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Hi All,
Well I finally picked up a used 850 Wagon yesterday, it's a -95 Turbo.
It runs very strong, shifts well and is pretty clean inside and out. Price was negotiated low since it has a number of known issues that need to be fixed.
The first one I plan on tackle is a smell of coolant in the cabin situation, I will first check hoses and connection points but fully expect a leaky
Heater Core.
Question 1:
Does anybody have experience with the aftermarket cores compared to OEM?
I found a few on E-bay and in particular one that claims to have a better design than stock...Anyone tried these, if so how did it hold up?
Second issue is loose front struts, one poke up a few inches through the mount as you push down on fender. There is also rattle noice from upper strut areas when you drive. I believe it's a common upper mount / bearing issue?
I will probably look at replacing rear shocks too.
Question 2: Do you replace the whole strut(s) or just the mounts? What brand is recommended, economical but not crap quality? Sources for these, ipd or others?
Third issue is non working ODO like pretty much all other 850/v70 I looked at..
Question 3: Anyone found a good aftermarket kit that improves on the design / durability of this problem area?
Some seem to claim if you replace with a stronger gear, it will wear down the opposing gear instead..I guess you would need some sort of complete kit that replaces all weak gears..Any ideas of sources / kits out there that work well?
Fourth issue is a ABS light that comes on and off...I am not too stressed about it at this point since the brakes work well without ABS. But once the other issues are worked out, I'll probably look in to this one.
I read somewhere that it is common with poor connection points and or maybe loose solderings inside control unit.
Question 4: Any hints, write up on this? Where is this unit located on car?
I appreciate any input from you that have addressed one or all of the same issues.
Thanks
-95 850 Wagon Turbo
-93 960 Wagon
-68 122 Sport
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I went with the IPD heavy duty strut mounts and sway bar links
along with Bilstein Touring Struts/shocks. The strut mounts are a famous
wear item, so get the best parts.
Do you have service records? How many miles on the timing belt?
I'd check out the motor mounts at the firewall near the throttle cable,
and by the front of the engine. (Access via the passenger side wheel well)
The EGR system needs attention especially if the car is using dnyo oil.
There's a lot on the board about this, and the benefits of using synthetic oil.
You might get proactive about changing out all of the old vacuum lines and elbows,
since they are likely to mess up your system when you'll least like it.
Think about flushing old brake and transmission fluids.
Bill
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Thanks for ideas Bill. Also pls see my "UPDATES". But I think I failed to mentioned there, yes I did replace the Strut Mounts since the bearings were worn with free / loose wobble. The Spring Seats were also completely shot with the inner bushing separated, those were replaced with XC90 seats per recommendation here by Klaus. Struts themselves were completely shot too and replaced, so the car drives really nice now, especially compared to before.
I am running it on Mobil 1 10w-30 Synthetic.
I did replace a couple of vacuum lines that were cracking by the waste gate, when I had stuff pulled to get to the distributor and rotor replacement.
No Service records unfortunately, but the timing belt was replaced at 120K according to sticker in the engine-bay, so I'm good until 190K (136K now).
The Engine Torque mount upper front (the difficult OEM one), I did replace, the others looked OK on inspection, I even had the Right front by wheel off but it was fine(I would still have replaced it if the part they sent me hadn't been the wrong part). Even though there is some vibration at idle that can be felt inside the cabin...maybe they all do this?
EGR has not been tackled, will have to wait, seems like a bear....
It was just put in to "official" service and my wife is drove it the first time yesterday and loving it! :)
The 960 will now be sulking on the street for sure...
--
-95 850 Wagon Turbo (136K) -93 960 Wagon (133K) -68 122 (300+K) [-97 M3 (233K) -69 Firebird 400 (110K) -81Kawi Gpz 1100cc -05 Triumph Speedtriple 955cc] /That's all for now folks :) Lars
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Cheapest heater core on the market! Heck, it only takes an hour to replace yours, go for it!
You might have original struts/shocks. Because strut removal is necessary to replace the spring seat, which probably failed, get XC90 spring seats! They fit and last a very long time. The bolts that attach the strut to the control arm get stretched, so new bolts/nuts are needed. I have a Sears spring compressor which works quite well. It took me 2 hours to do the right front and an hour to do the left front. Rear shocks are easy, except that the bolts are accessed inside the trunk and can be a bother - they rust and collect dirt on the exposed threads.
For the ODO gear, just Google it and pick one. You can get the correct mileage from the OBD port on the front fender: A-7. Enter 1-1-1-1-1; 1; 1; 1 to get the right 3 digits and 1-1-1-1-1; 1; 1; 2 to get the left 3 digits. -- a semicolon indicates a wait time of about 2 seconds -- If the light blinks 10 times, that is a zero. Do this to get the correct mileage just before you pull the cluster. Then use a pencil eraser as a drill bit to turn the odo to the correct number - it may take a while depending on the number of miles.
For the ABS, you are in luck! No soldering needed. Read the codes in A-3. You will probably find a sensor not working properly in the rear. A wire brush to clean off the axle usually works wonders.
ABS only keeps the brakes from locking up, especially the rear at high speeds.
Klaus
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There is no present time, just the past and future
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Great, thanks Klaus!
When you say XC 90 Spring seats, do you mean the upper strut mounts that bolt in to car body? The spring on the lower part as far as I know rests on a mount on the strut itself and not sold by itself? Do you get these OEM?
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-95 850 Wagon Turbo -93 960 Wagon -68 122 Sport
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The spring seat sits on top of the coil spring. Usually when that goes, the spring rattles and can move. I suspect that is what is wrong with your car. But replacing the seat means that the coil has to be removed and compressed, which is as much labor to replace the shock itself.
If you take a large spanner or channel lock pliers and turn the upper large bolt clockwise, it is not supposed to move much and try to return back to the original position. Otherwise the spring seat is a gonner.
The part that bolts to the upper fender with 3 bolts seldom goes bad.
Klaus
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There is no present time, just the past and future
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Thanks Klaus,
Just to be sure, this is (either one of these)the part you say would fit my car?:
http://www.fcpgroton.com/product-exec/product_id/16416/nm/Volvo+XC90+Strut+Mount+Spring+Seat
http://www.ebay.com/itm/MOOG-K90229-Coil-Spring-Insulator-Seat-/220930153047?pt=Motors_Car_Truck_Parts_Accessories&fits=Model%3AXC90&vxp=mtr&hash=item3370769a57
http://www.ebay.com/itm/VOLVO-FRONT-COIL-SPRING-SEAT-30683637-/360377050694?pt=Motors_Car_Truck_Parts_Accessories&fits=Model%3AXC90&vxp=mtr&hash=item53e8256646
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-95 850 Wagon Turbo -93 960 Wagon -68 122 Sport
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Yep, the FCP is the correct part.
Klaus
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There is no present time, just the past and future
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Thanks.
Since this is designed for the XC90,
1) Do you think the ride height will be affected if installed on my 95- 850?
If slightly lowered, that's OK, but I would not want it to sit higher.
I also saw that IPD is selling their own re-designed version,although it's $45 instead of $30 (x2), not sure which one would work best..
http://www.ipdusa.com/newsletters/114/1158/shocks
PS I also saw this post on the brick elsewhere, is that a separate dealer item or included when you buy the spring seats?:
"If you have had your spring seat bushings replaced and they still make noise, there is a volvo peel and stick 1/8" rubber spacer that is supposed to be applied to the top of the spring seat to fill a gap between it and the bearing plate. It also cushions the spring seat to the bearing. It is apparently being left out at dealers and you wouldn't know it was there without looking at the tech diagram at the dealer. This part gets crushed paper thin after installation so you wouldn't know it was there, but it is essential. Volvo part number is 9157705. If you've had a spring seat failure, chances are, this part was left out."
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-95 850 Wagon Turbo -93 960 Wagon -68 122 Sport
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I went with the IPD heavy duty strut mounts. The others crap out all too fast.
I wound up getting IPD heavy duty sway bar end links and a set of street sway bars
and later found that FCP has heavy duty Meyle end links.
I opted for the Bilstein touring struts and shocks.
You'll want to clear your EGR system which is usually neglected service,
and means yanking the intake manifold, perhaps you can clear the port on the intake manifold via the opening at the throttle body. There's plenty of posts
and write ups about that on the board.
Check your motor mounts, the one by the passenger side of the engine
you access through a flap opening in the wheel well and the one on the firewall
near the throttle cable is easy to eyeball.
Switch to synthetic oil to minimize EGR and oil gallery blockage.
Your ODO has a broken 5 tooth nylon (or whatever) pinion gear
There's a place in Virginia Beach ODO gears maybe that sells that pinion and the mating gear that they say also craps out for $50 a set
There's write ups to change the gears and its an easy job maybe an hour after you understand. I bought two sets of gears and they gave me a fair discount
cuz I did my car and a friends car. They also charged me Mass sales tax which
is bogus unless they have an outlet in Mass. I felt hosed by that and wonder
if they just pocketed that money.
Good luck with your 850
Bill
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Bill,
Thanks for good info! The IPD goodies sounds very tempting and I haven't yet decided, but I'll probably go the budget route for now since it will be mainly the wife driving it - except for our camping trips and Costco runs...
I like performance mods myself and may go that route if the car proves itself as solid as I think / hope. It has definitely seen some maintenance neglect though and the EGR cleaning seems to be a must to look in to. The engine mount rubber for the rear one is completely gone! So that will for sure be fixed and I'll check the others too since they most likely have been taking up the slack..
Synthetic oil for sure in all my "semi: modern cars / bikes from the 90's and up..mineral for the rest of the gang :)
--
-95 850 Wagon Turbo (136K) -93 960 Wagon (133K) -68 122 (300+K) [-97 M3 (233K) -69 Firebird 400 (110K) -81Kawi Gpz 1100cc -05 Triumph Speedtriple] /That's all for now folks :) Lars Sport
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A little update is in order:
-The heater core worked out great so far, snug and good fit with no leaks. The manufacturing quality looked really good and we'll now just have to wait and see.
I will not miss that sweet antifreeze smell inside the car...:)
-Struts and Shocks, I went with the cheap ones on E-bay "Sensen" since they got great reviews on other forums for various Japanese cars and for $105!... Unfortunately they did not fit my car, the front struts were only inserts and too long to fit in my OEM housings...The rear shocks had different top mounting....
Very disappointing to find out when you have one strut out of the car.
The company was very good to deal with though and gave full refund, free return shipping etc.
So I ended up with the Monroe OE Spectre struts and they actually ride quite nice.
The rears were actually fine and didn't need replacement at this point.
-Engine mount (upper- OEM rubber ) was a bear but it's installed now.
-Tune up done with Spark plugs, Cap and Rotor and oil and filter Mobil 1.
-Various cracked vacuum lines to wastegate / turbo replaced.
-Odometer was fixed with both gears replaced. Very tight to get the instruments back in to dash, or rather to route the turbo boost vacuum line properly. In hindsight I should have removed the whole top dash instead of just lifting the left side, since a few pieces of the lip in the front holding down the dash top broke off. But not a huge deal, can be covered by a nice dash cover I may look in to in the future.
-Tailgate shocks replaced and inside panel repair done.
-Heavily oxidation tail lights restored by sanding and buffing.
-Just did an alignment today and I'll post a question on that separately.
-The car is ready for the road and runs really strong! :)
I pasted a link to my photo album below, hopefully it works..
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The XC90 spring seat will raise the height. Just better rubber compound.
Most spring seat failures are cars that come from the factory and now failing at 150K miles. If it becomes paper thin, what good is it?
Klaus
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There is no present time, just the past and future
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Did you mean it will raise height like you wrote, if so how much? But you also said "just" better rubber comp., so maybe you just left out the "NOT" raise height?
Good point on the paper thin insert, I guess the claim was noise reduction...but I don't have that experience myself, so I couldn't tell.
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I replaced the struts, spring seats and all the nuts/bolts on my 95 recently. Also replaced the rubber bumps stops per a BBer recommendation. Is that what you are referring to? Check out the URL below. They are part #3 in the illustration. Or maybe it's part #8, that castellated(?) nut type thing? Part #8 looked fine on my car. It's both rubber and metal.
No more squeaking! Think the new spring seats made all the difference. Don't know if the bump stops made any difference.
BTW - I bought OEM (Sachs) struts from FCP Groton. Not thrilled with them. They improve the ride, but if I did it again I'd go with something that was a hair stiffer. Thinking about getting a brace from IPD to stiffen the front end a bit...
http://www.tascaparts.com/parts/1995/VOLVO/850/GLT/?siteid=213668&vehicleid=1433980&diagram=9709212&diagramCallOut=2
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Thanks Klaus for clarifying on the ride height and jwalker for strut info.
I may go a budget route on struts but will post separate to get some feedback.
I don't think it was the bumper stops the oter poster was referring to, but I'll probably just go with new XC90 spring seats and struts.
The Heater core is on order, so that will be first on the list to do.
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Sorry, I forgot the link to the Heater Core:
http://www.ebay.com/itm/Volvo-Heater-Core-850-S70-V70-C70-1994-through-2000-MADE-EUROPE-9144221-NEW-/360412087063?pt=Motors_Car_Truck_Parts_Accessories&fits=Make%3AVolvo|Model%3A850&vxp=mtr&hash=item53ea3c0317
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The heater core replacement is something I've been trying to ignore in my '95 turbo wagon. An hour? Really? Where did you get yours?
Every time I call for even a little heat in the cabin I smell coolant.
A good summer project.
Erwin
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It probably took me more than an hour though,, but not very difficult.
I got mine on e-bay, this one:
http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&vxp=mtr&item=380411031597
It has an improved design and they even give you lifetime warranty, can't really go wrong at $47! It seemed like a quality piece when I installed it and it fitted nice and snug - no issues. I haven't driven the car for very long since, but so far everything is good, I have heat and no leaks and no more nasty smell inside the car. :)
Go for it!
--
-95 850 Wagon Turbo (136K) -93 960 Wagon (133K) -68 122 (300+K) [-97 M3 (233K) -69 Firebird 400 (110K) -81Kawi Gpz 1100cc -05 Triumph Speedtriple 955cc] /That's all for now folks :) Lars
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Heck, at $47 it could be replaced every year!
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There is no present time, just the past and future
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I wouldn't wait until 'summer'. Here is a write up for the S70, the 850 does not need the glove box taken out, just the bottom kick panels. Dont forget to either drain the coolant or clamp off the hoses on the engine side of the firewall.
An hour.
Klaus
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There is no present time, just the past and future
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