Volvo 850

Shovelhead · Post by **Shovelhead** » 11 Oct 2005, 14:58

Some of you Mr. Good Wrench types ought to lighten up the guys asking a question. I would say it's safe to say we're all here becasue we're looking for information of one type or another. I've got over 32 years of experience in the autopmotive field and I don't know everything. On my 850 the hood release cable was stretched to the point that you had to pull the lever all the way back and hold it while someone else lifted the hood.

Look on the bright side at least he didn't take a prybar to the hood like the idiot in the inspection station was going to do to my car while atempting to find the OBDII connector.

vowner · Post by **vowner** » 13 Oct 2005, 22:05

this is a bit off subject, but i am fascinated by these little details on Volvo that sets them apart from other automakers. A lot of them has to do with Sweden being in a region where summers are short and winters are LONG and cold. Yes, Volvos are built for cold weather. the hood latch is an example. in extreme cold weather, you can imagine how the plastic hood latch would be better than others.
IMO, there's nothing like Volvo in cold winter snowy road conditions. It's warm inside out(heated seats, mirrors), and it's safest to be in.
i'm not so sure about new Volvos though. after all, they did build a convertible primarily for american market. i don't think many swedes would want to buy a convertible so they can drive it in hot sunny weather for 2 weeks a year.

Guest · Post by **Guest** » 14 Oct 2005, 08:34

vowner wrote:this is a bit off subject, but i am fascinated by these little details on Volvo that sets them apart from other automakers. A lot of them has to do with Sweden being in a region where summers are short and winters are LONG and cold. Yes, Volvos are built for cold weather. the hood latch is an example. in extreme cold weather, you can imagine how the plastic hood latch would be better than others.
IMO, there's nothing like Volvo in cold winter snowy road conditions. It's warm inside out(heated seats, mirrors), and it's safest to be in.
i'm not so sure about new Volvos though. after all, they did build a convertible primarily for american market. i don't think many swedes would want to buy a convertible so they can drive it in hot sunny weather for 2 weeks a year.

Afraid I'm gonna have to disagree. My '94 850 doesn't seem to grab well when accerlerating in the snow or the rain (spins out a lot). Maybe it's the gearing but it simply is not that good in the s/r which is surprising for a front-whell drive model. And this is only in Pennsy, maybe the Swedish snow is dryer?

Shovelhead · Post by **Shovelhead** » 14 Oct 2005, 09:06

I have to agree I haven't driven my 850 in the snow as of yet since I just bought it back from a relative and even when it was new I hardly ever did becasue I have always had 4whl drive trucks. I can honestly say though that the handling in the rain leaves a lot to be desired. At first I attributed it to the worn tires on the car but I have since put a new set of tires on and honestly the handling is not what I would expect. The car seems to have so much power that if you accelerate to hard especially in a curve it will torque steer way more then it should. If I can get past a few of the problems I'm having with it right now IE: the excesive smokin condition and the A/C problem I will be looking to upgrade the suspention whihc right now resembles a dump truck. I KNOW the struts are doing little more then holding the mounting bolts in place but I'm not really getting a lot of body roll so I'm guessing my springs and sway bars are all ok. Anyone have any suspention component suggestions?

suspension · Post by **suspension** » 14 Oct 2005, 23:02

Do '95 850 GLTs have independent suspension?

Volvo 850

Lighten up