1994 850 Should I buy it

[tryingbe]

My opinions (admittedly biased in ways that may not be relevant to you):

1. I would avoid any 850 earlier than 1996 due to the quirky electronics/engine management system in the pre-OBD2 cars.

You must know something I don't, because I plugged a 97 R ECU into my 94 wagon and it works just fine.

Thanks Matty Moo and Erikv11 for your thoughts. Keep 'em coming. What do you mean by quirky? More work and tempermental?

The 94 models have a different intake manifold, and all (?) have EGR which is a big pain at 20 years of age. By 95 Volvo had hit their stride with the 850, those only suffer from having EGR; the 96's and 97's are the best IMHO.

You can disabled / get ride of the EGR by simply using a 96 or 97 T5 ECU on a 94/95 turbo car.

[rspi]

Then you should get a SAS error.

[erikv11]

If two things differ, then changing the parts that don't match can make them similar.

Yep, and that's a good reason to list the differences.

[tryingbe]

Then you should get a SAS error.

Negative on that. No codes present.

If two things differ, then changing the parts that don't match can make them similar.

Yep, and that's a good reason to list the differences.

I have no idea what you're trying to say.

94 intake manifold is basically the same as 96, with the exception have 94 manifold is machined for the EGR valve. I looked at them side by side a while back.

[Ben850]

Early '94 had the VVIS intake manifold like the '93.

VVIS Has the vacuum actuator shown.

vvis manifold top.jpg (57.4 KiB) Viewed 804 times

[tryingbe]

Early '94 had the VVIS intake manifold like the '93.

That manifold didn't come on cars with turbo.

[Ben850]

Early '94 had the VVIS intake manifold like the '93.

That manifold didn't come on cars with turbo.

The car in question here is not a turbo.

[perks1]

Hi everybody,

Thank you all so much for your invaluable advice. My apologies for taking a long time to post again -- it's been a bit too busy. As it turns out, I was not able to go and see the car. In the meantime someone else came and bought it. However, based on what the information you all shared, I think it probably was not a great loss. I will probably look for a slightly newer car, say 95-97 or go for an S70 or V70 from 1998 with over 100,000 miles that has had all the work done. In the meantime, my Honda Accord is now working fine again, so I may not need to by anything right away and can afford to take my time and be picky until I find just the right one. When I do, I will probably be back asking for further advice. Thank you all for being so welcoming and for the education.