Possible dumb question

[Ashtong180]

Hi fellow turbobrickers , after owning my new 245GLT for a couple of months, I’ve been getting to know its quirks better. I’m not mechanically inclined but I’d love to try to get my hands dirty as long as it stays running lol. Some problems I’ve noticed are that when it’s idling (at start, at a light, etc…) it dips intermittently from 1K RPM to around 3-400, and sometimes (vary rarely) dips so low thst it stalls, but never while driving luckily, every time it dips below 1k it feels like it’s sputtering / misfiring, however when It’s running above 1k it’s smooth as butter..?? Do I need to turn the idle up? Is it running rich? It does get a little stinky every now and then but it’s also my first old car so maybe it’s normal… my other concern is when I’m accelerating, if I’m any heavier on the throttle then a feather it revs above 4K and shifts to second a little above 20mph depending on how hard I’m on the throttle and even redlines if I’m on flooring it (as expected) I can’t complain though I am starting to like the sounds and boost it gives me though . I have been getting used to it by lifting my foot off the pedal when I want it to shift. I’ve been told it’s the kick down cable not being adjusted, so I’ve had a friend look at it and he had told me it’s all the way adjusted? Any insight I could receive would be greatly appreciated! Will provide videos if needed.

 

[Janspeed]

No, it's not normal. But it's an old car and old cars get problems caused by old age, neglect and wear.

In this case i would try cleaning out the idle control circuit. You didn't mention the type of engine in your car but i suppose it has an idle control valve. You can try taking it off and cleaning it internally with some carb cleaner. Clean the electric connection as well. Also clean the connector on the wiring loom using some electronics cleaner. Let all parts dry off or use compressed air. Then reinstall.
The idle circuit is activated by some sort of micro-switch that is attached to the axel of the throttle valve. This switch can be dirty or wonky or not working at all. (thereby not switching the idle control on/off). This switch often has a mechanical adjustment which determines when it does the switching. This adjustment needs to be correct.

The throttle axel is also a part worthy of some attention.
- feel for excessive play of the axel in the TB. If there is too much it allows the engine to suck in false air past the axel. That can cause unstable idle speed.
- clean out the TB using carb cleaner. Over time a ridge of dirt may have been deposited close to the throttle valve butterfly. At idle the throttle is almost closed so any buildup of dirt may have an effect on the idle stability.

After you have made sure all these details are OK try again and re-evaluate idle quality. If it's OK you are done.

If it's still not OK you need to dig deeper and check for vacume leaks between throttle body and cylinder head.
Think about:
- vacume hoses that can have a small crack or that are not attached airtight.
- injector seals that may allow false air into the engine,
- a leaking intake manifold gasket
Any of such leaks can be identified and pinpointed by spraying starting fluid on the suspected area while the engine is running. If the idle speed changes noticeably you just found an air leak.

 

[tbrcktch]

What year is your is your new car, and how many miles? Assuming it's a turbo?

 

[bobxyz]

From the OPs earlier post, it's a blue K-Jet turbo wagon, showing very good taste I might add.

1985 Volvo 240 · Wagon 4D - Cars & Trucks - Sublimity, Oregon | Facebook Marketplace

www.facebook.com

Since you're in Portland, I'd post in Wanted for someone local with K-Jet experience to ride along and guess what's going on. Offer pizza and/or a refreshing beverage in exchange.

 

[Ashtong180]

What year is your is your new car, and how many miles? Assuming it's a turbo?

You're right on the money! It's an 85' and the owner had a new intercooler swapped in so that end should be covered.

From the OPs earlier post, it's a blue K-Jet turbo wagon, showing very good taste I might add.

1985 Volvo 240 · Wagon 4D - Cars & Trucks - Sublimity, Oregon | Facebook Marketplace

www.facebook.com

Since you're in Portland, I'd post in Wanted for someone local with K-Jet experience to ride along and guess what's going on. Offer pizza and/or a refreshing beverage in exchange.

Thank you thank you thank you!! I've been searching for the perfect specimen, and with the surplus of 240s in Portland, it was very hard to not jump onto the first one I found when I was itching for it the most.... I'm very new to the scene, if it isn't too much skin of your teeth do you think you could help me flesh out a nice attractive post? I'll cover the offerings part though lol. Some refreshing beverages are definitely a necessary part of the offer, it's starting to warm up in Portland now to about the 80's so we are all dying, we need our rain!

 

[bobxyz]

I thought that wagon looked familiar. Send me a PM and I'll email you .pdf's of the craiglist ads from 2/2022 and 5/2022 (it's a blue turbo wagon thing). The 2/2022 ad said:

1985 Volvo 245 GLT
Factory turbo intercooled 245 up for sale. Extensive documented service history with many desirable upgrades
completed. Tons of new parts and maintenance completed within the last year.
Some of the upgrades include:
- All suspension bushings IPD polyurethane
-BNE upper strut mounts
-Upper and lower GT strut braces
-IPD front and rear sway bars
-IPD turbo camshaft
-STS machining adjustable camshaft gear
-DO88 complete intercooler hose kit
-K&N air filter
-90+ exhaust manifold
-15G turbocharger
-Yoshi Fab wastegate mount
-Yoshi Fab turbo oil drain
-Turbo Smart adjustable wastegate control
-VDO boost PSI/Vacuum gauge
-Remote start, keyless entry and alarm
Too much stuff to completely list in ad. Would not hesitate to drive this car cross country as it sits. Comes with extra engine block, cylinder head,
complete set of factory service manuals and other spare parts. If interested, I can provide a complete list of all maintenance and upgrades. $8500.

For a wanted ad, something simple like:

Title: K-Jet Expertise in Portland Area
X months ago, I bought a nice '85 245 K-Jet wagon that has some quirks - <link to pictures>, <link to this thread>
In exchange for pizza/refreshing beverages, I'm looking for someone to look it over and suggest what to do next.
Thanks,
<yourname here>

 

[Ashtong180]

I thought that wagon looked familiar. Send me a PM and I'll email you .pdf's of the craiglist ads from 2/2022 and 5/2022 (it's a blue turbo wagon thing). The 2/2022 ad said:


For a wanted ad, something simple like:

That’s actually insane that you found the ad for it! (Blue turbo wagon supremacy ) I have all the service manuals but I never found half the stuff that it says on that ad I’ll PM you right now, and thank you for the prompt I am going to copy and paste that exactly as is!!

 

[culberro]

Check the vacuum tube/hose from the intake manifold to the IAC, and for the IAC to the intake plumbing. It really sounds like you have a large air leak that’s really apparent at idle. You should also check for any air leaks from the fuel distributor to the cylinder head.

Definitely get the trans serviced (lube and filter), and lube and adjust the throttle kickdown cable (inspect it and the linkages on either end)

 

[bobxyz]

I didn't see any replies to your wanted ad, but hopefully someone has reached out to you.

As I read it, you have a few different problems
1) erratic K-Jet idle speed
2) AW-71 transmission shifting late
3) kickdown cable disconnected

The erratic idle could be dirty throttle body, or poor idle switch adjustment, or air leaks. The Bentley Volvo 240 Service manual had good info on these.

The transmission shifting late could be bad fluid levels, or a transmission that's starting to go out. The Bentley manual has a chapter on the auto trans that starts out with how to properly check fluid levels. I'd start there.

If your trans fluid is old (post a picture if not sure), you could try replacing it. Unfortunately, you can't just drain it like the oil because most of the fluid is trapped within the transmission and torque converter. If you even have a drain plug, not typical, you can only drain ~3 quarts at a time out of 7 quarts total. IPD had a transmission cooler hose drain kit that let's you drain a few quarts at a time (see Bentley) if there's no drain plug.

The kickdown cable is needed when you're cruising and want to pass - you step on the gas and the transmission downshifts. I don't know why people disconnect it, but it's probably due to the transmission not behaving correctly.

 

[Khrrck]

IPD had a transmission cooler hose drain kit that let's you drain a few quarts at a time (see Bentley) if there's no drain plug.

The IPD kit is for flushing the entire trans with the engine running. You feed new ATF into the return line from the radiator and collect the old ATF at the feed line until the whole volume is replaced / it starts coming out clean. Should be able to get most of the fluid replaced with that method. The IPD kit is not necessary as you can do the same thing with some hose clamps, a funnel and some vinyl tubing, but it is convenient.

The kickdown cable is needed when you're cruising and want to pass - you step on the gas and the transmission downshifts. I don't know why people disconnect it, but it's probably due to the transmission not behaving correctly.

I believe it's also the "throttle position sensor" for the valve body - so you can get behavior that's a little weird even in normal operation. Losing the kickdown function is not the only side effect. I have replaced one of them before in an O'Reilly's parking lot. It's doable but a messy pain in the ass.

Ashtong, if you haven't found anyone more local / more Kjet-expert to take a few minutes and look at these, you can PM me and one of these weekends you can come out to the west side for us to look at the non-Kjet parts.

 

[Ashtong180]

I didn't see any replies to your wanted ad, but hopefully someone has reached out to you.

As I read it, you have a few different problems
1) erratic K-Jet idle speed
2) AW-71 transmission shifting late
3) kickdown cable disconnected

The erratic idle could be dirty throttle body, or poor idle switch adjustment, or air leaks. The Bentley Volvo 240 Service manual had good info on these.

The transmission shifting late could be bad fluid levels, or a transmission that's starting to go out. The Bentley manual has a chapter on the auto trans that starts out with how to properly check fluid levels. I'd start there.

If your trans fluid is old (post a picture if not sure), you could try replacing it. Unfortunately, you can't just drain it like the oil because most of the fluid is trapped within the transmission and torque converter. If you even have a drain plug, not typical, you can only drain ~3 quarts at a time out of 7 quarts total. IPD had a transmission cooler hose drain kit that let's you drain a few quarts at a time (see Bentley) if there's no drain plug.

The kickdown cable is needed when you're cruising and want to pass - you step on the gas and the transmission downshifts. I don't know why people disconnect it, but it's probably due to the transmission not behaving correctly.

Sadly, nobody has responded to the advert yet but I'm staying hopeful... I'll try to get some time this week to check all of those options, however, it might take me a while as I barely know my way around the engine bay and I'll need to know what I'm looking for looks like . I have previously checked the KD cable and it seems to be connected with a reasonable amount of slack. I haven't been able to have someone check for leaks but I had checked all the connections which seem secure, and the hoses feel like they have reasonable pressure. I also had a shop help me check the fluids (O'Reileys) and they told me it was all looking good. I've located the idle control valve or what I believe could be so next up (if I can) would be cleaning it. I would really hope for it to not be the transmission that is just too much on my plate at the moment so I hope it just needs some elbow grease and a tune-up.

The IPD kit is for flushing the entire trans with the engine running. You feed new ATF into the return line from the radiator and collect the old ATF at the feed line until the whole volume is replaced / it starts coming out clean. Should be able to get most of the fluid replaced with that method. The IPD kit is not necessary as you can do the same thing with some hose clamps, a funnel and some vinyl tubing, but it is convenient.



I believe it's also the "throttle position sensor" for the valve body - so you can get behavior that's a little weird even in normal operation. Losing the kickdown function is not the only side effect. I have replaced one of them before in an O'Reilly's parking lot. It's doable but a messy pain in the ass.

Ashtong, if you haven't found anyone more local / more Kjet-expert to take a few minutes and look at these, you can PM me and one of these weekends you can come out to the west side for us to look at the non-Kjet parts.

I would very much appreciate having a fresh set of eyes and brain help me out, anytime this weekend or late in the day this week works. If you're available, let me know what you would want in terms of munchies/beverages and I'll make my way over whenever is best. I don't believe I have a throttle position sensor as I believe it isnt equipped with an ECU.
Many thanks,
Ashton

 

[504]

As others have noted, a vacuum leak is a likely culprit.

But as a general note. These cars will run even if a lot of things are broken or worn out. In addition to finding possible vacuum leaks, think about doing a number of standard tune-up items. Air filter, oil filter, oil change, spark plugs, spark plug wires, fuel filter, thermostat, coolant.

At one point, I had some ongoing misfires; I did a number of the items mentioned above; it turned out that the spark plug wires made a big difference.

Maybe also replace the MAF.