94 855 turbo suddenly lost power.

Post by **MadeInJapan** » 24 Dec 2008, 12:08

The thing is, you've tasted that extra power now and know what the car feels like with more boost. If you miss it, you can always get your ECU upgraded...you can actually boost up to about 14 or 15 psi with the right tune. Mine does this and spikes at 17 sometimes (and my hoses stay on!).

pennstate · Post by **pennstate** » 30 Dec 2008, 08:42

This sounds like my problem. I have a 95 854 Turbo. This morning I was headed to work and had just started out. It was fairly cold - about 23F. I was going along normally and heard a boom or bang sound and lost power. The car runs though at first it seemed like it wanted to shut off (all dash lights would come on briefly at idle). The idle seems to have smoothed out and the engine revs OK, but it doesn't have the normal power on the road. I'm able to get to 55 but it cuts out briefly while accelerating. I limped it home and parked it and took my wife's van today.

I'm not much of a mechanic, but my thought is that it was something with the engine, turbo or transmission. I just had the car tuned up last week - could it be something related to that (e.g. spark plug too tight)? Does the intercooler hose make a noise like this when it goes? How much should it cost to repair if that's my problem? I'm not really set up to do the repair myself, but I'd like to have an idea what the issue is before I take it somewhere.

Any tips on how to isolate the problem would be appreciated.

Post by **MadeInJapan** » 30 Dec 2008, 09:17

Welcome to MVS, pennstate.
Just open your hood and take a look all around, especially the larger turbo hoses...the boom or bang certainly sounds like a hose slipped off. Whoever did your plugs may have detached the upper turbo hose to make taking the spark plug cover off and not tightened it down like it should have been- at least this is my guess. If you still don't see anything, and are unfamiliar with your car, then a trip to a good independent mechanic may be in order.

StarmanDXE · Post by **StarmanDXE** » 30 Dec 2008, 09:34

Where are you pennstate? At Penn State? If so, I'd be glad to take a look at your car when I'm back up there next week and see if I can see anything (no promises!) as I was decently familiar with my 850. (No turbo, sadly...)

pennstate · Post by **pennstate** » 30 Dec 2008, 11:44

MadeInJapan wrote:Welcome to MVS, pennstate.
Just open your hood and take a look all around, especially the larger turbo hoses...the boom or bang certainly sounds like a hose slipped off. Whoever did your plugs may have detached the upper turbo hose to make taking the spark plug cover off and not tightened it down like it should have been- at least this is my guess. If you still don't see anything, and are unfamiliar with your car, then a trip to a good independent mechanic may be in order.

Thanks for the reply, that will help me know where to start. I hope that's all it is.

pennstate · Post by **pennstate** » 30 Dec 2008, 11:47

StarmanDXE wrote:Where are you pennstate? At Penn State? If so, I'd be glad to take a look at your car when I'm back up there next week and see if I can see anything (no promises!) as I was decently familiar with my 850. (No turbo, sadly...)

Thanks for the offer, but I'm not at Penn State. I graduated in 1992. I'm in Iowa now, surrounded by Hawkeyes.

calbrit01 · Post by **calbrit01** » 30 Dec 2008, 14:22

FYI, my new Turbo Intercooler hose cost $350.00 with Labor [dealer part], at an independent mechanic (same day). I thought that was steep until I found out he cleaned the throttle body and the PCV which was full of gunk, which was a relief as this was one of my outstanding jobs. Interesting enough, he says he doesn't often replace the PCV if its been serviced. His service consists of injecting carb cleaner into the unit, and then blowing it through with some compressed air gadgit. If you are taking it to a mechanic, the best advice I can give is to find one that knows Volvos ( not one that just does "foriegn cars"), it'll cause you a lot less pain in the long run.