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