Pinking problem refuses to go away

Hi,

My 1988 340DL, 1400cc has a persistent pinking problem mostly when going uphill, or whenever accelerating briskly.

The pinking occurs in short bursts, and usually stops even when still under load.

I took the car to Volvo who said it needed a wiring kit for the renix unit. They replaced the wiring module and 2 fuel pipes found to be leaking at a cost of 56.22.

It isn't long before I discover the blasted pinking still there.

I have cleaned the dis. cap, but wonder if I should replace, along with leads and plugs.

There also appears to be an occasional flat spot when warm.

Does anyone have any ideas what may be causing this problem?

I'm now trying to find a good garage that may know about these cars.

Most grateful for any advice as hoping to go camping next week!

thanks,

Matt.

[migrator]

Hi Matt,

I have always understood 'pinking' to happen after switching of the ignition and to be engine 'run on' because of bad fuel combustion.

I will assume that what you have described is a loss of power under load. I had a similar problem on an old car (not Volvo) and I traced the fault to a small hole in the carburettor diaphragm.

If you have the Zenith carb fitted to your motor this would be worth checking. Also in this type of carb it is worth checking to ensure that there is sufficient light oil in the carb dashpot.

Hi,
have you checked the Carb bolts ? see if they are tight enough, and also the 3 screws on top of the carb .. this happened to me and they were loose, tightened them all and no problems then, sometimes they come loose through the vibration of the engine over time. hope this helps, .. if it does'nt at least it didn't cost anything ;)

Bev&mart

[srtames]

A few things you can check

check for air leaks esp small pipe into inlet manifold from air cleaner
check carb to manifold gasket bolts tight
check air cleaner to carb bolts (threads can strip) retap to M5 size with new M5 bolts(requires care not to get swarf in carb!)
clean carb jets
clean off deposits on electrodes in dist cap
clean plugs
use 97 octane petrol

good luck, steve

there is a list of non main dealer specialists if you join the club

Errrm..... Guys, I'm a novice on this engine but is the timing adjustable on this model?? If so, Get it seen to as soon as possible, as running like this over long periods will eventually burn the valves. Incorrect timing is the usual cause of "Pinking".

Hope This Helps.

Regards
Dave M