Supragal Posted October 26, 2007 Share Posted October 26, 2007 I've got a Volvo V70 2.5 10v, on a 96 plate. About a month ago or so I started thinking that it felt like it wasn't as fast as it used to be, but I put it down to driving the Supra more and inadvertantly doing a comparison. Anyway, last couple of days it's been really bad, having to change it down and rag the hell out of it to get it to move. It ticks over fine, sounds fine, no lights on dashboard or anything else to indicate a problem. Then this evening it refused to rev over 4000rpm, even if you sit in neutral with your foot to the floor it won't go past. Any ideas? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest dangerousandy Posted October 27, 2007 Share Posted October 27, 2007 Any water in the oil? Volvo 850/V70's are very prone to head gasket failures. Make sure nobody has shoved a potato up the exhaust too! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
neil tt Posted October 27, 2007 Share Posted October 27, 2007 Sorry thought it said T5 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Supragal Posted October 27, 2007 Author Share Posted October 27, 2007 No it's not head gasket. Anyone know what this 'limp home' mode is? It sounds like it might be that but I'm not sure my car is the right age brakcet to have that. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
carl0s Posted October 27, 2007 Share Posted October 27, 2007 I know a man who knows a lot about Volvos, and is very clued-up in general. He's usually really busy and I think Saturday is the Jewish no-work day, but I could try and ring him tomorrow or give you his garage number. I'd say 9 out of 10 of the cars that come through his garage are Volvos, old and new. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Supragal Posted October 27, 2007 Author Share Posted October 27, 2007 Thanks carl0s, I think I will ring Volvo today and ask about the limp home mode, it seems like that (obviously doesn't explain what it wrong with it!) but I would have expected a light for something serious enough to cause it to go into that mode. It's just so precise with the cut off at 4k, it's not stammering or stuttering or anything it feels like it's hit a rev limiter except there is no bounce. It's the underlying lack of power that is the main concern though, it's like driving a 1 litre fiesta!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
carl0s Posted October 27, 2007 Share Posted October 27, 2007 You'd have thought there'd be some kind of indication, yeah. Oh well, good luck. I need to book Amanda's car in with Howard for an overdue MOT anyway so if he answers the phone tomorrow I'll ask the question. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
michael Posted October 27, 2007 Share Posted October 27, 2007 Have you reset the ECU? Could be a duff sensor or even a glitch that hasn't since returned but the ECU has been knocked into the "get you home safely so you can call Volvo" mode and might not drop out of it again until it's been reset at the dealers / by you. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Supragal Posted October 27, 2007 Author Share Posted October 27, 2007 No, the tools to reset are expensive, you can get ones to read and reset service light for not much but the ones that actually reset are a lot I'm thinking there is a genuine problem but it's hiding it from us makes it difficult to find!! I'm wondering if it's a sensor that's gone too. Of course now I have 2 days to fix it before work. Joy. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kranz Posted October 28, 2007 Share Posted October 28, 2007 I don't know a lot about Volvos, but...... If its the same as most basic OBD systems then a serious fault such as a sensor completely duff should light the check engine light & go into Limited Operation System (aka limp home mode). If its a slightly flaky sensor, then it waits for it to flag up the same fault for something like 4 times in a row (4 journeys), then should set the service light, indicating that there's a slight fault that needs attention. If you're getting no lights then that's wierd. It may not be a sensor but may be an engine component or similar such as fuel pump, injectors, clogged cat etc. The engine not revving beyond 4000 sounds like its a programmed rev limit rather than a failure induced one. As for the age of cars that have limp home, I was working on Fords in '97 that had them, and I guess they'd been around for a while in Volvo before that. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Supragal Posted October 28, 2007 Author Share Posted October 28, 2007 Ok so I spoke to Volvo yesterday, the guy seemed to think that a 96 will have an early version of the limp home mode but he couldn't really tell me much about it. The service light is on, but it's always on because we service it ourselves so it never gets reset, so that might be hiding something. However the fault has changed a bit now. When you hold your foot down it gets to 4000rpm and instead of stopping it sounds like it's choking and the revs actually drop and it gets a bit spluttery. Most of the sensors are less than a year old, same as dizzy cap, plugs, leads etc as we changed everything trying to diagnose the last fault (grrr) Bit more research and there seem to be a lot of things that can cause these symptoms. We've tested most of them to no avail, however today we are testing the PCV which commonly gets clogged up. It's a massive job though and it's raining Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
carl0s Posted October 29, 2007 Share Posted October 29, 2007 Hiya. Sorry for the delay. I spoke to Howard just then, although he sounded somewhat rushed as usual. I'm afraid he didn't have much to say, except that it sounded serious because basically nothing ever goes wrong with these cars. He suggested it might be something like a blocked CAT or fuel starvation. He said limp home mode would cause a light on the dash, but I stupidly said that there was nothing lit up on your dash (WTF did I get that from?). oh well. any news? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Supragal Posted October 29, 2007 Author Share Posted October 29, 2007 Well in theory there is nothing on the dash so you were right. Thanks very much for asking. We are also thinking fuelling issue. To test the theory of PCV being blocked, apparently you need to drive it then check the dipstick, if it's smoking then chances are that's your problem, so we tried this last night but it can't even make it to the end of the road now, so won't rev over 2k now so we can't even do that. Local Volvo garage will take it but prob can't look at it until next week, so we may have to go to the main dealer but that's 30-40 mins on a good day, and it's looking like we'll have to tow it. Not sure if an 850 will tow a V70 They are meant to be reliable. Think this one is a bit of a git though. Had 2 problems with it in 1 year of ownership, both major!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Digsy Posted October 30, 2007 Share Posted October 30, 2007 Hi Rosie, Sarah has a 2.5 10V V70 with 140,000miles on it on a "T" plate. It doesn't sound like a blocked breather to me. If it’s the same onyour car then there is a "flame trap" in the tube near the throttle body which has to be replaced as a service item. Its like a thick plastic disc with holes in it. It’s a bitch to get in and out because the hoses are so inflexible. Might be worth checkign that but it sounds like you are beyond that stage now, anyway. If it was strictly speed related, then I was thinking a sensor might be breaking down. If it was fuelling then I would have thought you would start to hear it pink as it ran lean when you booted it. On Sarah's you can hear the fuel rail pressurise when you first turn the key. Does yours do that? They also have a mahoosive fuel filter under the rear offside wheelarch in case that hasn't been replaced recently. Hope you get it sorted. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chris Wilson Posted October 30, 2007 Share Posted October 30, 2007 The air flow meter has probably failed, get someone to read the signal, most garages should be able to do this with a generic OBDII reader, it's a common problem. If it is this (and I am *FAIRLY* confident it will be, you can buy pattern ones here: http://www.bba-reman.com/catalogue/Product.aspx?product=21482 DO NOT buy one without bunging someone a few quid to read the old ones output though! Good luck. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Supragal Posted October 31, 2007 Author Share Posted October 31, 2007 Ok, after the most terrifying towing experience of my life it was at Volvo all day yesterday. To start with they were foxed too, everything tested fine, everything looked fine. The mechanic agreed with us and was adament it was timing. Anyway, after more investigation.... it's the cat. It's totally blocked. So, good that it's found, but bad because they are expensive. I didn't think cats broke down? That must mean unburnt fuel has been chucked down there, right? What I don't want to do is fork out X amount for a new one then find it's dies again. Am I right or is it a servicable part that breaks down over time? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tDR Posted October 31, 2007 Share Posted October 31, 2007 They do go with time but if you're worried about incorrect AFR's causing it's demise then have a new lambda sensor fitted at the same time. Cheers, Brian. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AndrewOW Posted October 31, 2007 Share Posted October 31, 2007 Reading all this sounds so much like the problems I had with my Vauxhall Calibra many years ago. Limp home mode, numerous cats, lambda sensors, fuel injectors, electronic gadgets, a whole new exhaust. Thousands of pounds later, it turned out to be the front wiring loom. It does seem strange your cat is blocked though. Had the fuel filter been changed recently? They work great, until you get unburnt fuel on it, and then they disintegrate quite quickly. Thats probably happened after it started to get blocked. One thing after another, so to speak! Hope it doesn't cost you too much. Mine was a nightmare, as the garage I used was eventually on Garages from Hell on tv! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Supragal Posted October 31, 2007 Author Share Posted October 31, 2007 Ok so it's £560 + VAT for a new cat, but Volvo agree and are worried about fitting a new one because we don't know the cause of the breakdown. They've tested the lambda sensor and it's not showing any issues. They have suggested it might have been the ECU problem we had previously causing a fuelling problem. I don't know what to do though, I don't know how to test to be sure it doesn't break again. For now I've told them not to fit a new one, I'll worry at MOT time. Any suggestion on how to prevent it happening again though are welcome!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chris Wilson Posted October 31, 2007 Share Posted October 31, 2007 You can get perfectly good pattern ones for a lot less, it's not uncommon for them to break up or ball up and block the canister. Search on aftermarket cats. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Supragal Posted October 31, 2007 Author Share Posted October 31, 2007 OK, well it's done 140k so I guess maybe it was just a build up over time then. Either way it's staying cat-less for a while Thanks all Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tDR Posted October 31, 2007 Share Posted October 31, 2007 Yeah I needed a cat for my old 406 TD - kwik fit said £300 odd, I sourced one through my local motor factors for £90. Don't pay stupid prices for cats! Cheers, Brian. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
carl0s Posted October 31, 2007 Share Posted October 31, 2007 He suggested it might be something like a blocked CAT or fuel starvation. Wow, I'm impressed Glad you've got it sussed. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
michael Posted October 31, 2007 Share Posted October 31, 2007 As said above you don't need to go crazy with a dealer CAT, the previous owner of my old Legacy just has a custom exhaust place fit a generic one for ~£100 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
letmeshowyou Posted October 31, 2007 Share Posted October 31, 2007 I ended up hollowing mine out on my calibra turbo Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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