I understand, no worries.

Getting frustrated is all. In a perfect world, I could just walk out, fix the car and be done, using the parts I want that have lifetime warranty and are top shelf (but its not a perfect world, and I'm not Jay Leno lol). Didn't realize how much this car needed though when I bought it. Granted, sure its a $900 car with high miles. It seemed pretty well taken care of and runs quite well. In all honesty though I should have known better. Its really my own fault.

Right now focus has shifted to just keeping her running long enough to get some funds together to do the job properly. Life stepped in and kicked me in the *** with a curveball in my finances that I wasn't prepared for, so its do whats necessary to get to work time. I absolutely hate that I have to do this (cut corners on parts quality etc) and hate doing things twice over to get it right once...But its my only option currently.

Went back out and had at it again, more cursing, more fighting and frustration when I found the right rear brake line was stuck fast in the caliper and the fitting rounded off (even with the proper flare nut wrench). But I managed to get the right rear caliper off, e brake parts replaced and old rotors back on. As a temporary fix I'm going to pick up some cheap off the shelf store brand pads at advance tomorrow ($18). I'll be replacing that section of hard line tomorrow as well ($15) along with the center hose (which I already have the stainless steel one on hand) and putting it all back together with the old beat up rotors for now. Since most of the braking on the car is done with the front brakes anyhow, I'm not as concerned.

In the not so distant future I will be replacing all 4 corners with Powerstop slotted/drilled rotors and new pads. It also looks like I'll be running a new hard line from the driver rear wheel to the booster/abs pump in front due to a rounded off/seized flare fitting. Unless I can get some heat on it and break it free with a pair of vice grips and have enough line to cut/re-flare with a new fitting. Until then that side's stainless steel line will have to be put on hold.

Edit to add: I updated post #8 with pre purchase pictures for anyone interested in seeing the 'ole gal. I'll post some newer ones here in the near future as time allows. I'd like to get her washed up nicely and clay bar'd before then and I still need to finish laying one last section of carpet as well as install a headliner and she'll be whole again.

 

I hear you man. I just bought one for $500. It didn't look too bad at first. Now I've got $3,000 in parts arriving tomorrow. I'm a student and I need this car to last me a while so I'm doing it right from the get go. I can't be working on this thing during the school year and I sure as hell don't want to be wrenching during winter in Winnipeg.

I'm shooting to have this Volvo good to go in a few weeks then I will take it on a grand tour to Toronto and back.

Best of luck
Shawn

 

Similar to the boat I'm in...I got behind on my student loans over the past couple years due to crap job market and health problems and lets just say Uncle Sam doesn't look too kindly on that...

And that was the whole reason I bought this car: I needed something that would last me for many miles to come, and the reliability of these 850's can't be beat. I'm 2500 or so into it now (including purchasing the car) and its almost back to absolute 0. Its just a matter of getting over these last few unexpected hurdles and I should be able to drive her another year or so without any major issues.

And when she finally kicks the can, I'll buy another one and keep her for parts/winter beater. If all goes well by spring (if its still available) I may be able to buy the 98 V70 T-5 I've been eyeballing for about a month now...115k miles, 2 owner with full dealer service records since new for $2900...Just a matter of getting financing squared away...

I will say this much: A lot of the issues are from the car spending the last 20 years of its life in the rust belt...Its not rusty per se, but things are stuck a little tighter than they should be. So to combat this, every bolt and nut I've taken off the car so far has been generously coated in copper anti seize for ease of removal in the future.

I plan to drive this car until the wheels fall off and she can't drive anymore (and possibly even after the wheels fall off...it is a Volvo after all, tanks they are )

Speaking of wheels...Highlight of my day today, I managed to score a replacement tire used from the pick and pull with almost full tread for $20 (roughly 85-90% life left). And its even a Nokian WRG3. So within the next 3 weeks I'll pick up 3 more to match with almost similar tread (within 1/32-2/32) for just over $200 and have them mounted and I'll be good for another 35k miles. Unfortunately they'll be 55 series tires like the Continentals, but its a more available size than whats called for so I'll just have to deal with some rubbing in the wheel liners...Got my eyes on a set of 15" steelies next time I hit the junkyard and I'll have a second full set of all seasons to use 3 seasons (the Nokians are all weather, year round tires, but fair best in cooler/colder weather as far as tread life from what I've been reading)

 

And she's done. Not the most ideal solution but it got her back on the road.

Replaced the rear right brake line. New one is a tad too long but with some creative bending and routing its in. Went with the cheap off the shelf coated steel line for a temporary patch in, I'll replace it with the better nickel/copper one in the proper length when I dive back into this again in a few weeks.

Still need to replace the rotors and put better pads on the rear. Opted to just get the off the shelf Wearever Silver semi metallics from Advance and reuse the old torn up slotted and drilled rotors. When I get back into the system again I'll be putting the PowerStop pads and drilled/slotted rotors on.

There's going to be one more brake line I'll have to replace running from the front of the car back to the left rear wheel when I do the other braided hose. The fitting is stripped off at the junction block where it connects to the hose, so short of cutting it off and reflaring the line, I'm left with replacement. At that point though the entire system will have essentially been overhauled (short of the front calipers, and Bob forbid they go out on me )

I'm left to wonder though why both of the old rear calipers locked up the outer pistons at the same time...a bit odd for both of them to go together, in the same manner...

I'm tired of doing brake jobs, especially when it comes to cracking the system open and replacing lines... lol....Give me something else to work on already...

 

Back to the top.

After a week of dealing with shredded rear tires and other unlikely shenanigans (blowing intercooler hoses, etc), the old gal seems to be running alright.

Next on the list (with parts on order from FCPEuro) is the lower engine mount and the transmission torque strut. Opted to go with the poly ProParts "upgrade' for the torque strut mount that FCP offers. And after weighing pros and cons (and studying both pics very closely) I went with the Meyle lower right engine mount. Was considering the Rein option they offer, since both are manufactured in China anyhow, but given the pics the Meyle one looks like it will hold up better (more rubber).

Next order of business after finishing these mounts is to order the fuel tank vent hose and 2 new thermostat housing bolts so I can finish that up. Oddly enough, the new thermostat that I got (which listed as a Hella Behr and came from one of Hella's largest US wholesalers) is a Mahle 92 deg direct from Hella themselves in a Mahle orange and white box. Makes me wonder...

 

Update: New mounts arrived yesterday (8/5/16) from FCP. 2 day economy shipping ftw Coupled with lifetime replacement, they've now earned my business for life. Well worth the extra $2-$5 difference in price over eEuro, rock auto, etc.

Tackled the mounts this morning. After watching the videos on FCP's website the other night, it was actually quite easy to get these on. And I actually enjoyed spending that 1.5 hours wrenching this morning for once...

So far no complaints on the poly lower torque strut. No real noticeable vibrations, absolutely no added noise. No harshness at all. Although with the Koni's and IPD springs, the ride is already kind of harsh anyhow, so...

Overall part quality seems pretty decent vs. factory volvo mount. Cast vs stamped steel. Seems like it will hold up another 200k miles like the factory Volvo one I removed. The rear bushing on mine was absolutely disintegrated, front bushing was starting to crack and separate halfway thru on the bottom, and with a little flexing I could see dry rot cracks thru the rest of the bushing.

Only real comment I have on the poly mount is this: During install I had to loosen the center 14mm bolt on the small bushing so I could get some play to line up the 2 bolt holes on the transmission to thread the bolts in.

As far as the lower right mount goes, I'm satisfied with the Mahle one. Definitely made a difference, and the factory one that was on there is/was completely toasted. No rubber at all left in the center from bottom. Again, looks to be original from 95. Removal was pretty straight forward, install as well. I did find that I had to use the jack to line things up properly and couldn't just drop down onto the mount (like in the FCP video). I had to lift the motor about 1/4" with the jack, then insert the top 14mm bolt and tighten it down before the lower bolt would line up and start to thread the hole. From there once I got everything torqued down and tightened up, I was able to drop the jack.

Took the car for a drive immediately after it was all together and what a difference. No more slop between shifts, she rides a lot smoother now. The torque strut made a huge difference in the banging I was getting when I shifted into reverse from park and neutral. And under WOT from a slow roll she's got a lot snappier shifting without the bang/bucking.

All in all a productive day. Next up, fixing the fuel leak, and tracking down the cause of the coolant smell I get when the car is warm and idling (suspect my overflow tank hose or a hose clamp on the turbo line I replaced may be loose). She's not overheating and as far as I can tell the coolant level stays the same...

Edit: Did some poking around this evening. It looks like I am leaking coolant. Theres a wet spot below the turbo and just behind the left front wheel, which leads me to believe that the new coolant inlet hose to the turbo is leaking. Haven't crawled under the car yet to see if its just a loose clamp or if the hose itself is cracked. In the meantime I've ordered a set of do88 silicone turbo coolant hoses and I'll monitor the coolant level in the overflow tank. $24 shipped for a bit more peace of mind in having quality parts that will last vs a $1200+ repair is worth it in my book. Next week I'll order the do88 overflow tank hoses and the cooling system overhaul will be done. May as well wait until they all come in to crack the system open again, no sense wasting more money on coolant than I need to...I may opt to flush the system one more time, this time with just straight water then refill completely. I can still see sediment floating around in the bottom of the overflow tank.

 

Been awhile since I've posted...Not much to update in the past month.

Since my last post, I've managed to pick up and install an ARD TCV. Definitely made an improvement to the feel of the car. I've also swapped over from the BSR Stage 3 tune to the factory ECU and have been running it. With some help from the guys over at swedespeed, I've come to the conclusion that I was/am hitting fuel cut with that ECU under WOT.

Lately I've just been fixing the little things. I installed a cheap Ebay boost gauge about 2 weeks ago, tee'd into the factory gauge line under the dash and duct taped to the driver side A pillar and dash temporarily. Haven't decided as of yet if I want to mount it to the pod or pick up and modify a universal 3 gauge pod that will mount to the center of the dash.

The install of the gauge went pretty smoothly, straightforward job. Rather than cut and splice the wires into any factory wiring, I opted to carefully pull the pins from the back of the plug for the front fog lamps and crimp the tinned ends of the wires into the pink and black terminals (respectively).

Over the past weekend I managed to wash, clay bar, and wax the car, as well as restore the black plastic pieces on the bumpers as well as around the mirrors and the door handles. There's a car under all that faded paint after all. Also picked up a set of almost perfect V70XC upper rear tail lamps at the junkyard along with a few other odds and ends (factory fog light gaskets for the front bumper, etc).

Next project will be pulling the almost perfect 145k mile black leather interior and dash from a 96 base model in the junkyard in 2 weeks. Pulled the center console this past weekend and have to install it yet. Planning to take care of that this week. Also planning to swap the dash lights and switches over to red LED bulbs, after seeing how awesome they looked on tryingbe's thread over at swedespeed.

All in all, she's coming along and looking more like a respectable car for 250k miles. Looking forward to getting the headliner back in and the black interior, then driving her for many more miles in comfort.

Oh, and I found out that even though my car is one of the oddball 95's with obd I and OBD II, I can plug my ELM bluetooth adapter in and use TorqLite and DashCommand on my phone for readout and datalogging So I'm kinda excited about that, because it means when I finally get around to installing my android head unit in the spring I can display the gauges on screen

 

Were you hitting fuel cut off with the BSR tune? I am just reading into your comment. It should not be, any good tune should have that limit removed.

 

Thats the only logical explanation I can come up with. Its either that or I'm running out of fuel further into the power band with the 16G flowing higher/more efficiently than the stock 15T on that tune with stock orange injectors...


After arguing back and forth with BSR while trying to get more info/specs on the tune and them dodging my questions, I've lost a lot of faith in their products/company and think I'm just going to let well enough alone...

I've pulled the BSR tune for now and shelved it, going back to the factory ecu that came with the car. Trying to sell it to fund other options (ARD tuned to my specs). May honestly just pick up an R ecu for the time being while I save up a bit for the ARD tune. I have an offer to trade with a guy on swedespeed for a 95 R ecu even up...

Edit to add: As far as the project comes along, this weekend marks the start of the black interior swap. I managed to secure an R lower dash with burlwood/walnut trim from another forum member at Swedespeed that I'll be getting around Christmas...that'll be a project for spring that I'm not looking forward to...going to do the evaporator at the same time, as well as the heater core.

I'll have some items up for sale shortly, mostly tan/beige interior stuff (the carpet I pulled and installed this spring from the V70, some trim, etc) since I'm going to pick up the black stuff this weekend. Definitely will be taking pics of this and posting it, before and after.

 

Oil change with bg 44k/epr/moa done today at 230,887 miles. Found an oil leak on the passenger side dripping down the rear of the oil pan. Not sure where its coming from, havent investigated very far into it. Suspect cam/crank seal or oil lines. Looks like there may be a drip or 3 comimg from the junction on the oil cooler line going into the pan. Due for new turbo return line gaskets anyhoe, looks like ill be changing a few more next oil change. Also ran 1/2 can seafoam thru the vac tree and the italian tune up yesterday.

Now its off to fix my sisters crv and figure out why its throwing a code for vvt solenoid...hoping seafoam and a can of bg epr with an oil change will fix it up

 

Unless you have something wrong with your fuel system your not running out of fuel. Years back I was running on an 18T with orange (stock) injectors on an ARD tune with no troubles at all.

 

Not sure. I know the vent hose at the tank needs replaced. As far as the rest of the system im planning to rebuild the injectors just in case they are leaking. Chasing down a rich at idle condition and better mpg's at this point

 

Vent hose and leaking injectors wont cause the cut off assuming that was what you were experiencing.

How do you know you have a rich idle condition? Did you add an AFR?

 

Im guessing at the rich idle, but cant confirm until i add an afr (which is on the list). Basing it off of the heavy smell of unburnt fuel coming out the exhaust and the fact that the tip of the exhaust is pitch black.

Not too concerned about it right now. car is running relatively fine, going to focus on the more pressing issues at hand

 

So this was not my week for volvo shenanigans. First a blown upper radiator hose ($23 and 10 minutes of time to replace) and then the following day as i went to leave moms the lower thermostat housing broke as i was checking over everythin before the 4 hour drive, dumping all the coolant on the ground.

Managed to hunt down a used lower housing, 5 new oem bolts, and a new volvo gasket from a local volvo mechanic for $35. He also threw in a free ECT sensor to boot. Replaced the thermostat with the Mahle one ive had floating around for months (finally). Cooling system repairs/maintenance is almost finished. Need to get the heater core and the silicone upper and lower hoses.

Installed a spectre air intake this week also. Used a cone filter my roommate had on his Saab with a 90 deg. Elbow and a 3" silicone coupler on a 3" spectre maf adapter. Need to tweak it just a bit, i can hear a minor air leak before the maf at the factory o ring.

Basically all it requires is unbolting the maf from the factory air box, remove the air box from under the hood. Install factory o ring from the upper half of the air box over maf adapter, shove into rear of the adapter. Line up 2 bolts holes with 2 slots on maf adapter and install 2 m7 bolts/nuts/lock washers and tighten down.

The maf adapter does have a rubber/plastic plug that i may go back and modify fora better fit over the maf sensor. Ill post pics when i get back to my pc

 

Bit of an update:

Drove the car home from mom's last night, 70 mph average speed for 200 miles (80% highway). Cone filter smoothed out the mpg and the car spools much better I'm currently running the BSR tune with the cone filter, and the backfire/pseudo fuel cut issue isn't as bad, although its still there under WOT.

I'm not exactly sure how to explain it. I don't think the MPG got better per se, but on my drive back I saw 26.5 mpg for the 200 mile drive. Prior to swapping the filter, I was seeing anywhere from 26 with a high of 28 mpg on the same drive, and on the BSR tune I was averaging about 24-25 mpg.

Now after driving short trips around town for a day, the car is showing 25.8 mpg, whereas before with the factory airbox and BSR tune I was averaging about 22.5 (factory ecu was about 23.5-24 avg).

The true test will come tomorrow when I make the 150 mile round trip to the other store. Sitting at 16 gallons (full tank since anything more leaves a puddle on the ground still) and it usually runs me about 6 gallons round trip when I work at that store.

Haven't decided if I'll keep the cone filter on the car or not yet (at least in its current form with the off the shelf maf adapter). Right now its the least of my concerns. My biggest concern is how I'm going to load everything in/on the car to move 200 miles for the new job, so Volvo shenanigans will have to take a back seat for the time being.

Other than that she's running great. Still a few things I'd like to address, and I'll have to address before inspection in April, but for now I think she's ready for winter in southeast PA, and I can start saving for my next restoration project (70 Olds 442)...Probably flip the 442 at Carlisle to fund more Volvo shenanigans Everything is finished on it except for the interior detailing and a $5 o ring on the transmission.

 

Been awhile since ive updated:

Since october, i havent done much. Shes running pretty well, but doesnt like the ridiculous cold weve had lately.

I replaced 2 tires again back in October. Pulled 2 brand new GeForce2 comp a/s from an s40 at the boneyard (date stamped 0316). Also did a full oil change (bg products oil change kit), cleaned/oiled cone filter, washed and fully detailed the paint and bumper trim (again, this time using turtle wax jet black kit after clay bar) and started swapping led lights into the interior. While at the junkyard i pulled a perfect set of lower tail lights for $12 from a 2000 v70. Pulled wiper arms from same vehicle.

2 questions to note: are the lower tail lamp bulb holders wired differently than the 850? My left lower light is ridiculously bright vs the other lamps....and i dont seem to have rear fog lights anymore (flippong the switch no longer makes a big difference in brightness like it used to)

The other thing, the v70 driver side wiper blade bangs on the hood and the tension on the arm seems too high ( it almost flattens out the wiper blade). Any ideas how i can work around these minor issues? I considered grinding down the bottom flat of the mounting hole on the arm (~1/4")...

November saw no repairs, while December cold weather landed me a new east penn manufacturing agm battery for $70.

Fast forward to this weekend: overdue for oil change after ~6k miles. Also in need of rear brakes (steve at Swedeworks noticed missing rattle clips and worn pads when tires mounted). I knew it was coming, been putting it off since i replaced the calipers over summer. Ordered PowerStop slotted/drilled rotors and z23 pads thru rock auto. Also ordered a replacement right rear brake line from fcp, a proparts poly torque bushing and a fuel tank vent hose. And an injector rebuild kit from mr injector.

Notes on that stuff:

I still need to install vent hose and rebuild injectors. Its been 10 degrees here and even working in the garage its too cold for that stuff. Rear brakes turned into a 6 hour job for rotors pads and one brake line.
I'll most likely pull a second set of injectors at junkyard and rebuold them for a direct swap.

Regarding the poly upper bushing: next time ill order a powerflex or ipd munt. The proparts one required significant trimming of about 1/4" on half of the bushing (inner/center of xar side) and half a can of silicone spray to press in, along with copious amount of time sitting on the wood stove to heat until pliable I had to press everythint in then install the roll pin using a small pry bar to wiggle into place and hammer in with a 10 lb hand held sledge. Ill also pay someone else labor next time. Getting too old for this crap i used a 5" c clamp anf 2 dmall chunks of 2x4 just larger than the bushing to "press" the bushing in.

Next up, finalizing all the half finished stuff i cheaped out on over the summer:

Install left rear ss braided brake hose (swedeworks)
Install vent hose (indie mechanic friend)
Heater core
custom built battery cables/big 4 upgrade
Injector cleaning/rebuild
distributor cap/rotor
Msd ignition coil

More to come, stay tuned ladies and gents. At this point its about chasing durability and mpg while updating the maintenance. Fun bits will have to comr later

 

After doing the maintenance and repairs last time i updated, i developed a misfire and hesitation.

 

Captains log, star date 201-70214

installed the snabb intake. Pretty simple install. Also installed new bosch cap and rotor to replace worn Bremi set.

notes on snabb intake:

seems to have smoothed out the torque curve a bit. Car is less snappy off the line but really seems to breathe well up top at 5500+ rpm. Also not having a miss up top like i was but that could be due more to the cap/rotor. On a 300+ mile round trip i averaged 25.8 mpg @ 70 mph. Up from about 21.4 recently. Again this could be coincidental (vac leaks fixed, etc ).

first test drive resulted in blowing upper intercooler elbow off at the core on a WOT uphill pull. Reattached and still have a boost leak near compressor. Suspect its the PTC.

managed to get a bored out turbo manifold and NA throttle body, going to do my pcv system and may as well do that at the same time. Snabb phenolic spacers, elbow, and adjustable linkage on the way. Also got an o2 sensor and cam sensor. Traded bsr tune for all but snabb items. Stage zero almost finished, 10 months later. Now for a much needed break from fixing the car.

summer will mark the start of interior swap to black walnut "r" stuff. Minor tweaks, skipping the R door inserts and going to recover my own, same with the visors.

 

Today I managed to get the rear O2 sensor in I had to reroute the cord cable becexhaust has the

I also did a little bit of detailing under the hood in the engine bay and I started prepping the bored out turbo manifold to be swapped with the naturally aspirated throttle body when I do my PCV system.

I started prepping the Turbo intake manifold for the NA throttle body swap. Snabb box came today with the gaskets and the throttle linkage parts as well as the elbow. the previous owner of the manifold headboard it out for the naturally-aspirated throttle body but it still needs a little bit of honing with the Dremel. I scribed everything to gasket match the throttle body throat on the intake to the snabb spacer. I also gasket matched the runners and will port them a bit before install.

Primer and paint went on the manifold today as a test spray. High temp self etching rustoleum primer and 2000* flat black paint. Ill finish off the painting with a red spark plug cover (black and silver lettering), red throttle linkage bracket, red (or polished) fuel rail, and polished valve cover.