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I installed a set of backup sensors on my 97 850 several years ago. It paid for itself three times within one year--parking lots, snowstorms, hidden rocks and forgotten curb heights . . . the list goes on.
I bought mine at Seifeldt's Volvo in Houston which was taken over and is now called Volvo Houston. Their parts number is 1-800-468-0041. At the time I bought my kit I paid just over $230, but today it lists for $306.40 with discount from Volvo Houston. Still, at that price, it is a worthwhile investment if you plan on keeping your Volvo for any length of time. The kit you want is called "For the S-70 up to 2000. Wagon or sedan apparently makes no difference, though when I bought mine they had several options. I managed to get my hands on both kits, looked them over, and they were identical, so I wouldn't worry about getting the wrong one. There is no parts number listed for the kit, according to VH with whom I just spoke.
Installing the kit on an 850 appears to be easier than on the 70 series. From what I recall of the instructions, there is a metal plate embedded in the bumber on the 70 series you have to drill through, which is not the case with the 850. Still, you have one serious problem and that is getting the right diameter drill. I seem to recall that you need a 31 millimeter bit to drill the holes. Couldn't find one in my part of the world (Lewiston, Idaho), and eventually I wound up down at an electrical supply warehouse, and Lo! here on the wall for sale was a bit whose diameter was a perfect match for the 31 millimeter version. It was used for drilling o.d. holes for conduit, or some such application. But it wasn't cheap. Cost me around 30 bucks. It did not have a long screw point on it, but rather a short flat one, and the cutting edge was very sharp. I went down to a junk yard and got a piece of plastic bumper and practiced with the bit before tackling the Volvo bumper. The biggest problem you have is laying out the four holes for the sensors, getting them spread right and left and also up and down. Mark the holes from the inside which I found to be the easier side to work on, and then drill through the bumper from the inside using a 1/16 inch bit. Then flip the bumper over and use the large drill. Spacing the holes equally on the horizontal is not much of a problem, though you will wonder about how far out on the ends of the bumper you should go. Go about one inch past where the top gray portion of the bumper sweeps up (this is on the wagon), which will place the sensor very slightly angled to the side so it will pick up anything you might side swipe . And, on the vertical plane, center them 1-1/2 inches down on the painted portion, measuring from the edge of the unpainted gray portion. There is a flat section of the painted portion about 3 inches deep and then the plastic starts to curve out. Center the sensors in this 3 inch flat part of the bumper.
Once you drill the holes you will have to take a knife or the same drill and make a hole in the styrofoam backing behind the plastic, space enough to hold each sensor. You can tell looking what you have to do. Hooking up the sensors is pretty much straight forward ala the instructions. As I recall though, the power source you hook up to is the backup lights. When you examine the wire bundle which will be on the rear driver's side, you will see where the wire to the lights branch. Make sure your connection is before the branch, not after. If you hook in after the Y it will unbalance your lighting system and turn on the little orange light on your instrument panel.
The only complaint I have with the system is that the warning beeper doesn't start until you're within five feet of what you're going to hit. If you're backing up at a normal speed it hardly gives you enough time to react. I would have preferred about seven or eight feet. More than that and it will be going off all the time in a parking lot with all kinds of obstructions around you. Interestingly, I saw the exact same system mounted on a BMW, and there the warning length was three feet. The system was designed for parallel parking, but the biggest benefit by far is keeping you from backing into other cars, curbs, shopping carts and the like. The little computer that goes with the system is the size of a pack of cigarettes, and I took off the cover hoping there would be a rheostat I could use to adjust the distance, but there wasn't. The guts were sealed. A computer friend of mine though said if you had the right connection and know-how you could access the chip and make the change. Which is probably what was done on the BMW version.
Anyway, hope this answers your questions. One last thing: Volvo recommended in a separate publication that the surface of each sensor be painted, but not with more than two coats. I went ahead and did it for the cosmetic effect, but I wouldn't do it again. The sensors are very sensitive, and if you get too much paint on them the signal will bounce off the back side of the paint and sound a warning. Putting two coats of paint on them makes them too sensitive. You do have to keep them free from dirt snow and ice, or they will sound. And if they are painted it takes very little crud to trigger them into a constant whistle, which tells you you have to get out of the car and clean them off.
I still have the drill I used, but it is in my 240 parked in Lewiston and I will be here in Wyoming until the end of the month. If my description hasn't frightened you into not doing the job, and you're in no rush to do it, I would be willing to loan you the bit . Phone me at 307-234-4674 here in Wyoming if you have further questions. Dick
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