Sorry for the delayed response. I have had a busy week so far. I did get back to the Volvo on Wednesday and I did make some progress! First discovery was what I left in the trunk:
As you would expect the poor car is covered in years worth of twigs, pollen, leaves, and general natural detritus. The tires are partially sunk into the ground. The tree that was once "near" the car is now trying to envelop it. The first 30-40 minutes had me cleaning off this stuff and trimming back the branches.
The hood again would not unlock. But thanks to the comments in this thread over the years from ngoma, v8volvo, and RedArrow, I was able to get it open! I clamped a small vice grip on to the cable behind the red lever and pulled (hard) and I heard the hood pop. That was a big relief! I think that indicates two things: 1) the cable likely needs a course and/or fine adjustment, and 2) the latching mechanism needs to be serviced. Opening the hood was tricky as the hinges were very stiff but I managed to get it lifted enough to expose some of the hinge apparatus and spray some PB B'laster in there. Working the hood up and down it became easier and finally I could open it fully.
What I found was an engine compartment that looked just like it did in 2017. There were twigs and detritus on the perimeter where the hood gap allows. But other than a small vine growing near the air filter housing everything was fine. I was fearing that a squirrel or mice had made a home and well everything would be covered in everything else.
I removed the fan and fan shroud so I could sneak in the Volvo special tool to rotate the engine. I could not easily get to the crank screw from below as the car was sunken in a bit. I also removed the upper front timing belt cover to make sure nothing had made a nest in it.
I then started checking the following in no particular order:
- Engine stuck? - No
- Front timing belt? - Looks "okay"?
- Can the turbo spin? - Yes
- Coolant level - Low
- Oil level - Low
- Transmission fluid level - Good!
- Power steering level - Low
- Battery (was disconnected) - 3.1 volts
- Throttle pedal - moves
- Brake pedal - does not move; I did not force it
I topped off fluids and got them to acceptable levels. At this point I wanted to check if the engine could turn over.
Quote:
Originally Posted by v8volvo
If it were me, with a front cam belt that is at best 16 years old and maybe older based on what you wrote before, I wouldn't even engage the starter until after changing that belt.
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Yes, I totally hear that v8volvo, and it makes perfect sense. But I just wanted to hear a "rah-rah" from the engine and I would be satisfied. To do this I hooked up the battery, my jump pack, disconnected the injection pump fuel cutoff solenoid, and turned the key in the ignition switch. I got nothing. Dashboard lights lit but when going to the starting position everything went dead. I removed the jump pack and disconnected the battery and cleaned the battery terminals and cables, and connected everything back up. My volt meter showed that I had ~12 volts. I turned the key expecting failure again and what I got was "rah-rah rum-rum-rum" and in a panic I turned the car off. It had started on 2 cranks of the starter after sitting since 2017!
I ran to the back of the car and there was the smell of diesel exhaust. Faint but it was there. This result really surprised me as I assumed it would be a struggle to get it going again. Plus
I disconnected the fuel cutoff solenoid. In my mental "but hows" and "what thes" I went to the engine compartment and disconnected the jump pack. I found that the positive cable of the jump pack was
very warm, hot even. I turned it off and removed it. My first thought was that the glow plug relay was on. Likely the entire time. My second was that I had disconnected the wrong connector on the injection pump. That was true.
This brings me to remembering the following about the car:
- In the 10 years I have driven it it has needed a new battery twice
- If the car was to sit for a week I would disconnect the battery, or it would be low
- Sometimes the glow plug light would not illuminate when starting and I would need to tap on the GP relay to get it working
I have known that the car has a battery drain condition. More of an annoyance as the Volvo has always been a third car. However I wonder if the GP relay has been to blame the entire time? That day when I had the key in the "pre-start" position I noted that the glow plug light was not on. This further convinced me that the engine would not start and to my surprise (and horror) it did. It is surely possible that there is another source of the flat batteries, like an interior light being on, or something else. But that GP relay has been troublesome to me for years. I have a Volvo Green book and it has a good description of the glow plug circuit and its operating modes. I've been reading that over to aide in troubleshooting.
Other general observations:
- There are chunks of oil in the coolant reservoir from when the oil cooler ruptured several years ago
- The PS return hose is wet and brittle and likely the cause of the fluid level being low
- The engine harness has several wires lacking insulation
- There are cobwebs in the interior
- The radio is broken (but it was before)!
A buddy and I flushed oil out of the cooling system one summer several years ago. But I now believe a more thorough cleaning is in order. I have a used engine harness that I think I bought off Anders a few years ago that should be an improvement.
I am happy with the car's condition. It could have been much worse! I plan to be back there in about 2 weeks. It's parked on a lot that I own across the street from my parent's house. So I can kill two birds with one stone: work on the car and see the folks.
I want to focus on:
- Field or bench test the GP relay
- Remove the master cylinder and free the stuck plunger; perhaps bench bleed it
- Inflate the tires and move the car out of the ground
Last picture is of the engine compartment after using a battery-powered leaf blower on it.
At that point I will need to decide if I am going to get the car towed to my house, or drive it. I can see pros and cons to either situation. I really don't want to change the front timing belt there, but driving the car home would be a great victory for me and the car.
Thanks for reading this far.