Bah, I've had enough so I took it to some dude to fix this and other problems. Will post the remedies - might help someone in the future. Thanks for the help.

Unfortunately pulling the MAF had no effect whatsoever. Anyone have any other ideas? I shudder at the thought of what I will have to pay a Volvo dealer to diagnose and fix this problem!

Thanks for the reply. No, it isn't a turbo model. In fact, it is the 10-valve GLE model that was never offered in the States. I'll give that a shot and see what happens.

I have a 1996 850. Over the last couple of months this problem has gotten worse. When I start the engine in the morning or when it has completely cooled down it starts fine. But if I have been driving for a while and stop the engine and try and start it again while it is still hot, it idles very rou...

I have a 1996 850 with a manual transmission. One day it suddenly became difficult to get from gear to gear, especially reverse. The clutch seems normal, but I don't really know how a failing clutch would act. Any advice? Thanks so much.