Hi all,

I'm living currently in Orlando, FL but back home in Argentina I have a 94 Volvo 850 manual. I left it to my dad but he barely used it in the past 3 years. A couple of month ago he drove it for a few miles a threw a rod. The car has approximately 130k miles, the odometer is stuck around 100k miles but being the third owners and sort of trusting the last one we guesstimate is around that much. We tried to fix it even by taking it to a local Volvo dealership but they couldn't fix it (a whole different story).
Parts in Argentina are very expensive, as in it could cost more than getting another one of these cars, so I'm trying to buy them here in the states and send them back home.
I don't know much about cars and the translations from Spanish might not be accurate, but the parts I'm required to buy are the following, I add as well the link of what I found so far:
- Connecting Rod Bearings 0.5 OS = https://www.fcpeuro.com/products/vol...s-50mm-020-o-s
- Main Bearings 0.5 OS = Main bearing kit made by Volvo. #31251798
8 Connecting Rod Bolts = Genuine Volvo Connecting Rod Bolt 1271900 - Free Shipping
Head gasket & O Ring set = https://www.fcpeuro.com/products/vol...s70-v70-275254
Piston Rings Set = Piston ring kit made by Volvo. #31330723
Timing Belt kit (and tensioners) = https://www.fcpeuro.com/products/vol...oners-tbkit252
Lifters kit = Genuine Volvo Engine Valve Lifter Kit 270866 - Free Shipping
Connecting rod = Connecting rod made by Volvo. #1270483
The VIN is YV1LS5500R2105856 and the engine number is B5254S163292.
Could you please tell me if the parts I got are right? Based on your experience as well, if there's anything that I should be buying let me know. I guess I won't be able to make this purchase 100% sure but I'd like to lower the risk as much as possible.
Any suggestions are greatly appreciated.

Thanks in advance,
Leo

 

I read what I wrote a few times but of course I realized of something after I submitted...
Quick clarification, we took the car to a Volvo to fix the odometer, not the thrown rod, because of prices. No doubt getting that fixed at a dealership could cost a few times how much the car is valued now.

 

The car needs an engine replacement. Throw a rod means the block is damaged.

At the car's age, might be more reasonable to sell it to the scrap yard if you don't want to fix it.

 

thanks for your reply, that link is very generic, any idea how much would cost to replace the block?

 

I don't know how much it'll cost you.

I bought a $900 running parts car, got its engine and transmission out myself, sold everything on it, got $938 back.
So I paid -$38 for a running engine and transmission, plus my free labor.


If you're buying to buy a running engine in FL, it'll cost you $600- $800
Car-Part.com--Used Auto Parts Market

 

At the very least, if you think it's repairable, you ought to dismantle it first and inspect everything before spending any money on parts. But I agree that a whole 850 here, running, can be had for $500

 

Also, I noticed you are looking at undersize bearings. It says oversize but that is not really what they mean. At this point you don't know i the crank can be turned undersize and be good. If it can't, you'd need a new crank. That is another reason to wait.

 

I think I wasn't clear before, the parts I listed before it's what a mechanic back home said should be repaired after looking at it. He's not a Volvo mechanic, that's why besides asking for confirmation that I had the right parts based on his request, I was asking if there was anything else that I should consider buying.
About buying a running car for parts, it's not an option for me because I don't know about the subject so wouldn't be able to get whatever is necessary and sell the rest.
Thanks,
Leo

 

thphon, has your mechanic opened up the engine yet? the advise here is you really can't know what to order without inspecting the engine (aka "short block") for any damage caused by the rod breaking (I've seen rods punch a hole in the engine block) or if he's hearing a sound like a rod knock which can be a bearing or wrist pin. Proper procedure is to match the bearing to the crank shaft (measured for tolerance to spec) - and machine out any flaws (thus requiring a different sized bearing). Not sure if its an option to ship a used short block (including pistons, crankshaft, block to match up - the rest can be transferred). My rough guess is a 5 cylinder short block (no cylinder head or accessories) would weigh in between 150-200 lbs including crank, pistons, rods and you may be able to find a yard that would be willing to ship internationally. That would pretty much set your cost baseline. You can also search Craigslist and Ebay for people parting out a Volvo 850 or V/S 70 who may be willing to ship. You'd need to price out the cost of freight too... otherwise you'd need the mechanic to open up the engine and name what parts need to be replaced.

 

Thanks for your reply. Yes, the mechanic inspected the engine and came back with the list I posted at the beginning. He didn't make it look like it was too bad, but don't know. If I end up needing a new block, then I'll have to sell the car for parts.
Anybody speaks Spanish? maybe throw a rod is not the exact translation of 'fundir biela' or maybe I'm in real trouble, hehe

 

You're trying to buy parts for a car with engine damage at another country that your family rarely drive with a mechanic you don't understand.

Give it up and let it go would be my advise.

 

The mechanic clearly asked for those parts, it's more like I don't trust him that much.
But you are probably right, not knowing about cars in general, my idea was to validate that list of parts but it seems there's more to it and the risk is not worth taking.
Thanks

 

I think you hit it when you said you don't trust the mechanic. To know whether the engine has thrown a rod suggests the engine has been opened up and he should be able to send pics. Sounds like its time to walk away or get a different mechanic.

 

Well, if a guy dismantled the engine and then asked for these specific parts, that is fine. I thought you were asking if you could buy these parts before the engine was apart.

 

Sorry I wasn't clear at the beginning, it had more to do with my doubts about what was requested than the actual situation.
After a lot of back and forth trying to convince my dad to sell the car for scraps, we settled on trying to fix it instead (well, he settled on that, I just accepted it, hehe). He he really trusts the mechanic, so going back to the OP, can anybody help me to confirm if the links I added are for the parts I'm describing? The only difference is the OS is 0.25 instead of 0.5 because it's the first OS what's needed (I just assumed before it was 0.5), the list below:

- Connecting Rod Bearings 0.25 OS = couldn't find this one yet
- Main Bearings 0.25 OS = Genuine Volvo Rod Bearing (.25mm OS) 30731539 - Free Shipping
- 8 Connecting Rod Bolts = Genuine Volvo Connecting Rod Bolt 1271900 - Free Shipping
- Head gasket & O Ring set = https://www.fcpeuro.com/products/vol...s70-v70-275254
- Piston Rings Set = Piston ring kit made by Volvo. #31330723
- Timing Belt kit (and tensioners) = http://www.fcpeuro.com/products/volv...minor-tbkit217
- Lifters kit = Genuine Volvo Engine Valve Lifter Kit 270866 - Free Shipping
- Connecting rod = Connecting rod made by Volvo. #1270483

The VIN is YV1LS5500R2105856 and the engine number is B5254S163292.
Of course, if you know of anything I can get cheaper somewhere else, will be welcomed

Thanks in advance,
Leo

 

volvopartswebstore has the connecting rod "big end" bearings (so named there). 30731539 is the Rod bearings (you have it crank bearings above).

They also have crank bearings but they come in blue red and yellow. I have no idea what that signifies.

I would be tempted to buy it all from them just for simplicity but I did not price it all out.

 

The blue red yellow colors signify tolerances. Do not buy them unless you know what you need. To use these bearings you need to have them all on hand and use plastigauge to determine the tolerance. Save yourself from $$, go with Toga or Federal Mogul or Glyco.