Engine issues in volvo diesel, I know it know a vw but It is a diesel

1977busman

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I have a 1977 vw bus and a 1982 vw diesel caddy
Alright Im looking at a 1983 volvo diesel wagon. Its really cheap but doesnt run. Here is what the owner says "At moment, car cranks and smokes, I assume it would start with ether but I am not about to do that and who ever comes to look at the car will not be either, I know the problem is glow plugs." Im not sure if this is true what do you think the problem is judgeing by what he said. Also has anyone had any experience with early volvo diesels information is scarce on the web for these things.
 

UFO

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Actually it is a VW engine. :)

In 1979 Volvo introduced a diesel engine that was purchased from Volkswagen, similar in design to that used in diesel Volkswagen and Audi vehicles at the time. These engines were all liquid-cooled pre-combustion chamber diesel engines with non-sleeved iron blocks and aluminum heads. A Bosch mechanical injection system was utilized, but requires constant electrical input so that the fuel can be cut off when the ignition key is removed. A 2.4 litre inline 6 (the D24) and a 2.0 litre inline 5 (the D20) were available, producing 82 bhp (61 kW) and 69 bhp (51 kW) respectively. A turbocharged diesel was never sold in the 200 series Volvo.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Volvo_200_Series
 

1977busman

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I have a 1977 vw bus and a 1982 vw diesel caddy
thanks

Thanks that tells me a good bit more, all i knew is that the engines were vw. So any thoughts on what might be causing the starting issues?? And thats the exact car I am looking at.
 

Alchemist

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The story does sound reasonable. If the glow plugs are not working it will make a lot of white smoke and smell like diesel fuel. There are two possibilites that come to mind: The glow plugs are all burned out or the control system is not working. This can be tested simply with a test light. First connect the ground lead of the test light to the battery +, and then touch each glow plug terminal with the probe tip. If the plug is good, the light will come on. If the plugs are all connected together, any one good plug will cause the lamp to light. Next, connect the ground lead of your light to the glow plug terminal and the probe to battery - and turn the ignition on. If the light comes on, the control system is working. The present owner is wise to forbid the use of ether. It can be destructive to engines of this type, and is not good for any engine.

Paul
 

jcrews

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A hot air gun on maximum pointed in the intake might get it going for a quick motor test.

The reason starting fluids are bad is due to the explosive ignition. Pressure rises too quickly in the cylinders, and parts, particularly piston rings, get killed.
 
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John C

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Can you tell us the mileage on this engine? It's also possible the compression is down due to engine wear and white smoke occurs because the cylinder pressure is not high enough to produce the temperatures in the cylinder required to light off the mixture. Once it's running the white smoke may clear up upon warmup only to provide another starting issue once it's cooled off again.

A compression test would be a good diagnostic tool to determine the health of the engine.

I would check out the glow plugs and circuit first, if OK, then beware the worn out engine. Either probably would start it though, if it hasn't caused the problem in the first place :rolleyes: .

John C
 

doubledls

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You need sufficient cranking speed, good glow plugs and hopefully an engine that isn't worn out. I had 2 volvo 240 diesel wagons and put about 390000 mles on both together. There is also a cold start device that can be messed up on old volvo diesels.

I had some trouble starting my 84 volvo diesel wagon when it got to 300000 miles. It is pretty warm this week so it should start. You can bring or use another battery to get enough cranking speed. A volvo will start on just 4 out of 6 glow plugs. In case it is the glow plug timer, cycle the glow plugs several times before trying to start it. Also give it some fuel when cranking by depressing the gas pedal when cranking it. Crank it for at least 20 seconds and notice if it is getting closer to running. Finaly, if it starts to fire keep cranking it until it is firing on multiple cylinders.

It used to take me several tries with this procedure to start my 84 volvo. You can have someone push on the cold start adjustment (which is supposed to slightly advance the timing when it is cold) while trying to start it. When successful I would get a lot of white smoke that would go away after a few minutes. It actually ran good once warmed up.

There is a breather vent on top of the valve cover, if this has a lot of oil in this small line it is because oil is blowing by. The car will still run but you know it is nesr end of life or a rebuild. This was evident on my old car at 300000. It was a blue wagon with black leather seating built in August 1983. I still have some parts for it.
 

1977busman

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I have a 1977 vw bus and a 1982 vw diesel caddy
Thanks for all the insight

The car has 115000 miles. I am going to call the guy in the next couple of days to see if he is willing to do any of the tests before I drive for 2 hours to see it, and do it myself. My only question is that he says that it wont start and just smokes and cranks, wouldnt it at least eventually fire up with enough cranking, unless it had other problems.
 
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