Hi, I recently posted a problem similar to this but yesterday it got worse. When I turn on my '89 240DL, the car starts trembling (it's a very noticeable tremble) and black smoke is coming out of the muffler at the same "rhythm" as the trembling (ie. everytime car trembles, black smoke comes out - it's not constant smoke). I took it to a Volvo mechanic and he told me that it was a problem with the engine block (I think he said water is falling into the pistons) so they'll have to take the engine block out and solder a rusty piece in it. And it's going to cost me $500+ . I have a bad feeling about these mechanics' practices so I wanted to consult with you guys first.
Before yesterday, it used to tremble but, as soon as I gave it gas for a few seconds, everything went back to normal (I never noticed if black smoke was coming out).
Although I know nothing about cars, I did notice that there's less coolant (I filled it about a seek ago) and now it's almost empty.
What do you guys think?
Any help is appreciated.