Loss of power and hesitancy

[gmotS40T4]

Driving in to work this morning and noticed that the car seemed to be hestitating ander acceleration, almost stuttering. Then, pulling away at a junction, the car would simply not go above 2000rpm in any gear for about 10 seconds. All of a sudden the engine seemed to jump in to life and carry on...albeit with the hesitancy still being an issue.

I am absolutely baffled as to what is causing this. The CEL is not on and there are no fault codes on the ECU. She is always run on V-Power, apart from the last full tank before the current one which was standard Esso stuff from a motorway service station...but now 3/4 of the way through a full tank of V-Power again.

Anyone got any ideas?

Thanks,

Gareth

[p fandango]

an air leak/split pipe was the first thing that sprang to my mind

[gmotS40T4]

an air leak/split pipe was the first thing that sprang to my mind

Ok, so my first job is to check all of the pipework. Is it worth checking the recirc valve at the same time?

[p fandango]

Ok, so my first job is to check all of the pipework. Is it worth checking the recirc valve at the same time?
i'd of thought it would still be alright on a S40, there only just starting to go on a few of the older 850's so would of given yours a few more years yet

[daveforber]

Battery/charging was the first thing that went into mine... But it'll soon be obvious if that's the issue!

[volvo440]

have you checked dizzy cap, spark plugs and rotor arm or possibly coil pack on way out