1997 volvo 850R no power past half throttle

[sacricide]

i failed to mention the ABS and TRAC light are on most of the time and rarely switch off. Its probably from a bad abs module im assuming?

i didnt bring it up originally thinking it may not be relevant to these other symptoms.

[pred]

Does the turbo spool? Or did it seize?
ALso, you have a CAT, At idle does the exhaust flutter at the tail pipe OR is it smoooooth?
If smooth, Cat is clogged,

[sacricide]

we just checked the turbo today taking bits out of the engine bay. and reached into the intake side of the turbo and checked the shaft for play and its quite firm, turbo isnt seized or bad.

Please, can you explain the cat clogging? not sure i quite understand

Basically if the tail pipe is vibrating its good, if the tailpipe isnt moving the CAT is clogged?

[sacricide]

man now that you brought that up, i did notice the intake tubing being oily as hell, and covered in gunk. to the point i figured few things would be fouled from that. maybe oil or whatever else has built into the catalytic? or the PCV and the CAT is clogged up? only thing is the car doesnt produce any obvious crankcase pressure from the oil cap with a rubber glove over it.

any other methods to check the CAT or PCV for clogging? on one of the misfire codes i had, it also said TWC damage (three-way-cat)

[jblackburn]

Lots of oil in the intake pipes is from a clogged PCV. Same with lots of oil under the car. You may see low PCV pressure because a seal elsewhere has blown out, causing the oil leakage and relieving excess PCV pressure.

Cat damage codes are related to the misfires. Solve the oil leak first, then track down the misfires (check inside of the dizzy cap, then the cam position sensor and see if either need to be cleaned up). If you keep driving the car while it's misfiring or running rich/poorly, it will damage the catalyst if it has not already.

There is no real test for a clogged cat other than to disconnect it and see if the car runs much better. Sometimes you can shake it and see if you hear rattling inside from where the honeycomb subtrate has broken into chunks from being overheated.

[sacricide]

Update, only code that was pending was a "A/F Ratio" my uncle used a more advanced volvo scan tool to find.

so far, vacuum lines that were suspicious were replaced, intercooler lines checked ok. one of the nipples on the vacuum tee on throttle body was missing a cap. replaced it. PCV system was 1/4 full at the lip and def was clogging up a bit...a new kit installed. we banged the CAT a few times, no rattling, appears to be ok. fuel filter was clean, but replaced with a cheapo china made in the meantime to see if any change would occur. system felt a tad worse after. Throttle body looks ok, wasnt gunked.

Fuel injectors were never pulled from intake manifold during disassembly for PCV kit install to avoid changing the seals but we know one fuel injector seal is leaking currently after spraying around for leaks, and i probably order a O-ring kit for the LOWER injector seals unless its better to change the UPPER seals also? i just read the injectors are pretty brittle being so old i didnt want to damage them messing with the fuel rail side. despite the "A/F ratio code" i feel like it wouldnt be enough to make this car LIMPING on its ass like this.

if new O-rings wont lead to a substantial improvement in the car getting to run normally. im at a loss for ideas where else to check if theres a A/F ratio problem beyond that one injector seal.

[pred]

If someone can hold the throttle at about 1500 rpm the tail pipe should still have some flutter to the gasses coming out,
If its flowing real smooth like the cat is most likely clogged up and since its made up of like 2mm honeycomb when they start to get clogged up there is back pressure between the exhaust valves and the catalytic converter,
Not too many years ago I met a guy whose mechanic diagnosed the full throttle and little power to a bad transmission,
Trans got rebuilt and still had issue,
It was a partially clogged cat.

[sacricide]

im not seeing flutter on the exhaust at idle, however ill need to try again with someone holding it at 1500rpm.

however, the spark plugs, wires, dist cap and rotor, all replaced. NO CHANGE. codes posted are misfires on all cylinders currently.

[sacricide]

Ladies and gentlemen, i have good news.

i wanted to update my thread, for few reasons, one too many threads have NO RESOLUTION. Secondly to serve as a reminder to anyone who skips doing the BASICS on diagnosis.

So i think you guys see what im getting at. the car even with ALL the bad vacuum hoses replaced, the TRUE problem was simple. A BAD FUEL PUMP!!!! once that thing was replaced it drove as normal as can be. im both glad, and furious it was so simple. But mostly glad. i spent $600 so far on it, MOSTLY parts. Almost no labor costs