1988 Volvo 740 GLE running problems

[John Sweeney]

Chaps,

Just to provide an update, the car was recovered this morning and happily is now fixed.

It turned out to be a blocked engine breather, which accounts for the strange backfire. Seems to run more smoothly now as well.

Thanks for all the advice.

John

[stephend]

Thanks for the update. Have you seen any sign of untoward oil leaks from the oil seals? Or the dipstick being pushed out of its tube?

I hadn't realised that a blocked breather could have such an effect on performance...

[John Sweeney]

Nor had I. No strange oil leaks (in fact no oil leaks at all, the engine is dry and dusty), no pipes or the dipstick displaced. There wasn't even excess crankcase pressure, as this was one of the things I checked before calling the mechanic.

All very odd considering I've done 800 miles in the last five days without a problem, then park up and two hours later it won't start! Mustn't grumble though: the problem seems to be fixed, the car runs smoother than before and it wasn't an expensive ob. The way the engine sounded, I had a gut feeling it was going to be expensive or terminal. Just shows how dodgy my mechanical intuition really is!