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I have recently bought (within about a month) a 1998 S70 base model. Ok, so on the new car, the idling was always a *teeny tiny teensy* bit rough (was eventually going to get to that) - after a day's trip to Atlanta (from Nashville) and back, something is wrong with the car!! The trip was this past Tuesday and yesterday night (Thursday), I noticed this. There is a smell - never smelled it before anywhere, kinda like fireworks (after you shoot them off) mixed in with a mineral spirits/metallic smell. The funny thing is, I can't see smoke and it goes away once you turn the car off. (Why I think something is in the engine...) My boyfriend thinks it's my transmission (changing the fluid was on the to do list - it was very unmaintenenced by the previous owners...), but then if so why would my car idle so rough? It feels like I'm on a boat... seriously! I haven't checked the oil to see if it's a blown head gasket (the temperature gauge points perfectly in the middle when the engine warms up and the engine never over heated in the first place) - I am at work and am heading to my dad's (a 10 minutes drive) as soon as I get off. Also, today on our way to work, it works fine with higher rpm, but when I let off the gas pedal to slow down and it felt like the engine was choking (like it needed spark plugs or something, except when you need spark plugs this usually happens when you push the gas and not let go, right?) So, here is a list of what could have led to this: (or what I have gathered) 1. Tranny fluid/tranny itself 2. letting the gas tank get empty before I fill it (hey, I am in college... the guy at work said it could be dirty/bad fuel injectors) 3. bad timing belt? timing off (dealer exchanged at 75k, the car is 116k now, could it have gotten messed up with my #6 experience?) 4. throttle body hasn't been cleaned (on the to do list) 5. air pump is out; why the engine light is on and I confirmed this with the dealer (still haven't replaced that one 'cause I thought it could wait - maybe it's just fried itself completely, but wouldn't that smell after the engine was off and it wouldn't cause the engine to idle rough.... right?) 6. a small incident that I think may have led to this: (no woman jokes please) on our trip back from Atlanta, I stopped at a gas station, but on the off ramp to get there, I took a wrong turn and decided since no one was there I would back up and go the other way - well, as soon as I back up, there is this giant semi coming and I try to stop the car, throw it in drive (like in the good 'ol manual days, without thinking) and the car chokes out and dies (kinda like letting the clutch go while in gear) I restart the car and it is running rough, but then is fine. No problems until Thurs. ...did I throw off the timing? Why does it smell? Did I destory my car? Someone from another forum said that it sounded like a catalytic converter going out. I hope this is not the case. Could a faulty air pump cause this? Or would the oxygen snsors go out? The car has 116k. Can you replace these items yourself if you are car savvy or is this a mechanic only repair? Which brings me to the second entry:

Ok - an update on my situation: 1. I talked to a parts guy at the Volvo dealership (both of them in my area are pretty nice - Nashville and Franklin, the one I was at) and when I described what was happening to my car (the choking, uneven boat engine sound of the engine, the shimmying, and the gas mileage, and the smell) he said that his wife's volvo's ECT fuel sensor (something that sounded like this) had gone out and that was kinda what her car was doing until they replaced it... he said that a catalytic converter is sort of unlikely, even with the mileage (they do go out, but it's not common.) 2. When we were changing out the spark plugs, my dad said the old ones looked like the engine was getting too much fuel. (That ECT part is only about $60 - a far cry from a catalytic converter...) 3. Weird because now there is smoke coming out of the exhaust... more of a sooty, but grayish black and THIN smoke, same smell... 3. BUT First we're going to change out the air pump and the SAS valve (what the check engine code said was wrong), which could also be causing this? The previous owners had gotten the diagnostic and declined the repair (I have the dealership records), hence the good price on the car for do-it-yourselfers... I am probably going to go to Autozone tonight for another diagnostic to see if anything else has popped up in the meantime. (I will post them here) Thanks so much!!!! That is amazing. I never knew about that and I was thinking about going to the dealer for this! JRL & MadeInJapan - you're awesome!! Thanks for the info! 4. The parts guy said to clean the throttle body as well - I was going to anyway, but quick question: what does this part do? Just curious and I don't want to wait 'til my dad gets off of work to find out. That's about where I stand. If anyone knows where I can find a really good air pump for a really good price, please let me know. I will try the fcp site - I heard someone found one somewhere for about $300... Also, I've heard rumors that the S70 and 850 air pumps are the same pump (part #, too) but are priced differently depending on the model of volvo that you ask about. Any info/advice? I'd like to go ahead and get these parts so this can be fixed by the weekend (sooner, if I can get the parts here), so I can see if it works - kinda scared to drive the car around like this but I don't have another ride! Arg. I just don't want to screw anything else up by not getting to the root fast enough. Oh, and I finally scheduled a transmission fluid change at a local Mr. Transmission - (did you know that they don't do flushes because they think it tears stuff up? How cool - they do it the old-fashioned way... heard good things about them, too... I hope they will do a good job! -comments on experiences will be greatly appreciated!!) ......... and after a few replies from helpful people: (why I LOVE LOVE LOVE forums) OMG!!!!!! "9179271 Air Pump fits all models $295.00 Genuine Volvo or Pierburg" from fcp. I love you people!!! (I thought $380 at least with my luck!!!) I will be able to eat this week.