Hi All,
Here's a strange problem I have with a 1987 Volvo 340 1.7 GLE that was given to me a couple of years ago. The car suffers from the usual probelms with this model that are well-documented on this site (erratic tickover, moisture getting in distributor cap etc), but this particular example has an interesting extra problem: when straightening up after turning right, the engine stumbles momentarily (2-3 seconds) as though suffering from fuel starvation.
This problem started subtly and has gradually got worse to the point where it is a real nuisance in certain situations (eg turning right across oncoming traffic etc). Any ideas what the cause could be?
I can only think it could be 1) something wrong in petrol tank plumbing (or baffle?) 2) poor fuel pump performance being exposed in "g" conditions or 3) carburettor problems. I have had the carb off recently and found nothing amiss. Certainly made no difference after I had cleaned and checked everything.
I've run out of ideas for now, so any suggestions welcome.
Paul
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I never thought I'd read 'g conditions' and 'Volvo 340' in the same thread. Understeery little blighters aren't they.
I've found Redex poured directly into the carb to be useful, and I'd give it an Italian tune halfway into a tankful of Optimax too.
Hopefully someone will be along wth something less carp in the not too distant.
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Well I did put a small "g" in inverted commas ;-)
You're right, the handling is, well, er..... interesting. The previous owner (my father-in-law) had managed to acquire a special brand of non-stick tyre which meant the back-end slid wide just going very modestly around a wet roundabout. A new set of tyres cured that nasty habit. It has had plenty of motorway driving in the recent past and has just run through 2 tanks of Optimax, but the "turn right" problem remains.
Paul
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Cannot be certain.But may be float chamber is not filling up causing that effect need to check the float chamber.I dont know what the clearance is for float to valve but if too tight will shut off fuel supply before filling chamber with petrol.Hope that helps
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Have you tried the Vovo Owners Club website forum, also Brickboard.com?
There's a thread on other models doing the same at the moment, I'm sure you'll get lots of responses specific to the car.
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Any chance of an intermittent fault in the ignition/steering lock?
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I would also check the low tension wiring to the coil & distributor pick-up. Sometimes the outer sheath looks perfect but the inner wire fractures & breaks the cct momentarilly under 'G' conditions. Just giggle the wires & see if running is affected.
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I don't know if this is relevant or not but I used to have a Renault 5 1.7 GTX which had the same engine and a similar problem. Spent hundreds replacing carb and all sorts, until I took it to another garage which diagnosed the problem as being due to an air restrictor valve in one of the carb inlet pipes. Can't remember if that was exact the description but it was definitely due to too much air being allowed in at low revs. I found I always had to accelerate hard from junctions to stop the car from hesitating.
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Ah, the 340...
I drove one of these as a company car for some years.
Surprisingly comfy but with the handling of a "Silver Cross Pram carrying an anvil".
I recall a multi-way connector block in the offside front wheelarch/scuttle area causing intermittant cut out at one point. The fault you desicribe certainly points towards fuel, but this one is worth a try.
HTH
rg
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Wow, what a great response. Thanks for all your replies. Looks like I have some investigating to do this weekend.
Will let you know what the cause was (ssuming I manage to find it).
Paul
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Well, I've finally sorted this problem out. It looks like the carb float and/or needle-valve were responsible. I bought a carb repair kit and new float from www.carburetters.co.uk/ and replaced float, needle, gaskets etc and, hey presto, the car no longer stumbles when turning right.
Prior to this, with the help of an MOT-tester friend, I had also found that the idle mixture was very rich and came to the conclusion that the float chamber was overfilling giving an overrich mixture, with the "stumbling" being caused by the mixture going so rich during cornering that the engine could not run properly. This also explains why the fuel cosumption was very poor when driving slowly (around town), but excellent when at motorway speeds.
With the overhauled carb the car is much easier to start, and now also has a nice even tickover, which it didn't before. Plus I can turn right without wondering whether I will make it before the on-coming traffic hits me.
Total cost for carb spares was £59.
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