Is this a fuel problem? 1984 Volvo 244 b23f m46

[dougburgy]

and round and round

But....good to throw things at them to look at and research further. PO gutted my thermo flapper before I got my 242. Doesn't bother me a bit. I'm in Oregon, so pretty mild. Plus car is garaged. Those can stick open, or closed, depending on when wax plunger thingy goes bunk...causing some very odd symptoms (and possible damage from overheating, etc)

[dougburgy]

Hey Dustin240, found below on one of the major swedish parts supplier's trouble shooting section (was actually looking for something esle, but thought of you when I read below):

Engine Cold Start Issues: (my comments in parentheses)
Battery discharged or low (doubt that is it)
Fuel system malfunctioning (that's vague)
Injectors leaking (possibly flooding when sitting after turning off?)
Distributor rotor carbon tracked (pop your cap and make sure rotor/cap/internal all in good shape. cheap parts there)

I was thinking your condition sounds like it could be flooding (injectors leaking) as well as fuel starvation. Do you smell a lot of gas when car is being stubborn about starting? If you don't, probably not flooding and more of starving if fuel related.

Also, they had this:

Engine hard start
This can be caused by vapor lock or a sticking fuel pump check valve. A warmed up motor produces a great deal of external heat. Fuel must be kept cool to flow properly through the fuel lines and into the combustion chamber. If the fuel system is exposed to the engine heat, the fuel will vaporize and interrupt the flow of fuel to the motor. This is called vapor lock. A fuel pump has a check valve to prevent the fuel from flowing back toward the fuel tank and to keep some pressure to allow the motor to start easily without having to re-pump the fuel all the way to the motor. This check valve can wear over time causing it to stick and making it harder to start the vehicle.


I've also seen postings of folks reporting very hard starting issues caused by clogged fuel filter. I think those are kind of a bitch on some of the 240's, so probably wouldn't start there. I also know some of the good folks here have you checking for vacuum leaks. I don't know if it's endorsed by others (use caution) but I've found ether starting fluid as a good aid in finding some vacuum leaks. If you spray a little bit around connectors and hoses (sparingly) while running, you will usually hear a noticeable idle increase/surge when sprayed on vacuum leak area as it's pulled into intake. Maybe others can chime in on that, don't want to be responsible for you having fire issue, etc.

[Dustin240]

I did check for vacuum leaks and replaced a few hoses and the issue stayed for a while but i did notice the mass air flow "flow arrow" was pointed toward the air box and not the intake, despite it being mounted to its proper bracket its looked that it couldnt mount any other way but puzzled by the arrow facing the air box i swapped it around any way assuming it may not be the the original and perhaps an maf of the turbo model that would make it mount on the right side and face the flow arrow torward the intake so in my adjustment to the maf the results showed no improvement at first but after a drive or two all seems well except for a few days later it started throwing its fit again so i did away with the pre heat hose capped off the pre heat inlet and still nothing with some miner improvement so i really just zoned in on the proble and thought " this really sounds like low fuel pressure so i unplugged the fuel pressure regulater once again and plugged the vaccum with a screw and walah it starts everytime with a steady idle at ease but if i change anything that i altered the problem is there just waiting to be let back in. this all makes no sence to me at all its like its a million things combined causing the one problem. So current setup includes capped off pre heat inlet disconnected fpr with plugged vaccum and a flipped maf in which now flow arrow is pointed at intake. And a week or two before this issue came about i gave it a full tune up. Oil change and filter, plugs wires rotor everything. As off now its running well but i am just not to happy with the rigged up state and feel its goin to end bad soon. But other than all that all she needs is a clutch and all will be smooth for now other than a fast clicking/grinding coming from the driver footwell at high rpms before shifting which i thing may caused by the bad throw out bearing but i dunna lol one step at a time, ill get this thing right one day, im not giving up i love my ol' 84 and wouldnt trade it for anything. thanks guy for helping out really and ill be staying tuned for more advice and will share all updates

[lummert]

Did you by any chance find fuel coming out of the fuel pressure regulator vacuum port?

[Dustin240]

No sign or smell of gas at all but it runs horrible if the vaccum is attached