QuestionI hope you don't mind that we ask others on this site also. After spending close to $6,000 on repairs, the car is still not working properly...we need all the help we can get! Comments about your advice look great! Here goes:
OUR 1990 VOLVO 240DL SAGA
WE DID A REALLY BAD THING! Because of major transmission problems our Volvo sat (outside) for somewhere between 12 to 15 months.
My husband had it towed to a garage (not a Volvo garage) and told them it had been parked for over a year due to transmission and exhaust system problems.
Work Performed:
1. Extracted water from left front headlight
2. Removed and replaced exhaust manifold gaskets
3. Checked for exhaust leaks, removed and replaced resonator, axile pipe, muffler and tailpipe
4. Mounted and balanced one new tire
5. Installed new 60mos. Interstate Battery
6. Installed Halogen Headlight Bulb
7. Installed new wiper blades
1/7/05 COST= $614.87
They referred him to AAMCO Transmission for the transmission problem.
He dropped off Volvo at AAMCO ON 1/7/05.
AAMCO installed a reconditioned transmission with an exchanged rebuilt torque converter with AAMCO 36mos/36,000 miles limited warranty.
1/18/05 COST= $3,224.37
(Personally, I, not necessarily my husband, thought this was very costly since 4 years ago I had a new transmission with 50,000 mi warranty put in my Crown Victoria and the cost was $1800.)
Less than 3 weeks later, the Volvo stalled a couple of times and the last time it stalled, it cut off and would not start up. It was then towed (out of a tunnel!) to the same repair place.
Work performed:
1. Checked for a no start condition and found the ignition breaking down.
2. Diagnosed and replaced the distributor cap, rotor and ignition module (2hrs.)
3. After getting the ignition system to fire, car was test driven and it began to lose power, diagnosed and found the liner in the fuel tank coming apart and the fuel pumps were damaged. Removed the fuel tank, flushed the fuel system, replaced both pumps and the filter and test drove the car. (4 hrs.)
4. Performed 4 cylinder tune up service (.6 hr.)
5. Performed fuel induction and engine decarb Service (1.0 hr.)
6. Installed new fuel tank
COST=$1677.45 yikes! (My comment)
Two days later, he was filling up the gas tank and noticed that gasoline was leaking under the Volvo. It was discovered that the mechanic who had replaced the fuel tank neglected to place a clamp at the appropriate location, therefore causing the major and dangerous leak. (I won't go into the problem of this happening at a gas station!)
About 12 days later, the car began hesitating and backfiring while in local traffic. My husband witnessed smoke coming through the floor automatic gearshift. Again, taking car back to garage.
Work Performed:
1. Performed scan, found code 3-1-1 and 2-3-1, spped (not sure what this word is) sensor signal and fuel too lean, found ignition coil faulty.
2. Performed compression test, VEH is within specs, 175 pressure
(1.5 hrs.)
3. Replaced ignition coil and retested system, cleared codes (.5hr.)
4/04/05 COST= $342.47
NOTE by garage on invoice:
"During quality test drive felt slight hesitation-explained to Mr. Anas this might be because fuel injectors may becoming clogged at the screen. Will need to replace all injectors and possibly ignition wires to repair this concern. Customer has been advised of concern. Futher diagnosis needs to be performed to confirm this problem."
About 2 weeks ago, we took it to another garage...actually our regular mechanic--to make a long story short, the car was parked at my in-law's house all that time and the garage was one they used. Our mechanic flushed the fuel injectors and replaced the plug wires and as he said, "he fiddled around with the car." He said he had driven it almost 50 miles and it was running great. He said to drive it around for the weekend before settling up on the bill. He also told my husband if this doesn't work, frankly, he is baffled and we may have to take it to a Volvo dealer in Norfolk, VA--we live just a few miles away. We are not sure if he put in a sensor--he mentioned that to my husband re taking the car to a Volvo dealer.
The strange thing is, the car will work o.k. until the car warms up! We drove it about 20 minutes the day after we picked it up from our mechanic. We parked it about 1-1/2 hr. When we started it up again and began driving, it began hesitating, like it is running out of fuel. (We have not paid our mechanic yet, but the bill may be a few hundred dollars for mostly labor and I think he has probably not charged us for all the labor since he is so frustrated.)
In all that time the oil had not been changed, so we had that done a few days ago. MY husband, just yesterday, drove quite a few miles on it. THe main problem seems to be driving it around town when it warms up. Also, someone suggested changing the octane of the gas.
I think what is truly frustrating is that we have spent over $5,000 and still don't know what is causing the problem. How much more can we expect to spend? The car has 125,000 miles on it, which, I understand, is not bad for a Volvo. I personally think the original mechanic should have been able to give a better figure on what may had to be done. Not being a mechanic, I realize there could be hundreds of things under the hood that could possible go wrong. We didn't expect him to be a psychic, but don't you think after this car sitting for at least a year, they might have been able to spell out the potential costs.
Do you have any idea what could cause this hesitation and is it time to either (a) cut our losses and get rid of it, or (b) take it to a Volvo dealer, or (c) get your take on this and relay that info to our mechanic? I really hate having spent so much money to get rid of it for what may be something very simple, but I'm just not willing to spend but so much.(Plus, it is now time for me to find a new car.)
Thank you for your time and consideration. Jackie Anas, Portsmouth, VA
AnswerWell, first and foremost, I can say without question that your story is the most expensive, and most involved I've ever received here. It pains me as much as it seems to pain you to drop so much money on a problem that you can't seem to find. Given that, my first piece of advice is going to be a general comment about Volvo 240's. In almost every problem I've encountered, I generally find that the culprit is something simple and cheap before it is something expensive and serious. More often than not, it has been a loose wire, dirty injector, bad timing, etc that causes a problem that seems major.
So, using the above logic, I'm going to recommend not taking the car for major expensive service right away. Based on your current symtoms, there are several, cheap, common issues with these cars you can look at first.
1. Check the throttle body for grime and dirt. They can get gunked up after about as many miles as you have and cause hesitation issues.
2. Check the function of your mass airflow sensor, the electronic box between your air intake box and your fuel injection manifold. When those units fail, they give your computer the wrong information about air intake, and can cause the car to run either rich or lean, again causing problems like you mentioned.
3. Check your fuel filter! You never seemed to mention whether it was replaced, and having the car sit for so long means you could easily have a floating clog that will cause problems when the car warms up, the fuel expans and heats, and the chunk starts floating around in there.
Those are the three recommendations I can think of if it were my car. I'm also going to highly recommend you post your question on a Volvo forum I frequently visit called Brickboard (www.brickboard.com). In the 240 section of the site, you'll find you can post questions for free and have tons of 240 fanatics like me give you their two cents (most of the time their opinions will be even more well informed than mine). I can guarantee you will get a lot of information and recommendations you can throw at your mechanic friend to try, along with my recommendations.
So the short answer here is, don't get rid of the car yet, especially in the heat of your anger. The 240 is a good car, but needs a special type of care to be at its best. I've found taking them to generic mechanics in order to diagnose a problem can sometimes make things worse. And remember from before, it is almost always something simple before something expensive, so at this stage, gather some information from Brickboard and mull over your options. Most of the advice they will give you will be cheap tests too. Good luck and sorry for your saga!
