A couple of problems with my 96 850 Wagon

RogueWave · Post by **RogueWave** » 23 Jun 2012, 14:14

Hey everyone,

I just picked up a 96 850 GLT Wagon with about 150,000 miles on it for $1,500 and it has a couple problems. My father and I have been doing some work on it and it is running relatively well, but there are some things to be addressed.

When the car is idling the engine constantly revs down then back up. My father speculates that it is indicative of a vacuum leak. I was wondering if there are any known areas that these are prone to occur on the 850.

The other main concern is that the back passenger side shock / strut seems to be messed up. There is a pretty pronounced clunking when hitting a bump.

The ABS and Tracs Off lights come on and off intermittently. I noticed today that they were turned off and then I hit a little bit of a pothole and they suddenly popped on. What do you think could be causing this?

Also one last thing, the cassette desk in the sound system also only produces sound on the drivers side. I tried one of those cassette desk cleaning tapes, however it did not fix the problem. What would be the best method of remedying this?

I would appreciate any help that I could get.

Thanks guys!

Post by **osman** » 23 Jun 2012, 14:23

MAF sensor.
ABS sensor on the wheel with the bad strut probably loose.

Post by **erikv11** » 23 Jun 2012, 14:51

As far as the idle, two comments:
- VERY common vacuum leak on a non-turbo like yours is a little vacuum elbow on the passenger side of the intake manifold. Kind of tucked in behind the power steering pump. Get a flashlight if you can't find it - it's there. Part of the PCV system.
- A bad MAF is a decent possibility, you can easily check that by just unplugging the MAF. That action will set a code, but you can just clear it. If the problem is the MAF, the problem will go away with it unplugged.

Clunking on the passenger rear shock is almost always due to the shock mount is broken, check that first by pulling up the floor board. If not the mount, maybe the shock itself or some other suspension component. If it is the mount, be careful removing it, do some searches; you don't want to break the fasteners.

ABS check all four sensor, make sure they aren't loose. Then check the plug connection on the ABS module under the hood.

RogueWave · Post by **RogueWave** » 23 Jun 2012, 15:21

Erik,

Is this the little dude you are talking about?

Also, thank you guys for the help so far, this has been very informative.

Post by **rspi** » 24 Jun 2012, 05:10

Hi and welcome to the site.

I suggest that you check your PCV system to see if it's plugged up. It might not be a bad idea if you just went ahead and just change it. To check it to see if it's clogged, warm the car up and while it's running pull the oil dip stick out and look for smoke puffing out like a steam engine. This is not a full proof test but 90%.if you don't know it's history just change it. It's a very neglected maintenance item that can cause a lot of problems.

As for your radio, I'd say just replace it as well. You can get another head unit for $50 or less. When you do, get the Premium system that were standard in some of the cars with a cd & cassette. They sound real good.

Other than that you should read this thread: http://m.volvoforums.com/forum/showthre ... ost&t=9266

Post by **Pauloil** » 24 Jun 2012, 07:18

For the radio you might just need A new speaker fron junkyard, and you will find it hard to replace radio with something that is better. Find mech. to check rear susp. The mount is a good guess, but the end of the delta links can go bad also. If the shock is leaking, that is an easy fix.

Post by **erikv11** » 24 Jun 2012, 11:13

RogueWave wrote:Erik,

Is this the little dude you are talking about?

Also, thank you guys for the help so far, this has been very informative.

Yes, that's it. It actually looks pretty new. Is there a hard line attached to the back? Checking the entire PCV will, of course, settle that definitively. If it's never been done, or if you don't know, it is an important maintenance item on these cars.

RogueWave · Post by **RogueWave** » 26 Jun 2012, 18:58

Thanks for all the input guys.

I went out and grabbed a can of MAF sensor cleaner and gave that a cleaning. The revving problem still exists though. I checked the PCV system via the oil dipstick route and there was a bit of smoke coming out. It was not a ton of smoke but it was present.

I still need to check the ABS sensors though.

Price wise, do you guys think this was a decent deal at $1500? In the glove compartment of the car was a book of all of the service records and it turns out that this car was last serviced in 2008 by the Volvo dealer, but before that it had been taken in for maintenance every year. I am quite fond of this car and hope that it will at least be able to get me through the remainder of college.

Post by **erikv11** » 26 Jun 2012, 22:20

1500 sounds like a good deal, yes. Be prepared to fiddle with it though, it may be that the previous, previous owners did everything, so the previous owners did nothing.

As for the MAF, did you try unplugging it? The is the definitive way to test the MAF, see above.

Is the revving problem only evident when idling, or also while driving? If it is mostly when idling, then clean the IAC. Just need a can of carb cleaner and 30 minutes.

shegarty · Post by **shegarty** » 27 Jun 2012, 09:10

+1

erikv11 wrote: If it is the mount, be careful removing it, do some searches; you don't want to break the fasteners.

If the mount is bad and you are thinking of replacing it don't do half measures - replace both mounts and both rear shocks. Be prepared for the bolts on the mount to shear off as they will be corroded from the bottom. Get some good penetrating oil on them from the underside if you can and you might be able to prevent this. If they do break off you can punch out the bolt from the topside as it is just spot welded to the frame, then you can replace it with a standard bolt/lock washer/nut combo but you will need a socket wrench and 1-2 extensions to reach up into the well to tighten it.

Also, the bottom mount on the shocks will likely be highly corroded. When I was replacing them recently on my 94 850 they were practically welded to the mounting post. I ended up having to drill out the rubber bushing, remove the strut, cut away the rubber from the steel bushing, heat it up and was then was finally able to twist and pry them loose. Having said that, I am pretty sure they were original parts ... so not too bad for 18+ years of corrosion