Hi All,
Been away from the board for a few years as my oldest daughter totaled our 940T a few years ago. Today I was given a 96" 850T wagon which my middle daughter will drive but has a few issues before road ready. The car has been sitting for about 10 months.

Steering very hard, previous owner says steering rack. Steering U-joint does not seem to be corroded but does feel like rack due to noise and slight bumping. Had similar issue on 940 and all I did was just flush system with new fluid and seemed to solve problem, other possible causes? Is replacing rack difficult if it comes to that?

Turn signals will not engage when I push the lever, will not even come on when I just hold it down in either direction? The hazards come on and function so bulbs work, is there a relay somewhere? Why won't the lever have a detent or stay down when I push it in either direction?

Headlights will not come on in the low beam when I turn o the switch, am I missing something simple? The high beams come on when I hold back the stalk but will not click and stay on, again no detent. Possible relation to turn signals?

The "ABS" light and "Tracks on" light stays on. I can push the "Tracks on" button but it does not engage. Relay?

The speedometer/odometer stopped working at 175K miles, probably has 200k miles now. Saw somewhere that ABS controller might have something to do with this, any suggestions?

There are a few more issues but these are the ones I need to fix to get it road ready. Sorry for the long post, good to be back in the "brick" family.

Dan

What fun!

I would first flush the old steering fluid and pour in Mobil1 ATF, a quart will do it. The grease/oil the steering column "U" joints. A leaking rack will show PS fluid at the bottom of the rack, and yes, they are a pain to replace.

The turn signal stalk is probably dead. You will need to invest in some Torx tools, the plastic suroundng the steering wheel has 4 Torx screws holding it together, 2 of them are very deep and hard to get out. The you can examine the stalk which is probably kaput. There are two different kinds, with or without cruise control - the turbo has cruise control, they are not interchangable.

Check the headlight bulbs for the low beam, make sure they are not burned out. They also act as DRLs so if they are on when the engine is running, there is a different problem, like a bad headlight switch? The dimmer switch for the instrument cluster is also known to fail, which causes all sorts of problems.

ABS failures are common with the 1996. The brakes will work just find, but no automatic modulation or skid control (which is only operational under 25mph). I sent my ABS module to Midwest ABS and got it back is just a couple of days, better than new for less than $80.

The ODO fails when a plastic gear breaks. I bought replacements on Ebay for $9.99 and free shipping. The hard part is removing the instrument cluster. If you find someone with a good VIDA/DICE code reader, have them check the miles in the instrument cluster memory - I did that before replacing the gear and adjusting the mileage display.
--
Keeping it running is better than buying new

Thanks Klaus, I remember you were very helpful when I was on the board in the past. BTW, I saw a post about the ignition switch being worn causing the issues with turn signals, headlights and ABS lights. Sure enough I moved the key and everything works now and all the lights are off the dash. Not I need to focus on the rack and then the timing belt as I have no history when that was done. If I recall I don't think that was too bad of a job. Thanks again Klaus

I love simple fixes! Thanks for reminding me about the ignition switch.

Timing belt is not a pain, but at 200K the water pump should be replaced and that is a pain. Good excuse for refreshing the coolant.

Watch for dried up vacuum elbows and replace when you find them. The turbos have a PTC that needs to be cleaned out, no flame trap.
--
Keeping it running is better than buying new

BTW, while driving it slow with windows down last night heard the right cv joint clicking when turning, easy to replace?

The right side is easier than the driver's side, no circlip holding the axle to the tranny casing. I prefer a remanned Volvo axle, but there are other choices.

Don't let anyone fool you, the turbo and NA axles are the same.
--
Keeping it running is better than buying new

I totally agree with Klaus. Before condemning the rack, try spraying the lower steering shaft u-joint with WD-40 while rotating the steering from lock-to-lock for a few minutes. This might take multiple tries. I've had this problem with my u-joint 3 times in the 6 1/2 years I've owned my 95 855. It really is a maintenance item on these cars when they age!

Flushing the PS fluid and replacing with new Mobil 1 synthetic tranny is also part of my maintenance. It stopped a seal leak in my rack...:)

Thans guys, is for sure on my list before I would replace the rack. Will put it on some stands the next day or so and flush the rack and lube up the ujoint. The flushing really hepled my 940 years ago.