1993 850 non-turbo Flooding

[kludge]

Occasionally, like once every 2-3 months of months, the engine will flood when trying to start.

It always goes like this: Crank, fires, let off of the key, engine dies. This always means it will take me forever to get it started again... I'll either wear down the battery trying to get it started and then recharge, or I need to get a jump start so I can pump air through the engine to dry things out. Then when it starts I have to keep the revs up for about 30 seconds to a minute or it will die again.

When it does finally start, it will fire intermittently as the revs build until the engine can sustain itself without cranking.

This morning I was home alone, so battery charging it was. After the second failed attempt, I removed all the plugs and let the engine air out while the battery was charging.

That got it started, but I still had to keep the revs up while the engine got going.

Other than the typical plugs and wires, what else should I check? (122k miles)

The plugs don't look worn at all (OEM Volvo - original? idk), but looks like I might have some oil in the combustion chamber. PCV????

[abscate]

It might be a failing Engine coolant temperature sensor - this puppy tells the ECU how much fuel to pump into the cold engine, so if it messes up, you get hard starting or 'lawn mower syndrome'