Nagging problem, distributor cap fouls every hour or so.

[Zach91]

1985 Volvo 244 dl, 2.3 liter.

This problem has occurred since last November. The distributor cap fouls every hour or so of running. It’s a greenish white color, I scrape the contacts and I’m good to go, for about an hour.

Last November I cleaned the engine bay, then I changed the plugs, distributor cap, and rotor. Changed the fuel filter and had to replace some of the fuel hose near the filter. I drove with no problem from Seattle to Redding, and even went through central Oregon, so about 900 miles. After getting down into the valley my car died. I fiddled with the fuel line and noticed it was kinked a bit where I had spliced it. Car cooled down and I was able to drive it to San Diego with little power and only being able to compress the gas peddle about 5-10%, otherwise car would bog down and die. I eventually popped the distributor cap and saw the contacts were all covered in white, which I thought was plastic from the end of the rotor. Now, I’ve been trying to figure out what’s causing this repeated fouling of the distributor cap, and driving the car as my daily driver since.

I’ve now replaced the cap and rotor three times, Bisch distributor cap.

Replaced and checked timing belt.
Spark plugs again.
New plug wires
New coil.

I thought maybe the timing was a bit off or that there’s an advance issue so I loosened the distributor and twisted counter clockwise a bit, test drove, still the cap fouls. I cleaned the contacts, twiste the distributor clockwise, cap still fouls. I set the distributor back where it originally was. I thought this might tell me if the hall sensor was causing the problem.

I called a Volvo mechanic today and he said he’s never seen this before.

Could the kinked fuel line or a bad filter cause the distributor cap to foul?

Is this a ground issue?

Crankshaft speed sensor?

Could it be the ecu?
The throttle switch?

I am to the point where this is gonna have to be resolved, I’m dumbfounded.

Any help would be greatly appreciated, I’m mechanically inclined but not too good with using electrical testers, but I also know throwing money at ecu and other sensors can get really expensive.
Thanks.

[RickHaleParker]

Is the drain at the bottom of the cap and cut in the block clear?
Did you reinstall the large O-ring inside the distributor?