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1996 850 20V Timing Belt Kit and Water Pump

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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PeteB
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Joined: 27 May 2014
Year and Model: 1996 Volvo 850 Wagon
Location: Connecticut, USA
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Re: 1996 850 20V Timing Belt Kit and Water Pump

Post by PeteB »

Can't remember if I drained the distilled and put some coolant back in,
getting cold here.

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erikv11
Posts: 11800
Joined: 25 July 2009
Year and Model: 850, V70, S60R, XC70
Location: Iowa
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Post by erikv11 »

Eke! That is not a thing you should have to wonder about - fix it! You will find a lot of opinions but I use Zerex G-05, it is close to the Volvo coolant formula.
'95 854 T-5R, Motronic 4.4, 185k
'98 V70, T5 tune-injectors-turbo, LPT engine, 304k, daily driver
'06 S60 R, 197k
'07 XC70, black, 205k
'07 XC70, willow green, 212k
'99 Camry V6 :shock: 153k
gone: '96 NA 850 210k, '98 NA V70 182k, '98 S70 NA 225k, '96 855 NA 169k

PeteB
Posts: 880
Joined: 27 May 2014
Year and Model: 1996 Volvo 850 Wagon
Location: Connecticut, USA
Has thanked: 57 times
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Post by PeteB »

will one of those bubble suction testers determine it?

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erikv11
Posts: 11800
Joined: 25 July 2009
Year and Model: 850, V70, S60R, XC70
Location: Iowa
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Post by erikv11 »

Someone reviewed one of those testers recently on this site, to see how reliable it was. I think it was MrAl. I'm not sure what he came up with. What color is the stuff in there now?

You can definitely try the tester, but for not a whole lot more $ you can buy one gallon of coolant. Honestly I would just totally flush it out: run a few changes of water until the cooling system runs totally clear, then fill it up with fresh, 50/50 coolant. Then you can be certain about what is in there and when it was changed.
'95 854 T-5R, Motronic 4.4, 185k
'98 V70, T5 tune-injectors-turbo, LPT engine, 304k, daily driver
'06 S60 R, 197k
'07 XC70, black, 205k
'07 XC70, willow green, 212k
'99 Camry V6 :shock: 153k
gone: '96 NA 850 210k, '98 NA V70 182k, '98 S70 NA 225k, '96 855 NA 169k

PeteB
Posts: 880
Joined: 27 May 2014
Year and Model: 1996 Volvo 850 Wagon
Location: Connecticut, USA
Has thanked: 57 times
Been thanked: 11 times

Post by PeteB »

I changed it when we got the car a few years ago, then again when I did this belt.
It has had G-05 since I did the first flush.
If there was a reliable tester I would do it and then not worry but otherwise
you're right I should just replace it.

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