850 estate 2.5 20v GLT - 1996 - four questions and whois

owen850 · Post by **owen850** » 07 Feb 2010, 03:46

Hi we are Owen and Eline from holland, we just bought our volvo with 255000 (a youngtimer

it's our first one and we have four questions after reading through a lot of posts on this very helpfull forum!

After making the first 500KM this is what we noticed;

first question; The temperature gauge won't realy work?! its now 0 degrees outside and when we drive in the city the temperature gauge goes to 1/4th. When we are driving on the highway (140KMh) the gauge stays at 0. Heating the car goes very slowly. Is this normal if you look at all variables? what could we do to help this "problem"

second question; changing gear to first and driving away or engine breaking from 2 to 1 the clutch (plates i guess) make a strange noise. sounds a bit like rubber brake pads on a iron rim (mountainbike). does this means trouble on the way?! what could we best do?

third question; Roof lights do not work when opening a door. they do work seperately or when i turn the roofswitch to ON. Could this be a broken on/off/doors switch? because leg room lights do go on by opening a door. What could we do?

Fourth question; there is a sort of bonk boink when driving on a bumpy road, it sounds as if comming from the left front end of the car

any ideas on this one?

last question

... What should we do with a 255K 2.5 20V anything we MUST check before going on holiday

(4000KM)

Is there a Volvo webshop in the UK or US sending stuff to Holland?! Holland is so expensive on car parts... for a instument lightbulp (volvo radio, honda replacement as found on this website) they ask us 7EURO a peace! a bit more then the 1pound on this forum ;-(.

THANKS A LOT! We will post pictures when our beauty is ready

Owen and Eline (grammer mistakes included

)

Post by **Ozark Lee** » 07 Feb 2010, 04:43

Welcome to MVS,

first question; The temperature gauge won't realy work?! its now 0 degrees outside and when we drive in the city the temperature gauge goes to 1/4th. When we are driving on the highway (140KMh) the gauge stays at 0. Heating the car goes very slowly. Is this normal if you look at all variables? what could we do to help this "problem"

You have either a bad thermostat or a bad Engine Coolant Temperature sensor. It is standard operating procedure to replace both at the same time. The car should warm up to a point where the temperature gauge is pegged at the 3:00 position within a couple of kilometers. If the thermostat has never been changed the aluminum bolts on the top of the thermostat housing will likely strip out the torx heads when you try to remove them. Volvo learned the error of their ways and have coated steel bolts to replace the originals with. They only cost around $1 (USD) each and I would highly recommend that you buy the new bolts prior to trying to change the thermostat.

second question; changing gear to first and driving away or engine breaking from 2 to 1 the clutch (plates i guess) make a strange noise. sounds a bit like rubber brake pads on a iron rim (mountainbike). does this means trouble on the way?! what could we best do?

I have a similar noise on my '94 with a stick shift but it goes away after the car has been driven for 15 or 20 minutes. My '94 has over 230,000 miles and it is still on the original clutch. I have been threatening to change the clutch for the last 3 years but it still doesn't slip so I keep putting it off. It has been chirping for over 50,000 miles but it still works. For my part I avoid engine braking since brake pads are so much cheaper than a new clutch.

third question; Roof lights do not work when opening a door. they do work seperately or when i turn the roofswitch to ON. Could this be a broken on/off/doors switch? because leg room lights do go on by opening a door. What could we do?

If the footwell lights do work then chances are the switch in the overhead light switch is broken. That is actually much easier to replace than the door switches which are built into the locks. You should be able to find one at a local salvage yard / junk yard / breaker - I'm not sure what you call them there. If not there is always eBay.

Fourth question; there is a sort of bonk boink when driving on a bumpy road, it sounds as if comming from the left front end of the car any ideas on this one?

There are several things that routinely fail in the front suspension. My guess is either a bad spring seat at the top of the strut or a bad sway bar end link. You can narrow things down by opening the hood (bonnet) and bouncing the fender. Watch the large inverted castle washer at the top of the strut as you bounce the fender. It will move but it should be very slight movement. If it moves vertically more than a couple of mm then the spring seat is likely shot. I have been replacing mine with spring seats made for a XC90 as they go bad, they are much tougher and they fit just fine on an 850. To check the way bar end links you need to remove the wheel. The end links go between the sway bar and the strut and they should swivel but otherwise have no movement laterally as you push and pull on the link itself.

last question ... What should we do with a 255K 2.5 20V anything we MUST check before going on holiday (4000KM)

Other than checking your fluid levels you need to check for a sticker under the hood or the service records that indicate that your timing belt was changed out somewhere around 225k. The sticker normally says Byte Exchange and has the date and mileage written on it. If the belt has not been recently changed you are on borrowed time.

...Lee

owen850 · Post by **owen850** » 07 Feb 2010, 07:54

Lee! awesome answers! i'm going to replace both the sensor and the thermos! no risk taking there! somebody knows partnumbers? i'm going to do this myself with a bit of help
Wich should I use ?!
The clutch will just have to hold

Lights, thanks for the answer, just what i thought and now sure

the beld has been changed by 248.000 KM brand new

i'll try to find a sticker, until now only prommise from last owner and a note from "a" car dealer in the service booklet. I do trust the old owner though...

Webshop ideas?

Thanx a lot!

owen850 · Post by **owen850** » 07 Feb 2010, 08:17

hmm one more...

why is it that the engine I find when browsing is the 2.4L and never the 2.5L Is this just us dutch who write down 2.5 because its more? and actualy it is the 2.4 20V 1996 engine the same as the 2.5 20V ?!

http://sd.autohausaz.com/autohausaz/det ... 97~~5~@850 Base, 2.4 L5, Normal&category=coolant temperature&part=240675@Water Temp. Sensor

could this be the right sensor?!

Brazuca_ny · Post by **Brazuca_ny** » 07 Feb 2010, 08:30

Hello from NYC, I might have the answer to the forth question I also had the funy boink LOL from the front of the car when driving over bumbps, check the caliper mounting bolts I found mine loose causing the calipers to hit and vibrate, this might be the easiest to fix.

owen850 · Post by **owen850** » 07 Feb 2010, 08:37

NYC! lots of snow there? or only washington?

I'll check those to!

thanx