'96 960- Fuel problems.....?

Platinum'96960 · Post by **Platinum'96960** » 14 May 2006, 18:15

Okay, I've gone to the pros, so I can get some good opinions, any help would be greatly appreciated.

The Car: 1996 Volvo 960 2.9L 6 cyl.

The Story: This car was bought about 3 years ago at a used car dealership. The car ran fantastic for 1 and a half years. Then the A/C went in her. Still blowing, but not cold. The first problem with the car was a freon leak, so we filled her up with refridgerant, cold air again. About two and a half years into owning the car, its A/C no longer would blow. For months we it was left that way, still running perfect, but no A/C. About a month or two after the A/C no longer worked, I was re-fueling at a gas staion, and of course I turned the car off. Went to re-start, would BARELY start. Would turn over perfect, but no start up. Finally it started long enough for the car to be thrown into Drive, and gave her all she had. When the next stop sign came, she was running a bit rough, but continued to run, no stalling out. Ran perfect after that day. About a week later, as I was exiting the highway, I noticed the Temperature going up. I got off the highway, and she stalled out just as I pulled over to the side. Popped hood, and a MAJOR break in the radiator was discovered. Since I didn't feel like messing with it, I had it towed to a good radiator place, and had the radiator replaced. This was on a sunday. On monday, the radiator shop calls me, says radiator is replaced, but car won't start.

I come down to the shop to investigate. Seems like every time it was cranked, the overflow SHOT about a 2ft. spout of water. So I had it towed to my house. Did some research and some engine checking. Discovered cylinder #3 had a leak of water in her. Tried the quick fix Bars Leaks stuff, 2 bottles to be exact, but no go. I figured upon a headgasket. Bought the headgasket from the local Volvo Dealership, and tore down the motor by myself after work for a week. Had the thing put back together, and it ran fine.

So about a month after that, the car is cruising along the road fine, no problems, and for no apparent reason, it is like I could not control the gas pedal. By this, I mean that I had the thing to the floor to try to move, and it was sitting there coasting on speed (I was doing about 45) and wouldn't go above 1200 RPM. It finally slowed down, doing about 10, wouldn't do any more than that. At the time, I had been messing with A/C wires, and had the air blowing for the day.(short lived, LOL) Anyways, shut the A/C switch off, and put the fan speed to 0, then the car acted fine, gas control came back, everything normal. I thought, hmmm, maybe just a glitch in the system? Car has run PERFECTLY after that. Now, yesterday, the car did the same weird thing with the throttle control. I pulled her over, and she died. I inspected under the hood, no visible problems, I was about a 4 miles from home, so I didn't want to push it. Sat there maybe 30-45 minutes, trying all the while periodically to start the car. After maybe 10 tries, car starts, acts like NOTHING happened, ran me about 3 and a half miles, a half mile from home now, then starts the same thing, and finally dies. I pushed it the rest of the way.

So the current problem: Car will crank, won't fire. Pour fuel in air intake, car will fire and run maybe 15-20 seconds. Dies again. I believe it to be a Fuel Pump. If you think it to be something else, please say so. Feel free to ask me any questions about the car. Also, for a fuel pump replacement, I believe that in the trunk, under the carpet, there is a panel. 4 screws and it comes un-done to reveal the fuel pump. Now here is where I am confused. I have the Chilton's Auto guide for this car, and it shows a differant picture of my fuel filter than what I have. A few questions about the fuel pump.

1: Can I pull the fuel pump out through the panel and replace it, or am I going to have to drop the gas tank.

2: There are about 4 differant fuel pumps listed for my 960

here-->http://replacement.car-stuff.com/parts/ ... c=true#top

Which one-if my problem is indeed a fuel pump-do I need?

If anyone has any pictures of the removal and installation of a FUEL PUMP on a 1996 VOLVO 960, please, please post them. As they say, a picture is worth a thousand words.

Well, that is it, there's the descirption, I look forward to responses from all the pros out there. Thanks in advance.

Kmaniac in California USA · Post by **Kmaniac in California USA** » 14 May 2006, 20:51

I don't know if Volvo redesigned their fuel systems between 1986 and 1996, but my 1986 740 has TWO fuel pumps and TWO fuel filters. Yours my still use the same design, so you better check for sure to see if you car has either one or two pumps.

You can search this forum for all my posts and read numerous posts about my fuel system. I could repeat it here but I don't want to go through it again.

If your car is like mine, the "in-tank" fuel pump is part of the sender unit assembly and can be removed through the hatch in the trunk. Mine was about two inches long and less than an inch in diameter. Attached to my in-tank pump is the filter sock, the first filter fuel passes through in my car.

The main fuel pump for my car is mounted next to the main fuel filter, in a cradle bolted to the underside of the car below the driver's seat. The fuel from the tank passes through the main fuel pump next and then through the main fuel filter.

Should your car have the same arrangement as mine, I recommend replacing both pump and filters at one time.

Good luck and let us know what you find.

Platinum'96960 · Post by **Platinum'96960** » 15 May 2006, 11:36

Hey, thank's for the advice Kmaniac!

I called the local Volvo dealership today to get some prices on Fuel Pumps(300+, what a rip! Advance Auto Parts has 'em for 50 and 80.) and the parts consultant that I know, Marty, said that the car has 1 fuel pump. You, and everyone else on here from what I can see says it has 2. Advance has two fuel pumps listed when I called the, internal, and external.....I looked under the car, and from what I can see, there IS a cradle there, but all that I see in it is the Fuel filter.....would I have to undo the cradle bolts to see the Pump, or should it be visible without removal of the cradle?

Also, I read on here that the MAF sensor could be bad, and that if you should undo the MAF, you can get the car to start and be in "limp home" mode. If I don't hear a response later today about the cradle and the MAF, I'll just experiment with the MAF, and jack up the car and undo that cradle to see what I see.

On one last note, I also heard that a Fuel Pump relay could cause this sort of problem. As far as I understand, the relay is located on the driver side, once you remove the dashboard, around the ashtray area. Is that correct?

(by the way, I've checked fuses that are on the end of the dashboard, inbetween where when the door closes, the door and dash meet. No fuses blown.)

Peter Coutts · Post by **Peter Coutts** » 17 May 2006, 20:19

What you are describing sounds like an intermittent electrical problem...I will bet it it the fuel/ignition relay. I have started to blame any stalling restarting, running and stalling problem on the relay. Do a search on fuel relay and read about it. You can find items on SwedishBrick with photos etc. That is the first and easiest thing to check, fixed with simple resoldering of circuit points or just replace with new before spending money elsewhere. For $0 to $50 you can illiminate this off the list and if lucky may be the real culprit. Real simple to get at from behind the ashtray. Let us know.