Routine maintenance
 

As my vehicle is approaching 90k I thought I would check the distributor cap and rotor for condition and wear. I have no documentation which would indicate that these have ever been serviced so as part of my routine maintenance an inspection was in order. Both the cap and the rotor were showing extensive internal wear and corrosion. Both, in my opinion required replacing rather than just cleaning. Maybe if you have a 70 series around this mileage and you are unsure about the condition of these parts, it would be worth checking. I understand the ultimate symptom is failure to start particularly when the engine is hot. I have images of the old parts but not sure how to upload them for you, sorry.

Worth spending a bit more and purchasing genuine Volvo parts, they will last another 90k miles

Wouldn’t consider any other!

Bad hot starting is usually the fuel pressure not holding when you turn it off, so it boils inside the pipe and takes a few seconds to built up the pressure and clear the vapour before it starts.

why not clean the cap and rotor properly and get the dirt off ? the cap is rather special as it is coated with a lacquer which prevents tracking. I don't think you will find a new cap like that as only volvo specified that.

Not quite sure what you mean here but I was not experiencing bad starting. I was simply stating that a distributor cap and rotor that requires replacing can show symptoms of poor starting particularly when the engine is hot. One of many reasons an engine will fail to start! Trust me, it would be foolish to clean my distributor and rotor as they are to damaged. They will be replaced with genuine Volvo parts.