My 1989 244 (105,000 miles) has a hesitation problem when asked to accelerate.
I replaced ignition wires, thay were sparking, new rotor and cap, and new ignition coil that was out of spec, according to Haynes. All this improved performance somewhat but the car still has a misfire when asked to accelerate or comes under a load. Any help would be greatly appreciated. :haha:

Sounds like you did the easy stuff. If you have not put fresh plugs in it, that would be a good idea. A fresh filtermight also help. If you did that already... then check for leaks in the intake hose between the air mass meter and the throttle body. If still no worky, then O2 sensor and air mas meter.

Oh yea... Make sure that you have good fuel. A bad tank of gas can make your car run like that. I got a tank in Montana once and my top speed was 40mph. Volvos are picky eaters.

Good advice. Also check every single vacuum line, including the flame trap, and replace any that look dubious.

No go!!

Any other ideas. Much appreciate other posts.

Did add gas additive... although I heard that this makes no difference.

Try unplugging the air mass meter with the power off and then drive it to see if the performance gets better or worse - this will help to isolate it being the problem.

I'm not sure what this would accomplish. If the engine runs lousy what would this show , that it runs worse?

You unplug it and it runs better = you found your problem
You unplug it and it runs the same or worse = cross it of the list

make sure the car is not running during plug/unplug

Tokk car to a shop, timing was reset (1-2 degrees off) cold coolant sensor replaced. Ran better than new for about 20 miles. Now will start. Shop tested new distributor, ECM and reset timing. They have given up. Any clues?

How did they adjust the timing? By re-aligning the timing belt marks? The belt may have broke or jumped teeth ....

the engine in your car is an interference block, if the belt breaks it will cause damage to the valves as they hit the cam. it might be that the timing is way off at the belt. also, if and when you changed the plugs, did you notice if the plugs were clean? if you haven't checked, give it a go that way you can strike that off the list also.

The B230F found in 240's are NON-interference. The reason I ask is because cars with crank sensors (89-93) - moving the cam sprocket on the belt is the only way of adjusting timing.

didn't mention earlier, but new timing belt installed.

Did the problem start after the belt was replaced?

After all the above work was done...var ran like a dream for about 30 miles then died.

So the car wont start right now ? If so check for spark from the coil wire, also take off the oil cap and make sure the camshaft turns when your turning the engine over, you can listen for the fuel pump running too. The B230F or B23F older is NON Interference, but the B230E or other red blocks with the E in engine model is Interference, E is for high compression engine sold in UK and other countries.

Car has spark and fuel.

How did you test for spark and fuel?

The best way to check for spark is to take a spark plug (always good to keep one of the old plugs after a tune-up in the glovebox or trunk) and put one of the spark plug wires on it, then lay or hold it on a good ground (intake or exhaust manifold, etc...) and have someone crank. When you test it this way you can be sure that the entire circuit is strong enough to spark across a plug.

The best way to test for fuel is to install a fuel pressure gauge in the fuel rail. Some cars have a 'schrader valve' built in to allow a quick test ('screw a guage on and crank the engine', or for the gotta know right now 'push down on the center part of the valve while someone cranks and see if fuel sprays out'). A good way to check for fuel and electronics at the same time is to remove the fuel rail and turn it 90 to 180 degrees (usually it is only two bolts). have someone crank the engine and you should see each injector pulsing in sequence. When you test that way, you know that you have a good fuel pressure and your electronics are good also.

If the above items test good, the next thing to check is for compression. Remove all the spark plugs and install a compression gauge in one cylinder and crank the engine. Then write down which cylinder you tested and write down the reading on the guage. Continue until all cylinders have been tested and you should know where you stand.

Write back with some findings and we should be able to figure out what is up. Honestly, I don't think you are taking the time needed to be VERY clear what is up with the car. I find your replies to be a bit 'sketchy'. Please remember that without all of the information you can very easily be sent down the wrong path. Basically, the quality of the help you get here is directly resulted to the quality of the information you supply.

Fuel and spark was tested as you described. Also, compression. All OK. I had bought a rotor and cap from Advanced Auto, the cap showed a scouring but not the rortr (go figure). I since replaced them with Bosch and the car now runs fine. The question is will the car hold up. The Advanced parts were aftermarket el cheapos!!!

Maybe OEM or Bosch are the only way to go.

might help might not but check the smaller red wire on the positive terminal on the battery, i chased a non starting 1990 245 for a month until i noticed that i hadn't tightened that side of the terminal. this red wire leads to the fuel pump relay i believe and if it isn't getting good voltage the fuel pumps don't get the signal to power up. If its tight the wire might be broken, of course i could be sending you down a dead end street, but its worth the look.