Hi There,
I'm Mark from Malaysia. I'm very new to this site. I have a couple of questions about my Volvo and I hope that someone can help answer them.
I recently purchased a 1984 Volvo 240GL (Automatic). Like so many people who have bought used cars, I had my share of problems. Over a period of a couple of months, I have managed to get them all fixed, including changing the engine to 2.0 (1993 Volvo 240 engine), because the original engine had problems with the piston. It was consuming engine oil and the fuel consumption was rather high. The car was also seriously underpowered. Changing the engine costs less that getting it repaired.
However, there are a couple of things that are still bothering me. The carburator has given me all sorts of problems. It all started when I noticed that, when my engine was idle and I switched the air-cond ON, the RPM (timing) would drop. And when I shifted the gear to DRIVE, the RPM would drop even more, and this sometimes caused the engine to die off. When I first bought the car, the RPM never used to drop when the air-cond was switched ON. At the time, I had no idea that the carburator was responsible for this.
There were also occations where the engine just died while driving. Sometimes when taking a corner, the engine would just stop and there would be a strong petrol smell. Upon checking, it was found that the there was an overflow in the carburator. This used to happen many times and just could not get it fixed. I brought my car, not less than 7 times, to a so-called Volvo speciallist who worked as a mechanic in the Volvo company. But he could not get it fixed.
Another mechanic got me a second-hand carburator and it was much better. This time, the RPM never moved when the air-cond was switched ON. However, the engine did die once while driving. There was a strong petrol smell and the was an overflow in the carburator. The mechanic checked it and replaced the "D" clip in it. It had been about 2 weeks and so far there are no problems. I'm just keeping my fingers crossed that the engine wont die on me again. At them moment, I try not to drive outside of the area in which I live.
What do you think, causes the carburator to overflow? Are there ways to detect when the carburator is going to start giving problems? Are there ways of totally eliminating carburator problems?
Also, I noticed that there are slight engine vibrations when the engine is idle. Everytime I stop at the traffic lights and the engine is idle, it vibrates a little. It does not die, it just vibrates. My mechanic told me that this is common in Volvo models like mine. Is this true? If not, is there anything I can do to make the engine run smoothly? So far, I have changed the plug wires, contact points, distributor cap as well as it's rotor. But there is no difference.
I also have problems starting my car in the morning. When I start the engine, it vibrates violently and just dies off. Evertime I start the car in the morning, I need to press the accelerator a couple of times. Only after stepping on the gas pedal a few time, the engine keeps running and does not die. But it vibrates a lot for a few minutes. Once again, my mechanic says that this is normal for my car. Is this true?
Since purchasing my car, I have changed many parts. Too many to mention, but are are a few: Timing belt, alternator belt, air-cond belt, ignition coil, AC (fuel) pump. Based the above problems that I have mentioned, what can you advice me? So far, everything seems to be ok. I'm just very worried about the carburator.
Hope to hear from you soon.
Thanks and God bless.
Mark David
I'm Mark from Malaysia. I'm very new to this site. I have a couple of questions about my Volvo and I hope that someone can help answer them.
I recently purchased a 1984 Volvo 240GL (Automatic). Like so many people who have bought used cars, I had my share of problems. Over a period of a couple of months, I have managed to get them all fixed, including changing the engine to 2.0 (1993 Volvo 240 engine), because the original engine had problems with the piston. It was consuming engine oil and the fuel consumption was rather high. The car was also seriously underpowered. Changing the engine costs less that getting it repaired.
However, there are a couple of things that are still bothering me. The carburator has given me all sorts of problems. It all started when I noticed that, when my engine was idle and I switched the air-cond ON, the RPM (timing) would drop. And when I shifted the gear to DRIVE, the RPM would drop even more, and this sometimes caused the engine to die off. When I first bought the car, the RPM never used to drop when the air-cond was switched ON. At the time, I had no idea that the carburator was responsible for this.
There were also occations where the engine just died while driving. Sometimes when taking a corner, the engine would just stop and there would be a strong petrol smell. Upon checking, it was found that the there was an overflow in the carburator. This used to happen many times and just could not get it fixed. I brought my car, not less than 7 times, to a so-called Volvo speciallist who worked as a mechanic in the Volvo company. But he could not get it fixed.
Another mechanic got me a second-hand carburator and it was much better. This time, the RPM never moved when the air-cond was switched ON. However, the engine did die once while driving. There was a strong petrol smell and the was an overflow in the carburator. The mechanic checked it and replaced the "D" clip in it. It had been about 2 weeks and so far there are no problems. I'm just keeping my fingers crossed that the engine wont die on me again. At them moment, I try not to drive outside of the area in which I live.
What do you think, causes the carburator to overflow? Are there ways to detect when the carburator is going to start giving problems? Are there ways of totally eliminating carburator problems?
Also, I noticed that there are slight engine vibrations when the engine is idle. Everytime I stop at the traffic lights and the engine is idle, it vibrates a little. It does not die, it just vibrates. My mechanic told me that this is common in Volvo models like mine. Is this true? If not, is there anything I can do to make the engine run smoothly? So far, I have changed the plug wires, contact points, distributor cap as well as it's rotor. But there is no difference.
I also have problems starting my car in the morning. When I start the engine, it vibrates violently and just dies off. Evertime I start the car in the morning, I need to press the accelerator a couple of times. Only after stepping on the gas pedal a few time, the engine keeps running and does not die. But it vibrates a lot for a few minutes. Once again, my mechanic says that this is normal for my car. Is this true?
Since purchasing my car, I have changed many parts. Too many to mention, but are are a few: Timing belt, alternator belt, air-cond belt, ignition coil, AC (fuel) pump. Based the above problems that I have mentioned, what can you advice me? So far, everything seems to be ok. I'm just very worried about the carburator.
Hope to hear from you soon.
Thanks and God bless.
Mark David
