Thinking about buying an 850 that needs a new engine

[wheelsup]

I do have a Harbor Freight coupon for a 1 Ton shop crane for $99.99 ("reg" price of $179.99) that I can send to you (it says it's valid until 02/20/10) and I got a flyer in the mail yesterday that had their 1 Ton engine stand for something like $39.00. I don't know how useful the engine stand would be, but I wouldn't want to try to do an engine swap without the crane....PM me if you want the coupon.

Good Luck!

That's an awesome coupon, I went and looked at the crane today and it's on sale for $130 + tax so I might take you up on that.

To keep everyone informed I went and looked at the car, just shy of 150k w/ a broken odometer. Paint and interior are around 6.5 out of 10. Not too bad - nothing is flaking off at least not right now. It will need a good buff and cleaning inside but after that it should look pretty good. No rust, brand new radiator, it was a two owner car and the first owner was an older guy who took good care. You can tell the PCV was done, and the engine compartment looks pretty good. New raditator cap, new strut mounts, etc. It'll need tire and brakes, and a complete T-belt kit including rollers and tensioner.

We settled on $250 but he must get the title before I will buy, so I'm waiting to hear back within the week that he's got the title. Without it I can't even bring it to a junkyard so I don't want to have it sitting in my garage for years...

[matthew1]

All in all, good start. $250 is very little outlay. I'd be happy to do whatever I can to help you with the writeup. Photos as usual are super and if you email me them I'll do all the work resizing, cropping, etc. If you take video, I'll embed that in the writeup page.

[RobTheModd]

wheelsup.
Figure out what pieces you need and i will help you get them. just pay me shipping and like what ever the part cost and I will ship them to you. Remember junk yards can be your friend. and the ones near me have plenty of 850s.

[wheelsup]

Thanks Rob not sure if I'll need any specific pieces or not just an engine. Right now I'm just waiting for the seller to get the title and sign it over. Hopefully it comes to fruition.

I'm going to research the engine thing once I get the car in my garage. I'm thinking either ebay or erie vo-vo. Ebay is around $450 shipped, and I can do the timing belt, PCV, oil pan o-rings, etc. while it's out. That'll be niiiiiiiiiice.

[KRUZNBY]

wheelsup,
If you find a good local junk yard with 850's, let me know. I need a few parts but have yet to visit any local yards.

[bigdaddylee82]

I'm 2/3 the way through an engine swap on my '95 GLT (n/a). Seemed pretty straight forward to me, or I would have documented the process better to help folks out.

All you need are some good jack stands (fairly tall ones), a good floor jack or two, a cherry picker (crane), and tools (air tools make life much easier).

I dropped the engine, transmission, cradle assembly as one unit. I removed the tires/wheels, disconnected and labeled the wiring and vacuum hoses, disconnected the radiator, heater hoses, a/c condenser, transmission cooler, and front brake lines. Then there's the U-Joint/rag joint on the steering shaft, exhaust manifold, shifter linkage, upper engine mount, front struts, and cradle assembly bolts. That's pretty much it.

I dropped the entire assembly to the ground and drug it to the side through the wheel well with a come-a-long (I couldn't get the car high enough to drag the assembly out the front).

So far the biggest pain in the ass has been all the wiring.

Also, learn from my mistake and make dang sure you get the proper replacement engine. You can read of my trials and tribulations here.

So far I haven't needed an "specialty" tools. There are a lot of Torx (star) and Hex (Allen) bolts, but these fasteners are common place these days, and if you're going to attempt something like this, you should already have a well equipped tool chest. Every thing else is metric, big surprise huh? Have a good assortment of both deep and shallow metric sockets and metric box end/combo wrenches. You'll also need a good torque wrench for re-assembly, and an assortment of extensions and universal joints for your extensions. Get some Loctite (or you're favorite flavor of thread sealer) too.

In all honestly though I don't think I would attempt this with out air tools, it's doable sure, but I'd not be a real fun person to be around if I had to do the swap with nothing but hand tools. Anyway, with air tools, any average shade-tree-mechanic should be able to drop the engine/transmission assembly in a day.

I've got some pictures I've taken along the way, just to help me remember where stuff goes. I'd be glad to help and give advice if I can.


- Lee

[wheelsup]

Thanks that helps a lot, I do actually have a compressor and an air tool set from Lowes. Just the standard impact wrench and a 3/8" air wrench. I did use them to take off the intake manifold and it was nice having them!

[RobTheModd]

https://www.matthewsvolvosite.com/forums ... f=1&t=8018

First page, check it out. go find your engine, it has detailed photos and everything. i believe this hsould help you ALOT with the removal and install.

download it

[jblackburn]

Still need an engine?

http://raleigh.craigslist.org/pts/1546002175.html

[wheelsup]

I don't think a 98 will work in a 96 will it? Doesn't the 98 also have a LPT?