Bringing the old girl back to life

I'd start with changing filters (oil, air, and fuel), oil, drain the old gas (if it hasn't already been used up) and refill with fresh, clean the injectors, clean the battery and other electrical connections, and replacing the plugs. On an '85, also inspect the engine compartment harness; I believe those were some of the biodegradable ones.

YW

Gary

Start with the gasoline. It is probably seriously stale if the car has been unused for a few months.

Best is if you can drain it. The gasoline can still be used, but greatly diluted. Adding a gallon of it to a tank of good gasoline won't hurt. Dunno if you have enough jerry cans around to store it or enough cars to transfer it into, though.

Once the tank is suitably low, fill it with fresh gasoline (nothing special) and add a bottle of Techron to the tank. By the time the tank is half empty you should see a big improvement. Run that tank pretty low before refilling to get the most out of the Techron and to move most of the old gas out.

If the old girl is still creaky, cleaning the throttle body and checking the plugs would be in order. And don't forget to check the flame trap soon!

Mike

Okay, you got me there. "flame trap"?

Yes, a "gotcha" in that vintage. Check out

Nope. Turbos don't have a flame trap...or rather the turbo _is_ the flame trap (the crankcase is vented to the elbow between the flow plate and the turbo.

I hate to tell you this, but having owned 'em, the 240 Turbos are pigs on gas. If it's an auto, 12mpg around town, well, might not be that far off. Both my 245T wagon and 242Ti with 4sp/OD never cracked 25mpg highway in their lives. 7.5:!CR and mechanical fuel injection is not the height of fuel efficiency. That having been said....leaking hoses are your #1 enemy. Replace them all (I'm willing to bet that the one that goes to the dizzy has blown off giving you both a vacuum leak and throwing off the timing). Also, check the rubber turbo hose/hoses (only one on non-intercooled from the compressor to the cross over, two on the intercooled ones: one each to and from the intercooler)...you may well have a crack that's only opening under positive pressure and is causing the mix to run seriously rich, which will quickly lead to a clogged catalytic converter.

Bill

Thanks Mike and all others. Looks like a greasy weekend for me. With some good places to start!

I'm assuming that the fuel has been topped up as otherwise tyou'd have no way of knowing that the consumption was so poor.

Apart from a full service: air and oil filters, plugs, fuel filter and oil, get the carburettor tuned and possibly consider getting it rejetted. You can usually buy carburettor renovating kits comprising jets and diaphragms etc. for a small sum.

out

Yeah, not cleaning the flame trap for a couple of years, despite regular oil changes, will lead to replacing all the oil seals and gaskets on the engine, for $1000. guess how I know.

one possibility is a stuck/leaky injector, from sitting unused for so long.

They're not the most fuel efficient things around, but I've never gotten as low as 12 mpg. Lowest I ever got was 13, and that was entirely around town, and thrashing it constantly since I'd just cranked the boost up. Usually it does more like 18 town and 25 highway.

Carburetor? We haven't had those cursed contraptions in Volvos since the early 1970s, and even in slower to adopt countries, Volvo never sold a carbureted turbo.

That has been my experience also.

No carbed 240 turbos (well, no factory ones). All had Bosch K-jet.

Bill

Can't happen, Bosch K-jet is CIS "Continuous Injection System" The injectors only close when off, so not a possibility. I would however suggest replacing the seats that the injectors go into, since that is a common source of vacuum leaks on higher mileage ones. Bill

Sure it can, yes they're pressure activated valves, but they can still leak below the desired open pressure and the effect is very similar to an EFI injector leaking. These injectors are very sensitive to contamination, it's worth checking the spray pattern.

D'oh! I knew that but overlooked the original post part about the turbo. Thanks for keeping me honest!

Mike

Well turbos aren't *supposed* to have a flame trap, but that's not to say somebody hasn't stuck one in the empty housing. I always check and clean out the housing anyway, it never hurts.

Believe it or not, my *hoses* plugged up! It had the same effect as a plugged flame trap. I was on the freeway when I noticed I was being followed by a smoke cloud. It was about five miles by the time I got the the next off-ramp and by then the oil was about three quarts low. The oil/air separator was also very restricted, but the long hose from the "Y" was plugged solid.

Mike

As far as I know the car is completely stock.