Congratulations on going back to school! It will be worth every dollar of tuition to your self esteem.

NO! The dealer is leading you toward a cliff. There is nothing wrong with your transmission, yet. Have your son check the color of the fluid, and if it is very dark brown, have him flush it with a case of new fluid. That takes about 30 minutes in your garage.

The PNP switch replacement was needed. The inability to remove the key sounds like the shift micro switch, under the shift lever in the center console, needs to be replaced. Volvospeed.com has this procedure documented.

Have your son replace the thermostat and the ECT (engine coolant temperature) sensor at the same time. This will get your temp gauge working again.

1995 850s have a pretty reliable ECM, at least for members of the Brickboard. Most of the problems can be diagnosed with the two little black boxes hanging off the large black ECM box. The 850 Turbo is a great car and easy to work on. Sounds like the dealer wants you to give him this car and spend $37,000 to replace it. And the new ones will be harder to fix.

Look around for a trusty shop to replace the front struts. You can get a good deal from www.shox.com for new ones. Your son should also be able to do this at home, if he rents a spring compressor.

Klaus


Klaus
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1975 164 w/174,800mi (Sold) 1995 850T w/91,000mi, 1998 V70R w/129,000mi