'95 850 T5 MISFIRE PROBS

[norfolkpauly]

OK, time for an update... I opted for a brand new coil (£40) in the end, fitted it today. No improvement.
So i then cleaned up the maf sensor bits and pieces, along with the air idle control valve. Still no improvement.
Out of desparation i removed the distributor cap (which along with the rotor is also new) and lo and behold-lots of moisture inside. A good wipe-out, a shot of WD40, another wipe to remove the excess, cap back on, and WHOOSH! She ran like a dream.
I also noted that i seem to be leaking a very small amount of oil from where the distributor meets the cylinder head.
Spoke to a volvo main dealer in the area, he said there is a rubber o-ring type thingy between the camshaft and the distributor, which the rotor passes through, so i've ordered one of those to collect tommorow.
I'm just left wondering why i had so much damp in the distributor cap, can anybody shed any light on this please?

[JPC412]

Have you recently had the motor cleaned and power washed?

This exactly happened to me. I completely degreased and washed my entire motor bay with the car running . I even covered the distributor cap. The car was running fine during the process, and then it just shut off. The car would not restart, just crank. I knew immediately that there was moisture in the cap. Sure enough, I undid the three screws and the inside was wet. A quick wipe with a dry cloth and it was sorted.

If you change the cam seal, think about replacing the cap and rotor if you can, they are cheap parts. I would not be surpised to see if your cap has a crack in it.

[norfolkpauly]

Hi there, thanks for the post.
I haven't washed the engine bay, and the distributor cap was brand new 3 weeks ago. I actually am now thinking that if my cam seal is duff, maybe that could have created some condensation in the distributor.
Worth noting- I haven't had a chance to do the cam seal yet. The car did actually misfire slightly today (nothing like it has been).
When I bought the car, it had a stainless "performance" exhaust system on it, which was loud to the point of being horrible, caused a lot of vibration etc. Well, i put a new standard system on it today (not cheap!) and it's like a different car. Much smoother, not having to crank the stereo up to drown out the constant throb, it's wonderful. And I haven't had a single misfire since (done a lot of miles today in all sorts of traffic conditions)
I can't help thinking that these "sports exhausts" are actually detrimental to the general running of the car, I just don't think they're what Volvo had in mind, especially on this space rocket!!

Any thoughts would be greatly appreciated as always.

Paul

[norfolkpauly]

Quick update....3 days and approx 300 miles later, still no problems...

And another one....seems very slightly lumpy on pulling away from standstill. Fuel consumption has dropped back down to 20-20.5, from 25 plus after the distributor cap incident was resolved. As i still haven't had a chance to fit the camseal, i wonder whether if the old seal is defective, could that be generating any condensation back into the distributor cap?......

[norfolkpauly]

OK, I finally got round to replacing the cam seal and sure enough, there were tiny beads of moisture in the distributor cap again.
Hopefully it is now sorted!
Thanks for all the help/advice, and a Merry Christmas to all.

[JPC412]

Good deal! Looks like you're in good form now. Glad to hear it was something minor.