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I just bought the car and will be picking it up this coming Tuesday. It has 169K miles on it as a one owner car. The body is in very good shape and the interior needs cosmetics like floor mats and other minor stuff. The timing belt hadn't had it's second changing yet so the owner is going to have it done before I pick it up. What else should I be looking for and what else should I do at this mileage?
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I also bought a 94 850 (non turbo)last year and many of the suggestions here are right on the mark. Mine needed the A/C evaporator and also a radiator. Also brakes, filters, and some hoses. Cleaning the flame trap is a real good idea and checking the vacuum lines is real important. Also check the ECU codes to see what else has set off any alarms. In addition, there are the typical 94 problems I fixed myself--odometer and speedo went out suddenly, power drivers' seat needed shaft replaced, rattle in the hatch at the back of the wagon needed fasteners, problems with the remote control key fob, balky rear window switch, and a squeaky steering wheel. Lately, after changing the tranny fluid with DextronIII I have noticed slipping when the car first starts in cold weather. Still it is a nice car and I like it. Good luck with yours.
Chuck
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posted by
someone claiming to be fixit 2003
on
Tue Nov 1 02:24 CST 2005 [ RELATED]
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If there's no evidence that the throttle body has been cleaned recently you may want to have that done. It's not that big a job if you're moderately mechanically tilted. Be sure to also remove and clean the flame trap and vacuum hose port. It often gets plugged w/ carbon and needs to be drilled out. Check the motor mount under the crank pulley. Keep it touch.........
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Does the car come with maintenance records? Not having the belt changed a second time at this mileage is living dangerously. It sounds like you have bought the car, so there isn't much you can do about the high ticket items like rear main seal, ac, tranny etc unless you have a problem - then you'll have to get it fixed. We'll assume you drove the car and it didn't have erratic shifting. Spring seats commonly fail on our cars. Symptom: going over the slighest irregularity at low speeds (20mph) causes an annoying squeaking sound. There are other lower cost items such as the brakes, which need regular maintenance. A lot of folks replace the rotors every other pad change. Some people have them turned, while prevailing opinion I believe is that's not a good idea for the 850. Klaus mentioned the highest priority preventive thing after the belt, checking/changing the tranny fluid. I think someone recommended every 30K for that. Synthetic oil was mentioned, which is something some people swear by and others (incl my indie 15 yr experience mechanic) believe is overkill. I change my regular Castrol oil every 3K miles - you can actually see it begin to breakdown after 3K - gets dirty and thins. I buy my filters at KMART for about $4. My mechanic says he has replaced struts maybe twice in all the years he has worked on Volvos. Other mechanics disagree. There are some excellent resources on the web if you do your own work - the folks here are one, volvospeed.bay13 is another. I was looking for a service manual, and the people here said don't bother. That advice has been right on the mark. Good luck!
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Don,
You buy your oil filters at Kmart? No wonder your oil is dirty after 3K. Buy a case of Mann filters at FCPGroton with 10 crush washers and do your Volvos a favor.
Klaus
--
(1975 164, 1995 854T, 1998 V70R)
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Hi Klaus - I saw "KMart?" in my mailbox, and knew I had said too much. I use FRAM filters - I don't mind saying so. When I replace them they weigh 3x what they did when I put them in, so they work. Here is the important point. At 2700 miles, the oil still looks ok. One time I let it go to 3700 miles, and was shocked to see the oil looked much dirtier than than it *normally* does at change, and was much thinner than it usually is at change. I mentioned this to my mechanic, and he immediately concurred that there is a good reason to change the oil at 3K. He said in his experience, there is a rapid breakdown sometime after 3K miles with a "quality non-synthetic oil". People can have different opinions, and I respect there are the synthetic oil fans out there. However, I have been driving at least 2-3 times the annual "average" number of miles people drive for 25 years, and have never had trouble using Castrol oil and filters purchased at discount houses. As a point of interest, the fellow who bought my GTI told me he has a friend in the taxi business. His cars go typically 300,000-400,000 mi, and he said his secret was to change fluids and filters every *1,000* miles. On the other hand, I met a salesman who puts 50,000+ mi on his large Lincoln sedans a year. He has gotten around 300,000 mi out of a few of them, and said he has never done any work on the engines. I asked what his secret was and he said he swears by synthetic oil. I have never had to do any work on my engines either, so I am happy with my particular approach. I do respect other's opinions though. Best regards, Don
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Some of the 94s also have a recall on the gas tank - some developed leaks on the top side. Might ask if he has smeeled gas in the passenger cabin or ask if the fix has been done or he has gotten the notice.
Timing belt VERY important. If it goes you'll be shopping for a new car again.
Given the age and miles you can look forward to various sensors and little things like a thermostat in the near future. But don't worry to much, we are here to help!
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Get 4 mounted snow tires and a tranny flush. You should be good to go. Remember to always use synthetic oil in the engine and kep an eye open for leaking vacuum elbows.
Klaus
--
(1975 164, 1995 854T, 1998 V70R)
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Klaus is absolutely on the money. However, he left one thing out...does the AC work? Make sure of it. These cars have a weak point called the AC Evaporator, and when it leaks and goes it's $1000 to tear the dash out to get to it to replace. If the AC doesn't work, have the guy come down on his amount, or have him replace it, and ask for receipts...easy to fill with gas and 2 days later there is no more gas. When we bought our 850, we didn't even think about it...we were 850 Ignorant to say the least and these boards helped us learn about our new car and its quirks pretty quickly. Anyway, when we bought our car, it was winter time and so we didn't think about AC...when it warmed up in May or June, the AC didn't work. Wow...what we were getting into then is not something we want anyone to have to go through...so get it checked, and make sure it works, or at least deal with it with your seller if it doesnt.
--
1998 S70 T5 Emarald Green Metallic, 2004 V70 2.5T Ruby Red, Previous Owner of Black '94 850 Turbo Wagon. My cars have been running so well lately they've got me worried.
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posted by
someone claiming to be fred
on
Sun Oct 30 04:50 CST 2005 [ RELATED]
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MadeInJapan is right. The AC is important. Ours quit on us in the middle on the Nevada desert as we were on our way to Vegas. Horrible experience. We had to repair it at the Volvo dealer in Vegas and when we picked up the car after "repair" and having checked out of the hotel, it still didin't work. We had to check back in for an additional day so they can fix what I think was indeed the evaporator.
Also, check the alarm. Ours was interfering with the car starting up randomly and it took a lot of $$$ and towing to figure out what is was all about.
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Thank you all for your opinions and suggestions. I did buy the car and have had it now for about a week. I bought it as a winter car so I don't have to drive my 97 854R through another winter on the east coast as well as for having a wagon in the family. I wanted a 240 but saw this and that was that.
The 94 had a very clean body as well as under the hood and tracked straight and idled nice, those were some of the attractions to it for me. Aside from that an 850 made sense because I have extra wheel sets and spare parts. I love the wagon and having it now just makes me wish I had one earlier. It does ride nice in spite of the fact that the suspension is original and while it's not clunking it does sway and roll like a boat. Shocks and struts along with the seats will be next, I did the the timing and acc belts and tensioner pulley right after getting it home. The car is bone stock right now and I intend to just drive and maintain it through the winter and see how it acts before modifying it. I also have to look into AutoRX I think it is, as a solution for cleaning up the engine before switching over to Mobil1 with regard to the rear main seal. Yesterday I took it down to get a Mass. inspection sticker and the mechanic asked if it was a 99. He must not have been familiar with the model line but that was also after three solid days of polishing every panel with a PC 7424. That made me feel pretty good about the purchase itself, now if Koni yellows were only a little cheaper.
Thanks again for all the replies, I'm sure I'll be back for more help
Wallie
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I wouldn't put Koni's on that car...way too harsh and it will rattle all your inside dash parts apart. I would go with the cheaper than OEM and better, smoother and tighter ride's Bilstein Touring shocks and struts. I'd change the spring seats in the front as well as shock/strut mounts and sway-bar end links. You can get these parts for really decent prices at www.shox.com Just my 2cents but worth keeping in mind for when spring comes around and you want to start upgrading. Best of luck with what sounds like a great purchase!
--
1998 S70 T5 Emarald Green Metallic, 2004 V70 2.5T Ruby Red, Previous Owner of Black '94 850 Turbo Wagon. My cars have been running so well lately they've got me worried.
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Thanks MIJ and you're right about the Konis, I have them in the R. My original idea was actually on the Bilstein TC s & s just so I don't harshen the ride and in the end I know that's what I'll do. I love the Konis though and the overall set up on the other car just handles so good. I'm going to do the wagon a little more conservative though.
I have a couple other questions if any one can help or point me in the right direction. I need to know how to pull codes using the non OBDll set up that's in the 94, I don't know how yet. The 97 I can read and diagnose with my hand held scan tool but I have to admit I've never delt with any thing else for code pulling. I set a CEL on the way to work this morning long after the car was warmed up and with just very moderate boost. It almost felt like an 02 sensor was slow to respond with the way the car was acting but I need to figure out how to use the boxes under the hood. I thought there was something on that over at VS but I couldn't find any thing.
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Reading the code is just like explained here (no matter what type of codes you're trying to read): http://www.volvospeed.com/850slight.php
The different types of codes and which module box you use, etc. is listed here under DTC Codes: http://www.volvospeed.com/maintence.htm
Good luck! I would highly advise you to buy a Haynes manual for 850's ('93-'97) that you can buy at your local AutoZone or other parts store. They are about $15 and have lots of good information in them...I still refer to this manual for my S70, though some things have changed in my model year car.
--
1998 S70 T5 Emarald Green Metallic, 2004 V70 2.5T Ruby Red, Previous Owner of Black '94 850 Turbo Wagon. My cars have been running so well lately they've got me worried.
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Thanks MIJ for pointing me back to VS, I was over there this morning looking and couldn't find what I needed. I have a Haynes manual and generally look in it when I need something but haven't yet regarding the 94.
Thanks again
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