New 850 Owner with a Ton of Questions

ashitaka695 · Post by **ashitaka695** » 31 Jul 2016, 07:42

So I already started asking some of the questions that I was most concerned with and I found out that if I want a sunroof I had better find a vehicle with one from the factory!! I recently purchased this 1994 Volvo 850 Base N/A from a friend that is obsessed with these vehicles. He rolled up to my house in a gold colored Volvo 850, threw me the key and said "You owe me 300 bucks!" Well I couldn't turn down a 300 dollar car that had just been driven roughly 200 miles to my house and was still in fair condition. I paid the man and checked out my very first Volvo. The airbags had been blown, no stereo head unit, a headlight lens was 85% gone and both turn signal lenses missing. The interior was in desperate need of a deep cleaning and the original seats had seen better days. I mentioned all this to my friend and all he said was "It has a/c and it works. What more do you want? " Now a little about my 850 fanatic friend, he owns 12 850's and somehow has access to any used parts imaginable for them. He gave me the title and said that if I need parts he can get them sent over to me. So a few days later I take my new to me 850 for a drive and I really like It but it has issues. The first issue is that I've never owned a Volvo and even though I do mechanic work for a living I've never worked on one either. Suspension needs a complete rebuild, engine seems to need mounts, dash board appears to be separated from the firewall, no stereo or speakers, left CV shaft is destroyed and probably hanging on by a thread, smoke coming from the dipstick tube, vacuum manifold is all capped off except for fuel pressure regulator and I could probably keep going for a week!! My friend is the used parts wizard but asking him for repair advice is like asking a auctioneer for repair advice!! He talks wayyyy to fast to understand him and most of the time it's over the phone which makes it ten times worse!!!
So I just ask him for used parts and he sends them to me. That's when I found this forum and most of my questions were answered from previous posts. So I've done a ton of work to this car and it's finally starting to come together. Every week I order parts and install them on the weekend. Up until now I've only worked on the basic repairs that don't require special knowledge or volvo specific tools. Some of the crazy things I found that the previous owner must have done: the fuel pump was wired with speaker wire directly to a hot wire that comes on in ignition position 1!!! The fuel pump relay was missing the fuel pump had recently been replaced, I found a receipt and the old pump, but the installer didn't tighten the hose clamps in the tank so pressure was leaking and the fuel tank was cracked and repaired with some type of epoxy that didn't work. I rewired the pump to factory harness and got a relay. When I took it for a drive it had made a huge difference!! Lots of power and even with 300000 miles on the clock no smoke. So this has become a hobby now and I really like Volvo's now and understand why my friend is so crazy about them. I just wanted to let you know how my Volvo addiction began and how it has progressed. I am going to tackle the crankcase ventilation system this week and the timing belt. Thanks to all who contribute here I have come a long way in a short period of time due to you guys!!!

Post by **bmdubya1198** » 31 Jul 2016, 07:51

Well, you seem to be on the right track! Timing belt and PCV are probably the two most important things with this car to keep it going for many miles to come.
Not much you can do about the dash, that's a weak point on these 850s and 70 series. The interior plastics and the dashboards are not the toughest.

Post by **Clemens** » 31 Jul 2016, 15:18

Have fun. The p80 volvos really grow on you. It's usually not love at first sight.

1337 · Post by **1337** » 02 Aug 2016, 02:03

RobertDIY has a 3 part video series on YouTube about how to repair the dash and make it mount solidly to the firewall.

Post by **abscate** » 02 Aug 2016, 05:38

You might have the $300 car worth -$3000 . That's a lot of work needed on a 22 year old car. How many miles are on it? How do you intend to use it?

OK - Im rethinking this. If you can get all the parts for free, you can put yourself together a decent ride with just labour, you can make this one work

Post by **tryingbe** » 02 Aug 2016, 07:35

Honestly, I'd take the engine and whatever that is still good out, junk the car, and wait for a better car that has a junk engine.

Post by **rspi** » 06 Aug 2016, 15:20

Post by **theWIFES_S70** » 06 Aug 2016, 21:59

Clemens wrote:Have fun. The p80 volvos really grow on you. It's usually not love at first sight.

True words...

I fell in love after performing the PCV job. Bent over the engine for six hours, trying to pull off the fuel injector rail and feeling like I was going to pull out the entire engine, inadvertently clamping hoses in the incorrect order, and nervously hoping I could put everything back together again... but then she fired right up and sounded a million times better than when I picked her up. The car was breathing again...

But some jobs leave you feeling like you've just gotten into a real lover's spat and have been relegated to the living room sofa...

Good luck! Keep us posted!

ashitaka695 · Post by **ashitaka695** » 17 Aug 2016, 01:33

Update-
So this last weekend I replaced the left CV shaft. From what I read here there are people that have had problems with separating the shaft from the transmission so I made sure that I had access to the slide hammer puller attachment before starting. I didn't need to use the puller, it came out with the chisel and hammer technique, and very easy at that. I used a remanufactured axle from Detroit Axle The quality seems good and the circlip appeared to be pretty much the same as the one that came out. I'm not worried that it will stick if I have to remove it in the future. I'm really loving this car though. I haven't had to buy many new parts yet. Now used parts I've been getting quite a few from my friend. Some he gives me but most I have to pay for. The prices are extremely reasonable compared to the local U Pull salvage yard though. And when I get parts from him he always sends 3 or 4 of each just in case one doesn't work but I have had really good luck usually every part functions fine. I think he is unloading all his overstock on me. I installed a keyless entry system and now I have extra receiver boxes. The FOB was the only thing I had to find myself and I got two on Ebay for 18.00 and a trade to the seller of a GM FOB. Both worked just fine so I am selling a set. I tested the box and FOB and it works fine. Ad is up in the classified section if anyone is interested. I also came across a cd changer that I thought I was going to like but I would rather have my glove box space. Ad is also in the classifieds. I have yet to do the timing belt replacement but I don't drive the car much at all yet cause it is still excellent weather for riding my scooter. I will post another update soon on all the interior repairs and I'll try to keep it short and sweet due to the many things that I've done.

Redneck · Post by **Redneck** » 19 Aug 2016, 18:20

Great work:) Keep us updated!