My very broken volvo

[Vladimir24]

Hello guys!
I bought a very broken Volvo 850 for dirt cheap. It is little bit broken, well maybe a lot . Blown head gasket, a lot of electrical issues and with non original engine. Current engine is from 1997 V70 and it was running like 25l/100km of fuel (well untill gasket decided to give up). I bought original engine 2.3 t5, but only bare engine. I also ordered turbo - it is 16t mitsubishi (I think that it's bigger one than OEM). I don't know how or what parts to get for this car in my country. Also my AC does not work, speedometer works only sometimes, battery is discharging over time and in engine bay a lot of wires are just hanging. There was no problem with engine till it overheated and I parked it. Now I want to repair all the problems but I don't know how and where to start. I want it to be a normal rideable car again. If anybody can give me some advice, I would be very thankful.
Thank you forwards and have a great day!

[scot850]

Welcome Vladimir to MVS!

You have taken on a lot of work. What is your experience on working on cars? The biggest issue is the engine swap but there are likely to be a lot of small issues on a car of this age that might drive you crazy so be aware!

Was your car originally a turbo?

Is it a manual transmission or auto?

What model is your car? 850, but base model (no turbo and in Europe can have engines from 2l 10 valve, to 2.3 litre 24 valve and turbo. Clues are the badge on the back like 850, 850 SE, GLE (all non-turbo), GLT (non-turbo to 96 and turbo in 97). Then there are Turbo, T5, T5-R (2.3 liter turbos). Don't think the 850 ever came in a diesel version even in Europe.

Battery discharge:

Are you ok with using an electrical tester? If so, the easiest way is to remove the negative battery wire and connect the tester leads one to the batter terminal (+ve lead) and -ve to a ground. The main battery ground is just below and behind the RH headlight.
Do NOT open any doors while doing this test. Leave ignition OFF.

Then switch the meter on to current (amps). you will be looking for milli-amps (mA). The normal is anywhere from 10mA-50mA and can depend on the car specification. The it is a case of removing each fuse in the fuse box below the windshield in turn and see if the reading drops. When you find one where it drops, then you know something on that circuit is a problem. Check all circuits as it may be more than one!

It is then a case of disconnecting each item in the circuit until you find what is draining the battery. Number 1 offender is the glove-box light. If you have a cell phone, put it on video and put it in the glove box running and close the lid and then open again and check if the video shows the light goes off then the lid is closed.

The engine stuff we will get to when we know what you are starting with in terms of the original car and also what the replacement engine is currently in the car.

Neil.

[Vladimir24]

Hello Neil!
I have bought the car as a fun project for myself, so I'm prepared to lose my mind over it . I know a thing or two about working on cars, I have repaired some issues on my current cars. The car was originally turbo with 2.0 20 valve, 155 kW, manual transmision, estate, T-5 badge. About that battery issue... At the front of the bay, near radiator, is some buzzing - when car is not running. Maybe fan switch? I am familiar with electrical tester. Thank you for the advice on that. I don't know a lot about original engine, but maybe this code will help - B5254S - B for petrol.
Thank you a lot.

[Vladimir24]

And about original engine I have... It is not 2.3 but 2.0

[850 LPT]

Hello Vladimir, good luck with your project. But it appears that a B5254S is a non turbo motor. Did somebody just stick a T5 badge on your car?

[scot850]

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Volvo_Mod ... ine#B5254S

So the engine in the car is not a turbo just as you said above. It is a 2.5 liter 20V according to Wikipedia.

Your car has a badge that says it was a T-5 but are you sure it was? Some people just put a badge on it to make it look like something better. If you can share your VIN number from either the dash plate inside the windshield or the engine plate we can confirm what the original the car came with in terms of engine. That helps us figure out how easy or hard the install of a turbo engine will be and if it can even be done.

If your car was originally a turbo then it will make it going back to a turbo easier.

Question: Do you have the ECU for the turbo engine? If not you will need to find someone to program an ECU for you as the software for a non-turbo and turbo are very different.

You are fortunate to have a manual transmission as it makes a swap much easier when you don't need a TCU change.

I may be wrong, but the T-5 I thought came with a 16T turbo, but maybe I am mistaken and it was not fitted until the V/S70 T-5 in 1998.

The buzzing could well be the fan relay that is stuck on. It is fitted just above the radiator under a plastic cover. Obviously disconnecting it when the engine is off if the drain stops you have found the issue.

Neil.

[misha]

@scot850
We have 850 diesels in EU along with s,v70 from '97-'00 P80.
It is 2.5 TDI R5...from Audi...but modified a bit by Volvo.

Also...EU market have 2.0 T5 & 2.0 T5R for Italian market....something because of high taxes for engines larger than 2.0L.

@Vladimir24

Welcome to MVS!

Everything is possible with knowledge and enthusiasm....there is also a lots of money and nerves needed whoever would work on it.

With these cars...it can be pretty costly.
In a neglected but fine running car you can easily spend 2K€ to make it reliable again.

You have a 2.0 T5 car...with original management which now have 2.5 20v n/a engine fitted.
That's not going to work.
Wiring is different,management is different.

I'm surprised that it even runs.

Do you have original engine which was originally in the car?

The cheapest way is to rebuild that original engine...or to buy used one...2.0 T5.

2.3 T5 could be used but not without flashed (re-programmed)ecu...or some serious modifications if you decide to keep original ecu.

[scot850]

Thanks Misha. I knew there was a V/S70 available in diesel in Europe from 1998 as I nearly bought one and loved that 5 cylinder Audi/Volvo engine. It was really strong and pulled great with an automatic transmission. I nearly bought one until I saw the 1 year old V70 T5 for sale. I knew the original owner and with only 16,000km and full history it was for sale for nearly half a new car price! Guess which came home with me!?

The Italian market has had the smaller engines for decades as the car tax is based on engine size. Over 2 liters and it got very expensive!

What I didn't know was there was an 850 diesel. Wow! The different markets make strange options. Like we got the 850 AWD in 1997 with a manual trans. I don't believe the auto was available until the first year V70 AWD but then no manual was available?

The 850 AWD was not available in the US as I recall.

That was why I was asking Vladimir so many questions as depending where the car came from the options could be soemthing we may not have had over in North America.

Always appreciate an education!

Thanks,

Neil.

[misha]

850 diesel have exactly the same diesel engine from Audi like s,v70 from '97-'00.

It's just that 2.5 TDI engine was ONLY used in '96 & '97 850.
The same engine was used ONLY in 1st and transitional year of production of P2 cars...'00-'01.
After that...from '01 Volvo developed their own D5 engine in 5 variants....from 93kw - 136kw.

[scot850]

Would still have liked that V70 diesel. Lots of power and 45 mpg (UK)/38 mpg (US) easily.

Neil.