Hi there i have been talking to a bloke down the road drom me about his 340 he is thinking about selling it to my but there is a problem with it ,
The car starts perfect when cold or a cold day but on a warm day he say it just wont start, just wondering what might be causing this problem before i commit to buy and if this is a cheap or costly problem?

any advice is welcome and i will be extremly grateful.

Cheers Austin

I thought I had this problem and it turned out I was flooding the carb. Have you tested the spark first of all?

Condensation in the Dizzy when hot?

Now THATS what I call a stab in the dark.

no not yet as i have bought it yet just was wanting to no i it was a easy fix,

im goin to service it as soon as i get it anyway, did changing the sparg plugs stop yours from doing this ??

Its a good place to start dude.
From the description it could be a few things.
Im sure people will be able to tell you what to check, but not what the problem DEFINATLY is at this stage.

okm cheers well im open to any ideas atm

Oh also HT leads could be an issue. Basically mate it could be a really really easy fix or really really complicated. But we will help the best we can.

sounds like it just needs it's regular maintenance to me, maybe a refurb for the carb aswell.

easy job though, good luck.

Presuming its a later model with computer ignition, It would be unlucky but someone else found a faulty flywheel sensor recently (sticks out of the bellhousing on top). These can be temp sensitive but usually not over such a small range.

If its very black and white not starting, and there is no spark, check the sensor wiring and plug at the ignition module, with a meter if possible.

Anyway not expensive provided you can source in a scrappy and a 10 minute job for an amateur. Probably worth getting one just to try it out (£5) and have as a spare.

If its futting away and just taking ages to start then could be more serious, or just an over rich mixture.

The only really expensive thing is low compression caused by burnt valves or worn pistons, but not usually so temp dependant. If the car has a good body and the engine done <100Kmiles it could be worth buying at the right price.

With 340 1.4s the real killer is damaged drive shaft, which mechanics have a habit of damaging during other work.

well the car is a B reg and the guy has had it for the past 16 years nd hes about 70 years old and he bought it off an old guy so i doubt its been thrashed,
the car its self is a 340 dl 1.4 3dr with 120k on the clock he says its dosent burn oil, the car its self a done about 50 miles in the last year he hadnt started it for a couple of weeks when i went to see him and it started first time nd there was no blue smoke from the exhaust or any like that.

Sounds like an honest car dude.
Sure with a bit of fiddling it'll run sweet as a nut.

Where abouts are you?

Im in worksop nottinghamshire, yeah it sounds alright i just depends on if he will sell it lol

Out of interest, is the DL a diesel? Because there we are talking a whole different world of starting (and frankly, simpler) problems.

usually, but not on the case of 340s.
DLs are petrol in 300 land.

someone will be along shortly to explain why...............................................................................................

It's all about trim level. The same markings were used ever since the 140 series got trim level markings in 1971. I'm stealing this off an article about Volvo's best-selling car ever, i.e. 240-series:

During the series’ long run in the market, they have been marketed in different trim levels with different trim level designations. The L or the Luxe trim package is the least expensive of them all. Next is the DL or the De Luxe trim, followed by the GL or the Grand Luxe, the GLE or Grand Luxe Executive and the usually most premium offering, the GLT or Grand Luxe Touring and the GT or Grand Touring packages.

Notably missing from the list is GLS, though.