 60K and it now has 135. perhaps it is not the ETM.

Post by **igel513** » 13 Aug 2010, 15:27

"Erotic idle was a problem before and after TB replacement"

What could be causing this problem. Pls. keep us posted cuz it's also happening to my S70

Post by **BEJinFbk** » 13 Aug 2010, 15:32

papasven wrote:
Erotic idle was a problem before and after TB replacement.

Hey, watch it there buddy...This is a Family Forum!
Let's keep it "G" rated.