first car

[Clemens]

use a white piece of cardboard. Check the color and taste: reddish could be ATF, motor oil is oily and black, antifreeze could be any color but tastes sweet. ATF tadtes horrible, btw. It also smells disgusting.
Brakefluid should be clean and bitter.

btw., all these chemicals are toxic. So don't swallow them.

[SirBrickWagon]

use a white piece of cardboard. Check the color and taste: reddish could be ATF, motor oil is oily and black, antifreeze could be any color but tastes sweet. ATF tadtes horrible, btw. It also smells disgusting.
Brakefluid should be clean and bitter.

btw., all these chemicals are toxic. So don't swallow them.

it's probably oil as it stains my driveway pretty bad, no clue why it's leaking though

[Clemens]

use a white piece of cardboard. Check the color and taste: reddish could be ATF, motor oil is oily and black, antifreeze could be any color but tastes sweet. ATF tadtes horrible, btw. It also smells disgusting.
Brakefluid should be clean and bitter.

btw., all these chemicals are toxic. So don't swallow them.

it's probably oil as it stains my driveway pretty bad, no clue why it's leaking though

because: old car with neglected maintenance agenda

[scot850]

Have you checked the engine crankcase breather system for blockages? This will eventually blow out your cam seals and then the front and rear main oil seals. Also check for leaking oil filler cap seal. If you remove the oil cap look for oil around it. Removing the cover over the spark plugs if you see oil around cylinder #2 and #3 plugs then the seal on the oil cap needs t be replaced. It is normally suggested to change this seal every 3-4 oil changes or maybe 3 years to prevent leaks from it. The aftermarket ones can often not work as they are slightly thinner or of different material which seems to allow leaks to happen quicker.

Next to the rubber/latex glove test. Place a glove over the oil filler hole and start the car. If the glove inflates with the engine at idle, the PCV system needs serviced. If it does not rise much, try revving the engine. If it then inflates the PCV system is getting near its' service time. You can reduce the pressure a little to save the seals by leaving the dipstick a little jar to allow pressure to exit. This is only a short term 'fix'. You may get oil dripping from the dip-stick so carefully wrap some cloth around the dip-stick tube. Make sure it cannot get caught in the engine fan!!

As I am in Calgary, if you need some guidance, feel free to PM me.

Neil.

[SirBrickWagon]

Have you checked the engine crankcase breather system for blockages? This will eventually blow out your cam seals and then the front and rear main oil seals. Also check for leaking oil filler cap seal. If you remove the oil cap look for oil around it. Removing the cover over the spark plugs if you see oil around cylinder #2 and #3 plugs then the seal on the oil cap needs t be replaced. It is normally suggested to change this seal every 3-4 oil changes or maybe 3 years to prevent leaks from it. The aftermarket ones can often not work as they are slightly thinner or of different material which seems to allow leaks to happen quicker.

Next to the rubber/latex glove test. Place a glove over the oil filler hole and start the car. If the glove inflates with the engine at idle, the PCV system needs serviced. If it does not rise much, try revving the engine. If it then inflates the PCV system is getting near its' service time. You can reduce the pressure a little to save the seals by leaving the dipstick a little jar to allow pressure to exit. This is only a short term 'fix'. You may get oil dripping from the dip-stick so carefully wrap some cloth around the dip-stick tube. Make sure it cannot get caught in the engine fan!!

As I am in Calgary, if you need some guidance, feel free to PM me.

Neil.

thank you, i went to bucks a while back and replaced the oil filler cap as it was leaking a while back and that seemed to work. i'll try the glove method as soon as possible.

[scot850]

Haven't been to Bucks in a long time as I nearly never saw any Volvos there.

All that needs to be swapped on the oil cap is the rubber 'O' ring. Sometimes the 2 'legs' on the cap need to be bent back as they can stretch over time.

Good Luck!

Neil.

[FireFox31]

For the glove test, first remove the oil cap and start the car, then put the glove on. Best to put the glove on while you're standing right there in case it gets sucked in so you can easily remove it.

All this talk of cold air intake, but does the 850 have the air box thermostat problem like the V70? The bottom of the air box has a valve activated by a thermostat. If that thermostat gets stuck, the valve gets stuck only pulling hot air recirculated from within the engine. Apparently, this noticeably reduces performance and gas mileage. Read the thread linked above to fix this for actual improvement if it affects the 850.

Get to Stage 0. Beyond that, you don't need speed because you have killer cargo capacity! Impress your friends by loading them all in the wagon and going somewhere. Heck, find a third row seat (with seat belts for safety!)(if they exist for the 850) to improve your capacity even more!! Roof racks, roof mounted cargo carriers, trailer hitch! The capacity modifications are limited only by your suspension.

[abscate]

Putting the IPD blue HD springs on is an easy one hour bolt on, and will give your car thst cool stance that says “ look, I have a turbo”

You can tell your friends to look underneath for the blue turbo cooling springs

It’s a good 56 vHP boost.

[RickHaleParker]

you don't need speed because you have killer cargo capacity! Impress your friends by loading them all in the wagon and going somewhere.

Our party wagon back in the 70s was a Cadillac hearse. Decked it out like the custom vans of the era. Loads of fun.

[SirBrickWagon]

Heck, find a third row seat (with seat belts for safety!)(if they exist for the 850) to improve your capacity even more!
[/quote]

haha yeah i've got the third row seat, i've folded everything down right now because racecar