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Volvo 850 10v to 20v Conversion.

Help, Advice and DIY Tutorials on Volvo's P80 platform cars -- Volvo's 1990s "bread and butter" cars -- powered by the ubiquitous and durable Volvo inline 5-cylinder engine.

1992 - 1997 850, including 850 R, 850 T-5R, 850 T-5, 850 GLT
1997 - 2000 S70, S70 AWD
1997 - 2000 V70, V70 AWD
1997 - 2000 V70-XC
1997 - 2004 C70

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misha
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Year and Model: '97 850 2.5 20v
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Re: Volvo 850 10v to 20v Conversion.

Post by misha »

Pistons are never a problem on these cars.
Not on a 10v ...not on a 20v cars.
How much oil consumption per 1.000km you have?
'97 850 2.5 20v / fully equipped / Motronic 4.4 from the factory / upgraded with S,V,C,XC70 instrument cluster / polar white wagon
History of Volvos in the family:
'71 144 S
'73 144 De Luxe
'78 244 DL
'78 244 DL
'79 244 GLE
'85 340 GLS

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Sveedy
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Post by Sveedy »

My '96 was 4.3 stock, not 4.4. I switched it to 4.4 when I replaced the ECU with a flashable one.
Try to learn life's bad lessons vicariously through others.


1996 850 Turbo GLH ( Goes Like Hell )
1999 V70 GLT

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Chuck W
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Post by Chuck W »

Sveedy wrote: 05 Apr 2022, 09:55 My '96 was 4.3 stock, not 4.4. I switched it to 4.4 when I replaced the ECU with a flashable one.
The NA's were M4.4 starting in '96. HPT Turbos went M4.4 in '98 (LPTs did so in '97, but the ECU internals are different from the '98 MY ones(at least in the US))
'97 854 T5 - Manual Swap/M4.4/COP/NA cams/P2R Brakes/16T/ chassis bracing/ XC70 nose swap
'97 855 GLT - Hers. RN swap/16T/COP/VVT/exhaust/302s/Flashed M4.4/ chassis bracing/ 2 kid seats
'78 GLE - Waiting in the wings. Future whiteblock/T5 swap.

The Others- '83 TBird turbo, '85 Mercury Marquis LTS (1 of 134), '86 LTD Wagon, '81 Granada GL, '76 Beetle, '93 F-150 I6

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misha
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Post by misha »

Sveedy wrote: 05 Apr 2022, 09:55 My '96 was 4.3 stock, not 4.4. I switched it to 4.4 when I replaced the ECU with a flashable one.
850 turbo are all m4.3.
'97 850 2.5 20v / fully equipped / Motronic 4.4 from the factory / upgraded with S,V,C,XC70 instrument cluster / polar white wagon
History of Volvos in the family:
'71 144 S
'73 144 De Luxe
'78 244 DL
'78 244 DL
'79 244 GLE
'85 340 GLS

2ndGenVolvos
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Year and Model: 1996 850
Location: Toronto, ON, CA
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Post by 2ndGenVolvos »

scot850 wrote: 05 Apr 2022, 09:38 What mileage is on the current engine? If is is fairly low mileage it may be the cheapest to have the head rebuilt if you and your Dad can do the strip and rebuild. You will need a machine shop to plain the head and have the head rebuilt with new seals. But you could probably do that for around $1000-1200 or less as it is a 10V motor.

Yes you can buy a $900 car with a motor in it but how good is that motor?

You can compression test your existing motor to see what the compressions are like. Your Dad will know how to do that.

Neil.
Current engine has 231,xxx kms. The engine in the $900 car says 280,000 but who knows if thats accurate as the gear could have broken, I'd have to check the ECU.
I'll have to pull up the engine maps and see what sensors, harnesses, etc. I would need to convert my car to a 20v.
Because if the engine in the 280k car is still in good condition, then it could be worth it to just drop it in. Or at the very least use it for parts.
Ideally, I'd like to have 20v for that little extra oomf. But we'll see where we land once I have all the information I need to make a decision.

454cid
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Post by 454cid »

2ndGenVolvos wrote: 05 Apr 2022, 12:17 Ideally, I'd like to have 20v for that little extra oomf. But we'll see where we land once I have all the information I need to make a decision.
My 20V NA engine is not a hot rod. It's fine for daily driving, but it's not a rocket. I think my engine is supposed to be 168hp. What's the 10valve rated?
1996 850
1999 S70 GLT (sold after deer hit)

2010 Ford Focus SE
2006 Cadillac CTS
1996 Mercedes C220
1999 Chevrolet K3500
1969 Buick LeSabre Custom 400

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misha
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Post by misha »

At 280K ...valve stem seals could also be a problem at that 20v engine.
Weak point on these cars.

You don't check ecu for a mileage...you check instrument cluster...since the mileage is stored in the cluster module.
'97 850 2.5 20v / fully equipped / Motronic 4.4 from the factory / upgraded with S,V,C,XC70 instrument cluster / polar white wagon
History of Volvos in the family:
'71 144 S
'73 144 De Luxe
'78 244 DL
'78 244 DL
'79 244 GLE
'85 340 GLS

User avatar
misha
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Joined: 7 December 2008
Year and Model: '97 850 2.5 20v
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Post by misha »

454cid wrote: 05 Apr 2022, 12:46
2ndGenVolvos wrote: 05 Apr 2022, 12:17 Ideally, I'd like to have 20v for that little extra oomf. But we'll see where we land once I have all the information I need to make a decision.
My 20V NA engine is not a hot rod. It's fine for daily driving, but it's not a rocket. I think my engine is supposed to be 168hp. What's the 10valve rated?
10v...if it is a 2.5 have around 104-106kw.
'97 850 2.5 20v / fully equipped / Motronic 4.4 from the factory / upgraded with S,V,C,XC70 instrument cluster / polar white wagon
History of Volvos in the family:
'71 144 S
'73 144 De Luxe
'78 244 DL
'78 244 DL
'79 244 GLE
'85 340 GLS

2ndGenVolvos
Posts: 40
Joined: 25 July 2021
Year and Model: 1996 850
Location: Toronto, ON, CA
Been thanked: 2 times

Post by 2ndGenVolvos »

454cid wrote: 05 Apr 2022, 12:46
2ndGenVolvos wrote: 05 Apr 2022, 12:17 Ideally, I'd like to have 20v for that little extra oomf. But we'll see where we land once I have all the information I need to make a decision.
My 20V NA engine is not a hot rod. It's fine for daily driving, but it's not a rocket. I think my engine is supposed to be 168hp. What's the 10valve rated?
10v NA is rated at 142hp. So not massive gains but just a nice little extra something-something for driving backroads or up in Muskoka.

2ndGenVolvos
Posts: 40
Joined: 25 July 2021
Year and Model: 1996 850
Location: Toronto, ON, CA
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Post by 2ndGenVolvos »

misha wrote: 05 Apr 2022, 09:43 Pistons are never a problem on these cars.
Not on a 10v ...not on a 20v cars.
How much oil consumption per 1.000km you have?
No idea. Bought the car, got it home. Big blue clouds started billowing out when we pulled into the driveway. Prick that sold me the car stopped answering my texts and calls too.

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