steering difficulties-'88 240

I had something similar happen with the 240 that I once had, I tried all sorts of things, including, but not limited to flushing the entire power steering system, and changing the pump, nothing fixed it, until one fine day I had the opportunity to notice what so far I'd overlooked; what the little universal coupling fitted at the bottom of the steering column was doing. One end of the coupling had seized solid somehow, I don't know how, because I drove it regularly, anyhow, that meant that the column didn't 'go round' the slight bend to the rack freely, I changed the coupling , and the steering was perfect silky smooth until the car and I parted company years later.

Best wishes, Ken Phillips - 740 owner

Hi! You mean that ujoint visible about half way down toward the steering box? I saw it but didnt analyze it. Were you able to see the frozen part by havimg someone turn the wheel while you looked at it? It does seem to mess up every half turn or so. This would be a great thing if you are correct! Thanx, bob

That's the one. I spotted it, because I was under the car, with the front end jacked up, and happened to look in that direction as the steering rack moved from the exertions of my frustration, instead if turning smoothly, the column jerked round, while it moved very slightly from side to side. The sensation you report is about the same as well, I hope it is that joint, because that joint is very easy to replace, with just two little metal pins to remove then a cotter pin affair, which you need to fully remove, and the joint just slides of the shaft. With an assistant you could diagnose as you describe.

Good luck Ken Phillips

Sprayed that steering column Ujoint with PB Blaster and it freed up! Thanx for the valuable tip! Now I will keep it lubed and see if it stays OK, as there is no play. This car sat for a year or so needing a clutch, so wheel was in one position all that time. bob

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Great! I think I have the same kind of problem on my 745 1989. Some days earlier I heard a creaking noise when turning the wheel inside the car, which disappeared again. Several days later on the last day of a longer trip I noticed that after turning the steering wheel it does not anymore passively return to neutral but sticks before but can be returned by actively turning the wheel back to neutral. Around neutral it behaves normally. When rotating the steering wheel one can feel a resistance come and go in both directions. The car is waiting at my small garage mechanic for its turn, since I do not want to drive with the steering not returning to normal. I searched on

a german language Volvo site. The same symptoms were explained and solved also there by lubricating the seizing joint in the steering wheel axle before the steering gear. Seems to be a typical problem...

Viktor

............. Seems to be a

It happens on other cars with a universal joint in the column too. I had forgotten about it happening on a ford years ago, but that joint could only have been described as agricultural.

Hi! Thanx for all help on steering difficulties. I took this car to Echeck today - and didnt pass on NO spec. It has been occasionally missing , but I just attributed that to old fuel since it hadnt been run in a while. Once I looked underneath after it was running real rough and wouldnt go over

1500 RPM or so, and the exhaust was dark cherry red in front of the catalytic. Dont know if that had anything to do with the fail, but I found that I could turn in the mixture screw in several turns before it affected the idle. That might have helped the running rough condition, but not sure if it will help to lower the NO spec. Any ideas are, as usual, appreciated! Also would like to get a tach for this car - it would be the small one to the right of the speedo - not in the main cluster. Thanx, bob

The NO is created by high combustion temperatures, so I'm sure leaning the idle won't help. Mike F is the man you want to hear from about this.

Mike (P)

The same thing had been hapening with the 960, and I had forgotten about them since I haven't been driving it. Red through this thread and said Ahhh HAAA! Went out and cleaned it up and lubricated it with a greaseless, spray lube and whaddyaknow!? Wife says it is much smoother!

__ __ Randy & \ \/ /alerie's \__/olvos '90 245 Estate - '93 965 Estate "Shelby" & "Kate"

Great! These cars are nice to work on, usually. I have had 4 of them , all bought for 1000 dollars or less and have put about 240,000 miles on these same cars. Lots of old Volvos are steering much better now! bob

................. I had (an oil-burning) Hyundai with a blocked cat converter, it happened over a long time and got to the point it wouldn't start. Might be possible to clean it but I had to replace that one (eventually) after the mech. who discovered it illegally knocked the middle out so the car would run. I don't think the exhaust should glow?

My son had an old Toyota with a plugged converter. It was actually a second converter thae muffler shop said was only for California versions (we are in Arizona) and our best bet was knock the stuffings out of it. I got a copper pipe and tried to hammer it through, but it just mushroomed the pipe! After I hammered a steel rod through it I found the insides were soft - it was just the melted part was hard as glass.

Mike

If the cat is glowing then there's unburned fuel getting to it, first thing I'd check is the timing, then the spray pattern of the fuel injectors, then the compression. If one cylinder isn't firing it'll run rough and spray all kinds of unburned fuel into the cat.

Yes, I think it's not too uncommon specially in smaller cars.

If the exhaust is red in front of the convertor, then the fuel burn is either late or slow, or the exhaust valves are leaking. So first you should make sure that the engine is sound (compression test), then check the ignition timing, make sure there aren't any vacuum leaks and the rest of the fuel system is working correctly.

OK - thanx for the info. I think I will change the fuel filter first just to make sure, then run the motor with exhaust disconnected to see how it runs. Will barely start now. bob

Hi! any one know easiest way to determine if catalytic convertor is indeed plugged making car start and run badly? I have been told to disconnect exhaust at manifold and run but as I live next to nursing home am not sure the neighbors will approve! thanx, bob

That's about the only good way to do it. Perhaps you could drive the car to a friend's place and try it there? Or just do it and don't let it run long, you don't have to.

The Haynes manual I have for my daughter's Honda isn't very useful, but it has this nifty test for exhaust restrictions (typically plugged cat converter):

1) connect a manifold pressure guage to the intake manifold 2) start the engine and allow it to stabilize at idle with the A/C off - note the reading 3) raise the engine speed to about 2000 rpm for a few seconds, then release the throttle 4) observe the manifold pressure - it should quickly return to within 2 in-Hg of the normal reading. If the pressure doesn't rise at least 5 in-Hg above the idle reading at 2000 rpm, or if the reading hovers around the highest reading before dropping, it indicates an exhaust blockage.

An alternative is to unfasten the exhaust at the collector (engine cold, of course) and blow into the tail pipe. The only plugged cat I've dealt with ('82 Toyota) allowed the engine to start and idle more or less normally, but would barely rev at all. The carburetor spit gas back out when the throttle was opened and lacked the normal aggressive vacuum. When we got the cat out it was so blocked that blowing through it was like blowing through a soda straw. Don't forget to wash the silly black ring from around your mouth when you are done :-)

Mike