Holson, sorry to hear the car is still having problems. You should be able to access the top of the coils without removing the alarm horn, but it is listed in the service manual as one of the steps. Unless you have corrosion or physical damage, I would not expect it to completely resolve the hard starting problem.

I agree with Gilly regarding fuel/electrical checks and the harness -- in addition to the fuel pressure, check the condition of ignition wires and the main harness itself. The harness is one of the weak points of the M119, and you *will* end up replacing it sometime during the life of the vehicle. The big V8 generates a lot of heat, so the wire insulation breaks down with age. The harness in my car literally crumbled when I replaced it last year.

You should set a demarc time after which a mechanic is called in, to preserve your wallet and sanity ;-) There are lot of minor items to check that cannot be done over the Internet - fuel system leaks, fuel filter, battery output, condition of the fuel pump relay, etc. It may be worth the $75 diagnostic fee to have someone tell you "dirty fuel filter" instead of spending $750 on minor parts. But everyone's threshold is different.

Good luck,
-DM

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1995 E420 SE black/black
2004 Volvo V70R AWD