1981 244 fuel efficiency

cristi · Post by **cristi** » 07 Feb 2008, 09:03

Hi!

I got a 1981 Volvo 244 (manual, carburetter) from a friend four years ago and since about last year the fuel efficiency went down about 25% (400 km / 55 liters before, 300 km now). Spark plugs are less than 1 year (10,000 km) old. The car still drives nicely, the engine drags well, just more expensively

. My wife drives much gentler than I do, but that doesn't seem to make any difference.

Some "symptoms" that may hold a clue:
- the engine was always a bit irregular on idle, and lately it sometimes stops when pressing the clutch after a longer highway driving (i.e. when going from high rpm to idle).
- on some cold starts, the engine temperature indicator goes almost to red before coming back just under the middle of its range. Does this mean that the thermostat opens quite late? This does not happen if I heat up the engine with the car standing still.

The car recently passed 330,000 km

Any ideas?

Thanks!

Post by **billofdurham** » 07 Feb 2008, 11:11

Welcome to Matthew's Volvo Site.

Which engine is fitted to the car e.g. B20A, B21A? Different types have different carburettors with different problems appearing.

I have some ideas as to the causes but need that info to help.

Bill.

cristi · Post by **cristi** » 07 Feb 2008, 17:17

Thanks a lot for the reply! I do feel welcome.

[quote="billofdurham"]
Which engine is fitted to the car e.g. B20A, B21A? Different types have different carburettors with different problems appearing.
[/quote]

It is a B23A (82 kW=112 hp, Pierburg DVG 175 CDUS)

There is quite little oil in the carb, I just noticed. Could it be that?

Post by **billofdurham** » 08 Feb 2008, 11:35

There is quite little oil in the carb, I just noticed. Could it be that?

That is always the starting point with these carbs. The oil must be kept topped up otherwise there is a possibility that the piston will stick. Use Automatic Transmission Fluid to top up as engine oil tends to be too heavy.

You have fairly new plugs in but have you checked the plug gap recently? Also check the state of the plug leads and the rotor arm in the distributor. These are all things on carb engines that can make a difference to the fuel consumption.

One of the advantages with the Pierburg (actually a Zenith with a different name) is their reliability. If you haven't played about with it all it needs is the oil topped up and it will run for years.

If you start with the above, see how it goes and if no improvement post back.

Bill.