1990 940 GLE 16V Automatic ~93,000 Miles Various issues

PaulSimonon · Post by **PaulSimonon** » 30 Jan 2010, 12:21

If you need to check the manifold for leaks spray ether or propane around the manifold. Any change in engine operation indicates where the leak is.

Check the fuel pressure using a fuel pressure gauge. This site may prove to be helpful: http://minimopar.knizefamily.net/fuelsystem.html .

Post by **billofdurham** » 30 Jan 2010, 12:30

You could also spray some of your Easystart around the manifold.

Bill.

girlbunny · Post by **girlbunny** » 30 Jan 2010, 15:49

Considering I don't have a manual for the engine yet (still haven't found one, even though I'm more than happy to buy one!) ... where would I spray? Do I spray the entire area with the Aerostart, and then start the car, or should the car already be going? I'm presuming from PaulSimonons comment that if it's a problem with the manifold, the chances are it's a leak somewhere? Could that be causing it to still be giving problems with starting up and dying if you brake too quickly for it (e.g. in this town, every 150 metres someone runs out on the road, a car pulls out without looking, someone illegally pulls in front of you or somehow otherwise forces you to put the foot on the brakes when you should be cruising along (albeit slowly) at a steady speed.)

I guess what I'm asking is... will I still need to replace the Mass Air flow meter, since she's still having trouble starting (needed the aerostart again later yesterday) and still dying? Or, could fuel pressure or leak in the manifold be causing those problems, and I can rule it out?

Thanks again

Post by **billofdurham** » 31 Jan 2010, 12:49

Considering I don't have a manual for the engine yet (still haven't found one, even though I'm more than happy to buy one!) ...

VADIS has a fair amount of repairs for the 16 valve engine with lots of pictures. It is available on eBayUK but I can't find any on the Australian site. Most sellers in the UK will ship to Australia.

To test for an intake leak the engine must be running at idle. Spray all round the intake manifold where it joins onto the engine. If there is a leak the Easystart, or whatever you are using, will speed up the tickover momentarily. I suggested using the Easystart as propane or ether can be dangerous around hot engines. One of my mentors used a water spray. This worked the opposite way causing the engine to slow down.

If you do have an intake leak you may still need to replace the MAF as it is throwing a code for it but let's not get too far ahead yet. Check for a leak, try cleaning the MAF and see how it goes.

Bill.

girlbunny · Post by **girlbunny** » 31 Jan 2010, 15:14

Thanks - I'll check ebay UK later on today.

I've cleaned the MAF, and the code no longer shows up, just the two codes for Lambda Operation and Lambda Adjustment, both of which suggest to check fuel pressure and intake manifold.

girlbunny · Post by **girlbunny** » 01 Feb 2010, 12:28

She's back to refusing to start at all. A local mechanic who has dealt with 940s before is suggesting that it's possibly a vacuum leak (specifically thinking a hole in the concertina tube from the MAF to the engine, but wants to check)

If it is that, I'm hoping the replacement parts are easy to get locally, because he won't order until he knows what he needs to get, and I'll need the car running so I'd be able to get home from the mechanics (he is in another town)

I still have no idea where the intake manifold is to spray all around it. In the parts list on FCP, it shows an aluminium hose... the only aluminium hoses I could find are right on the top, on the right hand side (as I look at the engine, near the OBD) attached to a large... I don't know what it is. Anyone have photos?

Thanks again.

girlbunny · Post by **girlbunny** » 02 Feb 2010, 01:06

cattledog wrote:An easy way to see if the mass air flow sensor is bad, unplug it and try and start the car, if it starts right up when it wouldn't start at all before, good bet it's bad. Don't drive it that way, it doesn't respond well!
Sounds like you're enjoying that car, even with it's issues.

Oh, BTW, I forgot to respond to this... sorry!

I did try this, but she still refused to start.

I called around so many mechanics today it isn't funny. Almost all of them just said they couldn't do anything or quote anything without me getting my car towed to them. Having experienced this before, I know that once the car is towed somewhere, you're at the mercy of the mechanics whims. One place simply said it could be $80, and it could be $5000. Heck, I paid $5000 for the car, I'm not sure I need to pay that again to fix one thing that may, or may not, be the problem. Especially since that's the place that charged me $500 for a distributor cap because four days after moving into this town, the car refused to start, and it was automatically towed to them.

One place, who apparently has Volvo experience, has quoted $300 to fix any problems related to the manifold, if there are any. They would probably have to get parts in, and I have no idea how long it would take. Since they're fully booked for the next week and a half, it wouldn't be for at least another... week and a half

I'd hazard closer to two weeks.

Several places have suggested the possibility of it being a problem with the fuel pump... I noticed in the manual that there are two fuel pumps, so haven't a clue how to figure out if that's the problem or not.

With the car refusing to start at all, I haven't a clue how to test any of these. Someone has suggested giving the fuel tank a good whack to see if that restarts the fuel pump... just in case. I'm not too sure how safe that is to do!

Post by **billofdurham** » 02 Feb 2010, 11:30

The intake manifold is the silvery bit in these two photos, which are from VADIS:

: Photo0001.jpg (87.18 KiB) Viewed 1830 times

The place to spray is where the manifold joins the engine block after, of course, getting the beast up and running again.

You do have two fuel pumps, one in-tank and one main mounted under the car near the right rear door. Please don't bang on the tank. You usually can hear the in-tank pump whir momentarily when you switch on the ignition. The best way is to remove the filler cap, put your ear near to the filler and have someone else switch on. The main pump can also be heard and felt to work by getting your arm under the car, hand on the pump and have someone switch on the ignition. Again only momentary as you aren't using any fuel.
Another possibility is a faulty fuel injection relay which controls the pumps. It is in the relay panel, left hand side of the second row. If you put your hand on the relay and switch on the ignition you should feel the relay click.

Bill.

girlbunny · Post by **girlbunny** » 05 Feb 2010, 16:29

Thanks again Bill

I still have to figure out a mechanic who will work on her. Basically, I'm stuck with trying to get her towed to the next largest town around an hour away for any mechianics to be willing to look and see. I can feel the fuel relay clicking, and can hear the pump (or pumps, not sure if it's one or two) when I try to start the engine. So, while I can't actually feel the main fuel pump (outside the tank) to double check, I'm figuring the chances are that it's still the intake manifold or a vacuum leak somewhere.

Hopefully the normal mechanic will be in on Monday to call.

BTW: The VADIS won't work on Mac by the look of it, but I'm waiting for an actual book I found on eBay US to arrive. Here's hoping!

girlbunny · Post by **girlbunny** » 07 Feb 2010, 23:20

Well, as of this morning, the car has been at a local mechanic. I can't say that I'm thrilled, but the Volvo mechanic wouldn't be able to even look at her for a week, and just getting her towed there will cost $200 or more.

Anyway, they've just spent the last three hours (still working on her) trying to figure out the problem. The only thing they can tell me thus far is that there's apparently no injector pulse. They don't know why.

The last call I made it sounded like they were checking the ECU (which the Volvo mechanic told me should be the first thing to check, with relays the second potential issue)

I am worried that my entire budget for getting her fixed will be swallowed by diagnostics, but there isn't much I can do about it right now. Here's hoping the bill isn't so high that I need to sell her to pay the mechanics!

Anyway... if there is no injector pulse... what are the potential issues? What things could I suggest for them, in case they haven't found the issue by morning? Are there any tests that can be done on the OBD unit that can help with any diagnosis? When I lasted checked, I'm pretty sure I checked the injection system, and got the all clear 1-1-1.

I've found a Volvo Specialist Wrecker, who apparently also deals in aftermarket and genuine Volvo new parts. Their name is Hinterland Volvos. Their only online presence seems to be email and a yellow pages advert:

Hinterland Volvos

Any ideas? Thanks in advance guys, I'm kinda nervous she'll never go again at this point

1990 940 GLE 16V Automatic ~93,000 Miles Various issues

Re: 1990 940 GLE 16V Automatic ~93,000 Miles Various issues