I have:
- s/h working MAF
- s/h working ICV
- s/h clean throttle body and switch
If you are interested?

Do check the hose like I suggested - easy to do

Good luck with it, Nick

After a morning of decorating, an hour to play. I figured I'd check the ICV and the flame trap. ICV removed, didn't look too bad, but given a clean anyway. Same goes for the flame trap.
I only found out last night that with the LH2.4 system you can get the little code reader box thingy to cycle round and operate the various parts like injectors, ICV and so forth. So with the ICV removed but connected, a test cycle applied and it's working fine.
Also checked the plug on cylinder 1 to see if it was sooted, not too bad.
And the net result of my fiddling, apart from just beating the rain? Absolutely no difference whatsoever...
The first 15 - 20 seconds on cold start it idles nicely at about 1300rpm as I would expect, but them drops to 500 or so, stutters, picks up to 1500rpm, drops, repeat. Pickup from this is not good.
Throttle body gasket should be here later this week, so I'll strip that and do a dark room check of all the hoses too.

Ceiling and walls painted. Gloves on (or should that be off??) and the throttle body gasket dropped through the letterbox, excellent timing.
My logical brain started up at about 0400hrs this morning. The idle issues started after I set the TPS correctly, which then brings the ICV into play. As soon as you touch the throttle, the ICV is out of circuit, and the airflow is controlled by the throttle flap. So, perhaps too much air passing through the throttle flap, leaving the ICV struggling.
Anyway, stripped the throttle body off, I think that may be the first time in 179,000 miles! After removing the TPS, a thorough clean with carb cleaner and the rather wonderful Bilt Hamber Surfex HD which I discovered when working on the Capri.
Once clean it was obvious that the throttle flap was not closing fully at the idle position, sitting approx. 1mm open. I guess this is from where the garage previous adjusted the idle in an effort to alleviate the other issues. Suitably adjusted to close fully, TPS re-attached and adjusted. Bolted back on the intake, throttle cable adjusted, all good.
Next, checking the intake hose for cracks. Some ingenious use of gaffer tape, and I closed myself in the garage and off with the lights. Torch check, much wiggling, no issues shown, though not sure what the neighbours think....
All back together, and start... A bit ropey to begin with, poor pickup. Figured I'd drive round the estate, ha ha, that was fun, shocking, no power, then a surge, then no power. Reversing back onto the drive it all just settled down. So off we go again, engine now warm. Pretty good, went very well indeed and pulled through from the idle to 4k rpm nicely.
Left for 5 hours to cool, and went out this evening. All good. Be interesting to see how it goes from an overnight stand...

Well I'll call that a success. Booked in for an MOT at 3pm today, I spent the morning jacking up each corner and checking all the gaiters, bushes and so forth. Nothing of particular interest found, cable ties instead of one exhaust mount explain the occasional rattle from that, and a little play in the NSF lower suspension arm rear bushing.
A quick once over with a bucket and sponge, roof rack unclipped and off we went for a 20 minute warm up drive. Still a little spluttery for the first mile, I need to have a look at that, but after that absolutely spot on.
45 minutes sat waiting at the garage, and a pass with only 2 advisories. A bit missing off the bottom of the front numberplate, and a small leak on an exhaust joint.
Well pleased with that, and worth the hours spent to resolve the engine issues.
Next up will be a full belts and filters service, plus gearbox oil change. Then it's finding a bit of trim, specifically the drivers door strip, a few panel clips here and there and we're sorted.

Well done! What a relief to get the MOT sorted out.

The remaining engine hesitation until it warms up is a bit of concern, there's obviously still something not quite right.
Could it be the system temperature sensor? I can't remember whether you have replaced that, or just confirmed that its resistance is within spec?
It might be worth replacing it anyway just to be sure?

It's very awkward to get at, but basically straightforward, and you don't need to worry about water gushing out - it's a small hole and if you keep the filler cap tight and have the new sensor ready to hand you barely loose a drop.
I think I found a ring spanner of the right size was best - possibly even a cut-down one levered with a long screwdriver.

That was my next stop @Clifford Pope. It's a bit of a pain to get at, but well worth checking as it may be the cause. I gather if it's iffy the engine doesn't know it's cold but operates as if it's already warm which would explain the behaviour.

When I had to re-fit that sensor, I used a deep socket on a long 3/8 extension. A locking extension is useful. A locking wobble is nice. :)

I still haven't grasped my way around the electronic fuel / ignition &c. I do know that ABOUT two years ago someone in the 700 section experienced a temperature sensor failure that "failed differently" than usual. That confused their resident source of knowledge. Hey ho .... Jam jar diagnostics is not an entirely exact science? ;)


.

Just noticing that you mention a gearbox oil change. Some thoughts:

Assuming that your car has an M47 'box (5-speed), then you need to use ATF, not EP80/90. This is quite important. I used Redline Racing ATF when I changed the gearbox oil on my car. It cost more than ordinary ATF, but the difference in gearchange was pronounced.

It may be worth over-filling the 'box if you can - too much will put the seals under pressure. I mention this as the rail for 5th gear is high up in the 'box and more oil simply helps lubricate that gear, that's all. How is this achieved? Jack the car up on the gearbox oil filler side and add an extra 50ML or so.

I also invested in magnetic filler and drain plugs (as I did for the engine) - always interesting to see the steel gunge that accumulates!

You mention rear light clusters - I have a reasonable second hand pair if interested. They are located in Teddington (SW London) so maybe not far from you? If so, PM me and we can sort something

Good luck with it all. Nick

As I said once before:

https://www.volvoforums.org.uk/showthread.php?t=261325

There's an endless debate on this subject, and you can find support for any view you want.
I'd only add;
a) personal experience
b) whatever was said and true for a new gearbox is not necessarily true for a box that has done 200,000 miles.

Well that was fun. A morning of flatpack building did my knees and back no favours, and since the replacement fuel tank sender thingy arrived yesterday I figured I'd do that this afternoon, I mean, how hard can it be.....
I should have guessed it was going to be 'challenging' ( I blame it on Brookhouse charging me P&P on 2 orders, then sending them in the same box, I feel a snotty email coming on).
Striping the floor out was easy, then the challenge of finding a brass rod to knock the lock ring round. No joy, so big screwdriver and some insulation tape to avoid sparks saw the old ring off. I did give the whole area a scrub and airdust off to minimise the amount of cr*p that could fall in the tank. At this point I realised my obvious mistake, the pipes were still attached. 26+ years of corrosion made these difficult, especially since it's all got to be done through a 6" hole, keyhole mechanics! Ended up having to slit one of them, but enough slack for it not to be an issue. Old unit came out with a bit of jiggery pokery, and I was surprised to find a pump on the end of it. I'm even more surprised the car has been running so well as this pump has not, cannot have been running since I bought it as I physically cut the cables to the tank.....
Anyways, pump switched to new sender, likewise the old float ball after reading about the aftermarket ones failing, and the new sender was fiddled in. Pipes on, new seal and lockring fitted, suitably bashed round, now using part of the split fuel pipe as an insulator.
Battery -ve re-attached, and starts on the button. Strange hearing the in tank pump, but nice to have a working petrol gauge, YAY!!!!

Got a few lamps to replace in the centre console for the heater controls, already figured how to get to those. Also one not working behind fuel/temp gauge, need more fiddle time to work out how to get to those.