Volvo 850 misfiring #2 cylinder

iancam33 · Post by **iancam33** » 31 Dec 2011, 15:12

Hey, Im new to this forum
Ok, so i just bought a used 1995 volvo 850 wagon and it's in really good shape and has been well taken care of, I bought it from someone about 90 miles away from my home and when i test drove it, it was perfect and mechanically sound the guy said it has had a tune up in the past month. So on my way home about 50 miles away it started to lag in acceleration when i would go up a hill or drive straight then the check engine light went on for about five minutes then it started to flash and by that time i was about 40 miles away. I was driving on the highway so i was going about 60 mph the whole way until i stopped on the side of the road real quick and when the car was shaking when i pulled back onto the road it didnt want to accelerate and the check engine light was still flashing. so i pulled off the road again and there was a puddle of water under the engine of the car and when i looked at it, there was some oil dripping into it so i checked the oil and it was fine and when i opened the cap it had some smoke come out not alot though. I took it home and my friend has a shop so we raised the car up and tried to figure out why it was leaking, flashing the check engine light and shaking, it also started making a clicking noise, it seemed to be coming from the bottom of the engine more by the windsheild. We changed the oil and the oil filter, checked a spark plug and it was in good shape.
Im just lost and dont know where to start from ! i read that the flashing CEL means a misfire in a cylinder but how do i fix that and read the code? i just want to know what i need to do and how i can fix it i dont want to pay a mechanic to do it !
Please help!!!!

Problems:
Flashing check engine light!
Shaking/ Idling rough!
Lag in Acceleration Sputtering!
ticking ish noise ! could be oil pan O rings?

iancam33 · Post by **iancam33** » 31 Dec 2011, 15:13

UPDATE
So i tested the spark plugs and the number two cylinder spark plug has a spark but when it was taken out it wouldn't make a difference so that was the one that was misfiring but the spark plugs fine, and then we checked the fuel injector and it is still spitting out fuel so that doesnt need to be replaced either so thats how far i got and now I'm totally stumped and need help !
Thanks.

iancam33

Post by **precopster** » 31 Dec 2011, 23:01

Hi you need to work out which system your car has OBDI or OBDII .

A CEL can be one of many different problems which can make the engine gasp. Did you try swapping spark #2 to another position to see if the problem moves to another cylinder?

If there is a flip up port next to the cigarette lighter with a plug you have the later OBD II system and will need a code reader.

If you have two rectangular boxes in the engine bay just bigger than matchboxes with a small black lead close to one of them you have OBDI system

This link will help you. https://www.matthewsvolvosite.com/volvo- ... -1996-1998

Post by **rspi** » 01 Jan 2012, 17:10

All '95 850's have the OBD-I ports. Most have the OBD-II ports under the coin holder in front of the shifter.

Post by **erikv11** » 01 Jan 2012, 18:49

OP has two threads going on the same topic

https://www.matthewsvolvosite.com/forums ... =1&t=45387

iancam33 · Post by **iancam33** » 01 Jan 2012, 20:14

Yeah I know I accidently double posted sorry..
So I did the Compression test on the cylinders and cylinder # 2 has no compression whatsoever, the other four have 190. The piston is working witch i guess is a good sign.
I guess my next step is to try sea foam to see if it works some miracle.

Post by **jblackburn** » 01 Jan 2012, 20:21

Maybe, but chances are it's a burnt exhaust valve, especially if you have ZERO compression.

It happens pretty often at higher mileages on these engines - some speculate that low-octane gas can do it, but I think it's more from the valves being covered in oil from bad valve stem seals that leak oil down into the cylinders.

iancam33 · Post by **iancam33** » 01 Jan 2012, 20:31

Does each cylinder have an exhaust valve? my car has 130xxx miles on it, I was very surprised that it had zero compression. Its Just weird that all of a sudden while driving home it would do that.

Post by **jblackburn** » 01 Jan 2012, 20:44

Each has two (20v engine). Did your car smoke or use oil at all before?

And/or does it get revved over 2500 RPM every now and then? If the answer to that one is no, you may indeed just have a stuck valve and have a good chance with some Seafoam and beating the crap out of the engine at 4000+ RPM for a few miles.

iancam33 · Post by **iancam33** » 01 Jan 2012, 20:48

No it didnt smoke or burn oil and didnt rev over 2500 rpm.

I think what Im going to do is open it up and see if the valve is broken.
Does anyone know where i could find a diagram of the head?