Have had the 1996 960 wagon for a little while now, but wondering what some of the issues are. It has under 110,000 miles on it. I am the 2nd owner, and it seems to be in good shape, with lots of service records. Here is what I know: it has the (usual?) door trim curls and shrinkage, the back windows go down and then go very slow to about 1/2 way down, one of the headlight wipers only works if you manually help it along, there seems to be a small oil leak which is slowing expanding near the rear top of the engine. Never drips oil on the ground, but can smell oil after a trip. Anything? Also, problem with the shift interlock. The only way to shift it is to use the override button. This was a gradual problem, and could be shifted by jamming on the brake hard for a while, now not at all. It is not the microswitch. Don't think it is the brake switch for the interlock system either. Is it the solenoid? Really a pretty good car. Light bulbs in the dash switches seem to be very expensive in this car, even more so then the 95 Mercedes wagon. What are the other things I should expect, I guess?

Predictable 960/90 series component failures (partial list) :

- Radiator upper platic hose neck
- HVAC vacuum bellows (2) Recirc. and 2-way floor/dash bellows
- PNP sensor
- A/C system, compressors, comp. clutches, evaporators
- Coolant thermostats fail in the open position


My personal recommendations :

-Use synthetic motor oil and ATF.
-Home flush tranny with dino atf, then again with synthetic ATF, after several k.
-Religiously change the Timing Belt, if not sooner.
-Make sure wheel lugs are EVENLY torqued to 63 lbs.

DEWFPO (love these cars)
--
1998 S90 067,600 and 1995 964 151,900

My experience with the 97:

*Predictable 960/90 series component failures (partial list) :

- Radiator upper platic hose neck- no
- HVAC vacuum bellows (2) Recirc. and 2-way floor/dash bellows -no
- PNP sensor -no
- A/C system, compressors, comp. clutches, evaporators-no
- Coolant thermostats fail in the open position- yes; easily remedied if you change your coolant at 30K interval with a new thermstat.

Yes to all the recommendations, and watch your speed!



--
John Shatzer, '97 V90 @ 105K

Do you know when the timing belt was replaced? see : http://www.brickboard.com/FAQ/700-900/EngineSealsBeltsVent.htm#960TimingBeltChange
for info on the subject
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-------Robert, '93 940t, '90 240 wagon, '84 240 diesel (she's sick) , '80 245 diesel

It was changed at 68k, stamped by dealer under hood. Not due for a while, and am aware of the possible engine damage if the belt breaks. Thanks.

You've definately got a way to go on the tbelt. That car is still pretty young, you should have awhile before the coil connecters and wire harness start faling apart
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-------Robert, '93 940t, '90 240 wagon, '84 240 diesel (she's sick) , '80 245 diesel