I love my new '95 850 Turbo wagon(88K)! This probably clinches it, "I will be a Vovlo guy for life." But as usual I have questions about my little baby. For instance, my old reliable 240 took regular gas, sounded like a washing machine, and started immediately - even after being under 3 ft of snow for a week during this years blizzard. My research says that I should use at least 91 octane for the 850 so I've been using premium gas. Correct or not? I'd hate to burn a piston ring. Also my radio needs a cd player. All of the ones I've seen on Ebay are at least $200. Do I have any options here. The back hatch on the wagon will not stay up when opened. Is there a way that I can tighten the sleeve so the thing stays up when I'm loading stuff? Or can I put a new sleeve on?



Any other maintenance tips would be appreciated.

thanx for any help,
cobyfrombrooklyn

PS - what is the correct tire pressure I should be maintaining?

Coby,
I replaced my radio with an SC816 (single CD player) and I love it. Traded in my old radio at the dealer for ~$225. Black face, of course.
Unless you have to go around with full turbo boost, 89 octane will work fine. And on Interstate road trips, 87 octane will be OK so long as you don't try to floor it. Stay away from discount stations, 2 cents a gallon = 38cents savings on a tank full, and not worth it if you get water instead of gas.

Flush the tranny fluid now and then every 25-30K miles. Easy to do. Clean the throttle body and IAC valve whenever you do a tune up. Look in the gas filler door for correct tire pressure, I usually run 34F 32R with an empty car and more for road trips.
Have fun with your car,
Klaus
--
(V♂LV♂s 1975 164, 1995 854T, 1998 V70R)

Your best bet is to exchange your current radio (SC-811?) for a black faced SC-816, either on Ebay or at the dealer. You'll spend more than that on an Alpine CD changer for the trunk, and then you're stuck with whatever's in your changer anyway. $200-$250 and you'll have a factory looking installation.









Mike
'95 850T (w/SC-816)

if you have a vovlo head unit with a cd button on it you can fit an alpine chm630 with a volalp adaptor.....i did!

hatch is easy just repalce the hydraulic rams...cheap and about 10 minutes to do!

buy the best gas you can, and change the oil frequently.....

tyre presure depends on the rim/tyre combination you are running on 16's with 205/50/r16 avon zz3's i found about 32 on the front and about 30 on the rears gave me the best result - but that was one up driving, for loads you would obviously want more....

Thanx man! Any idea where I can get the Alpine cheap?

in the uk so my sources would be of very limited use to you...try shoving it in google?

The rear hatch struts are sold at www.fcpgroton.com for about $25 each. Watch out for the circlip. It is a bit hard to understand but once you get them out the rest of the procedure to change them out is easy.
--
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.

I replaced the rear hatch struts on my 240 wagon with some from FCP Groton, and they are very stiff, don't operate at all quickly. They are also just a little shorter than stock, so the hatch does not open quite as much as it used to, and the hole for the stud at the top is a touch too small. I was able to get it to fit by sanding it, but I shouldn't have to do that.

I suppose it's normal after-market mis-fit (I've had similar problems with after-market parts from IPD) but it was aggravating. Can't complain about the prices, though.
--
Charles Grammer - '93 245 (145K), '96 850 (173K)