the rear main seal is really common I had to do it in my 850t alomst all 850's have to have it done some time or another it sucks . It should cost $850 it's a huge job. Your looking at about $1500 worth of work. At the max and that also should include a front seal job as well. I did both at the same time if your going to spend it on the rear

Samstar,

The scratching noise you hear is the ABS unit doing its usual check, IF YOU HAVE ABS. My mechanic describes it as a FART. Look in the owners manual and it will describe it. You'll hear this sound everytime the car is started and hits about 12mph.

DID YOU HAVE THE CAR INSPECTED BY A VOLVO MECHANIC BEFORE YOU PURCHASED? If not, you'll probably run into the typical problems that the '95 850 had/has. I have a '95 850 Turbo Wagon and most of the stuff that has failed has been listed on this board. They are fun cars and handle well, but tend to be abit maintenance heavy. Did the previous owner give you past maintenance records?

There is a rear engine seal that can only be reached by removing the transmission. Most of them seap/sweat after a few years. I had a 740 and 940 and both of them had the seap problem but I never fix either. I never noticed oil consumption from the leak but there was never a puddle of oil after the car sat. With the 850, part of the subframe must be removed in order to remove the transmission. The front wheel drive is a whole different "ball-of-wax" compared to the rear wheel drive models.

For mechanics, there's not a lot of spare room to work with the tranny, so the job is expensive. If your car is not to the puddle stage, just keep an eye on it.

These cars should never be purchased used unless a capable VOLVO master mechanic has checked them out. Good luck.