Volvo 850 R Project. Need advice on repairs.

ACarmona · Post by **ACarmona** » 12 Apr 2016, 17:12

Hi All, I have recently bought a 1996 Volvo 850 R Sedan. IPD T5-R. 3" Exhaust. 2 10" Alpine Subs & Amp. Custom LCD CD/2port Media Player. Overall runs well, everything electrical is in great shape.
To begin, I knew it had a few issues when I bought it, and I now know I might have payed a little but too much for it, but honestly I love this car and I want to keep it and make it a project. Question is: is it worth it??
I might in the future join a club and may want to get on the track, but much later and after a few upgrades. At the moment I'm just working and living and can do about a repair a month. I would really like help deciding what needs done first, how prudent, and how much I should expect to pay for the labor if possible.
And if any of this is possible to do myself I would take seriously any suggestions you might have, although I only have 3 years of high school auto shop/body as experience.
Heres what I knew:
-- Blows a small amount of blue smoke out of the exhaust ONLY after getting past ~2500rpm or 3/4 boost and I let my foot off the pedal. also causing an oil leak around the oil cooler lines.
-- Needs a new radiator (lower end seal leak) and the A/C recharged.
-- Needs a right motor mount and tie rod.
-- Power Steering/ Transmission flushed and refilled
-- Brakes squeak at low speeds. (I've read up on this and it seems all i can do is buy semi-metallic or carbon fibre brake pads..)

So I went into a Volvo Specialist (not a dealer) and had it professionally looked at since I'm not experience savvy. They found a few more things that I missed or didn't know about. had the oil changed cause it was really low.
-- No Service sticker for the timing belts. (They want about a grand to just replace everything, although there doesn't seem to be any problems with them)
-- They said the turbo bearings are bad from running on low oil. From what I've read, you might be able to rebuild the turbo instead of replacing it. which would cost more at the shop? (they want about another grand for the replacing of the turbo)
-- The Fuel Filter needs replacing
-- They want to power flush the ABS system for $100 cause the tracs light is on.
-- They also want to replace the ignition switch cause I have to turn it back a tiny bit after I turn the engine on.

I have yet to do a compression test on the engine so once we know the test results on that then ill know whether the car is in any shape for repair at all, but I think it will perform well. At the moment I know I will have to spend at least 2 grand already and have already accepted the fate. What i don't really know about is the timing belts, and how prudent that is. I don't have any wear or tears on them. Although oil has gotten on a lot of things around the turbo. Please reply with any useful information, tips, tricks, advice, or comments.

Post by **Matty Moo** » 12 Apr 2016, 17:50

1. Rather steep for a t-belt.

2. Flushing anything won't take care of the abs/Trac off lights.

Replacing the radiator isn't bad. For that matter none of that stuff is incredibly difficult or cost/time prohibitive if done at home.

Post by **kahl** » 12 Apr 2016, 17:53

With out knowing your mileage I would worry about the TB. I have yet to hear that a brake fluid change would make the ABS light to go away. Read about the glove test to guage the condition about your PCV system. The items you have listed taken one at a time are not overwhelming. Pick a project, research project, get parts list then do said project. There are step by step repairs outlined here at Matthews Volvo are easy as long as you know righty tighty and lefty loosely. If you need guidance the members are patient fellas to help you understand the task at hand.

If this were my car I would start with TB and WP, radiator, then PCV system and oil lines. In addition look in one of the forums asking for help in your area. You may find a mentor close to you.

Post by **oragex** » 12 Apr 2016, 19:15

You may have got an abused car. Trying to repair it close to 'original' operation might cost too much money. I'd keep driving it for one year to see what the issues are, then make a decision whether start replacing parts or repairing just the necessary.

The timing belt can be inspected visually, for any tiny cracks, but it must be turned to check all it's length inch by inch.

I would get a second opinion at a different garage, the one you have been at has some surprising conclusions.

If the brake discs and pads are still good, try switching the left disc with the right one to get rid of the squeak.

ACarmona · Post by **ACarmona** » 12 Apr 2016, 21:00

My apologies for forgetting the mileage! Its got 197k miles on it. I've already put a few miles on and it runs fine, no abnormal noises besides the tie rod on really bumpy parts of road. The shop checked the PCV and it was clean.
To elaborate on the rest; the fluids in the transmission and PS were dirty enough that they should be changed. They wanted to replace both the TB and the SP belts along with the roller, and also the cam seals need to be replaced. I have been looking at tons of forums, even on this site and the reason I posted was because I needed specific help. I'll try the brake pad switch for now, thanks!

Post by **polskamafia mjl** » 12 Apr 2016, 22:07

Welcome to MVS!

You've got a lot of stuff going on here so I'll try to get to all of it. I'm going to assume you're going to keep the car for sometime but only you can make that call. If compression is good across the board and the car is nice cosmetically I would be inclined to keep it. If nothing else this is a great car to cut your teeth on.

These cars are great for lots of reasons not the least of which is the fact that you can do a lot of work yourself without a much previous experience. All you need is some tools and a desire to learn. There are enough write ups on MVS to guide you step by step through most of the work you need to do. And for a little extra help we recommend you spring for a Haynes manual which you can buy at most auto part stores.

Generally when getting a used 850 you want to get it to Stage 0. You can read a step by step guide here: https://www.matthewsvolvosite.com/stage-0.html .

Taking care of Stage 0 will knock out a few of your problems like the fuel filter for example and the fluids (Oil, Coolant, Power Steering, and Transmission). Just a side note here, I highly recommend you get that trans fluid taken care of soon because you do not want to deal with a bad transmission.

The timing belt is extremely important and should be at the top of your list. If that belt breaks the engine will destroy itself internally. Unfortunately examining the belt will get you next to no where especially since the main failure point is actually the timing belt tensioner. It is also possible for the water pump to seize which can then strip the teeth off of the belt. Again, that will lead to serious internal engine damage. That belt needs to be done ASAP along with the tensioner and water pump and the associated pulleys. Check out Lee's write up here: https://www.matthewsvolvosite.com/forums ... =1&t=19831 .

The TB job is not a great first time project so I would hesitate to recommend you try doing it yourself. It is not difficult but it can be overwhelming for a first timer. Your best option is to try to find a forum member near you who can give you a hand otherwise you'll need to have a shop do it. Shop around for the lowest price but make sure all of the components are replaced. While the timing belt is off you should also get the cam seals taken care of to save on labor if its the front ones that are leaking.

With the timing belt done and Stage 0 finished you can finally start to rely on the car. Most of your remaining issues are fairly easy part replacements. For the brakes I would recommend applying silicone lubricant to the back of the pads and along all of the sliding contact surfaces. Also check to see whether your rear pads have shims. Without shims the rear pads have been known to squeak. You can try swapping brake discs but it seems like a waste of time since I doubt they will be quieter just from swapping sides.

Everything the shop noticed (excluding the timing belt) you can handle yourself. The ignition switch and fuel filter are easy to do and would be a perfect place for you to start working on your car. As mentioned previously, the ABS light won't turn off just from a flush. The ABS module needs to be repaired. Forum member Matty Moo can hook you up with that. He comes highly recommended.

Radiator, motor mount, and tie rod replacement are straightforward and you can look through the repair database to find outstanding guides on how to take care of them.

Good luck!

kaneelschep · Post by **kaneelschep** » 13 Apr 2016, 02:15

hearing the prices and how they did not know how to fix the tracs/abs I would get my car or bussiness away from that garage. The issue with the abs controller going bust is very common knowledge. My diy garage immediately told me not to go changing sensors etc, but fix the controller. And even how.
1000 for a belt change and another 1000 for a head job.. come on.. Seems like they are trying to rip you off badly.

If you buy a performance car with added aftermarket performance parts, you know the car did not have an easy life. People do not add those things for nothing. They want to go beyond the limits. adding the 200k miles..
So for that reason I would wait with the big spendings and fixes till you know the car is still worth it.
First get a quote for the complete belt package, tie rod and engine mount at several garages wich you trust and know. Should not even be a 1000 alltogether! The radiator is really easy to replace and not expensive, so maybe that too. Get some good nice pink g12 cooling liquid. Or whatever proper you use locally.
Those are fixes you unfortunately need now to be able to drive normally and safely. And are not way too expensive to drown in it.
And of course the seals would be nice to do at the same time. But it will cost a lot more money.
I would first see how the car behaves for a while. Put some proper mileage on it. At speed and in the cold and heat. See if you love it or hate it. It will tell you

The seals and the turbo will just cause a bit of oil usage. Nothing more. Just keep checking your oil.

In the meantime read about the abs and ignition fixes here. They are quite easy to do yourself, or not hard to outsource quite affordable and reliably.
Just filling the ac does not always help on these cars I noticed. Normally the fluid should just stay in a car anyway. So it will have an issue somewhere if you need to refill. It can be quite a pain to swap the part of the ac, wich name I cannot remember now under the dash.
Squeeky brakes. Who cares.. No problem there. I kinda like coming to a light doing NIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIII

Just put a tiny amount of copper grease on the back of the pads when you put em in. And they wont squeek anymore.

Post by **850 LPT** » 13 Apr 2016, 06:11

A lot of good advice has been given here already, but I wanted to add 2 things:

The noise on bumpy roads may not be a problem with the tie rods.
850's are notorious for broken spring seats which will make noise. Also the strut tower bearings dry up and start creaking when they get old.
Depending of the condition of the struts, you may want to consider replacing them along with said parts plus all the hardware.
This is another job that's fairly easy to do on these cars as long as you have access to a decent set of spring compressors.

I would be careful when addressing the tranny fluid. If you don't have any maintenance history on this and the fluid looks and smells old, I would suggest doing a couple of "drain and fills". Stay away from a flush for now as that can mess up your tranny.

Post by **benpineapple** » 13 Apr 2016, 07:57

Pics of the car?

With no proof of timing change, I would do that first. Ya'll are saying $1000 for a timing belt is a lot? Volvo dealer in Grand Rapids Michigan quoted it at $1200, local indie shop I go to quoted me at $1100. Did it myself and spent $500 in parts. Either way, even if the the TB components "look fine", you're going to want to change it out.

After that, if I were you, I'd address the radiator. If the leak expands and you dump coolant, you'll have a matter of seconds before the thing will overheat and potentially destroy itself.

All the other things aren't necessarily major, but it sounds like a lot of tiny issues, indicating poor maintenance by the previous owner. Doesn't seem like a car that was set up to drive to 500k.

Post by **abscate** » 13 Apr 2016, 08:21

$500 is a fair (non-big city) price for a TB, maybe another 100 for a water pump. It is not an 8 hour job.

4.7 hours is the book time for TB, all components plus water pump, 4.0 hours without water pump.