Rather than string out my posts in multiple threads, I think its time I start a build thread. This thread will serve as my guide to rebuilding my 95 850T wagon, as well as show other members ways I've found to fix and modernize the car along the way. Pics to come, as well as more info as I have time to post (work keeps me pretty busy, so it will be slow going).

Some of you may have seen my other threads already, asking questions about how-to, etc. For those of you that haven't, a little info on the car:

I picked this car up from another enthusiast on 3/30/16 for $900. He had owned it for 3 years. The car has 220,756 miles on it now (as of 5/8/16) and had 217,989 when purchased. It is the I-5 2.3l turbo. The former owner had done some upgrades to the car, as well as a lot of preventative maintenance. He purchased a new vehicle around Xmas 2014 and the Volvo sat parked for the past year (being started 1-2x a month). She burns a bit of oil (about 1 qt every oil change from what the previous owner stated, and so far in about 2500 miles I've noticed its about half a quart low. The odometer/trip meter aren't reading correctly, and from the quick math on what I've noticed, for every 200-250 miles driven it reads about 1000 miles on the gauge (about 5x too fast). I suspect either a loose wire from the dash replacement, faulty odometer gear, or faulty speed sensor. The sunroof leaks and needs resealed, and the previous owner pulled the headliner and carpeting out due to mold from living on the Oregon coast for a year. The car also is missing its rear o2 sensor, the previous owner could not get it out of the old exhaust and decided to install a spark plug into new exhaust as a stop gap measure so there would be no leak.

As she sits, the list of mods/repairs that he did in the course of 3 years of ownership is as follows:

-Professionally rebuilt 16T turbo
-BSR Stage 3 ECU
-Slotted/drilled rotors (280mm) with ceramic brake pads
-Full 3" OBX stainless exhaust (downpipe back)
-IPD upper strut tower brace (its my understanding this is one from the limited anniversary run and is quite rare?)
-Full Koni Yellow suspension with IPD lowering springs and IPD HD swaybar endlinks up front
-New black upper dash pad
-Lower dash replaced
-Timing belt/water pump service done by Volvo dealer with OEM parts in Missouri within the past 3 years
***Cam seals and valve cover gasket replaced at same time
-Transmission drained and filled (following drain and fill 3x method)
-All synthetic fluid changes since ownership
-PCV system rebuilt ~Nov. 2014 before car was parked
-Installed factory roof rack

And more....She's definitely been well maintained. My plans are to keep her for the next 10 years at least and make it to the 500k mile mark (and more). I loved my N/A 97 that I had, mainly for its utilitarian purposes of being a wagon that can tow, and the comfort of driving it (all the features I could want in a car and then some). The reliability of these 850's is what really caught my interest though. I've owned a lot of cars over the past 10 years (and by a lot I mean A LOT, upwards of 25+) and my 850 was by far the most reliable I've ever owned, even with over 200k miles on the clock. I plan to eventually rebuild the engine and possibly do a 5 speed swap (~5-6 years from now) and use the car as my highway vehicle to tow a small travel trailer (14 foot ultralight or popup). I spend a lot of time in the car currently for work, so comfort and reliability is at the top of my list. And working on this car helps me maintain my sanity.

As she now sits since I've bought it, to get her legal, through safety inspection, and start making her whole again, I have done the following:

-Installed high flow 3" AP Exhaust stainless Steel catalytic converter (ebay, $45 +$30 at Monroe to weld into downpipe) 4/6/16
-New left front control arm/ball joint (ebay, NOS aftermarket $25) 4/5/16
-New Hella High Performance Xenon Blue V1 low beams (stock wattage, $20, Rallylights.com) 4/27/16
-New Hella High Performance Xenon Blue V1 high beams (100w, $20 at Rallylights.com, already had on hand from previous vehicle) 3/31/16
-New cabin air filter (Driveworks from Advance Auto ~$12) 3/31/16
-Seafoam thru oil (half can) and fuel tank (half can), followed ~100-150 miles later by a full synthetic oil change (Castrol Edge 10w30/Purolator Boss oil filter, manufactured by Mann in the USA) ($6 seafoam at Walmart, $30 oil change bundle at Advance Auto) 4/15/16
-New fuel filter (Hastings GF280, Made in Israel, Rock Auto) 5/4/16
-Cruise control vacuum actuator (Ebay, used OEM Hella, $25) 5/4/16
-Clean sunroof gaskets and drain tubes, reseal with silicone caulk (~$10 for caulk/gun) 5/4/16
-New rear hatch struts (ebay, $25) 5/8/16 220,756 miles
-New air filter (Mann C35148, Rock Auto) 5/7/16 220500 miles
-Silicone boost hose kit (G4Plus ebay kit. $69) 5/7/16 220500 miles
-New front door speakers (JVC CS-HX536 3 way 5.25". $19.97, ebay) 5/10/16
-ÜRO PARTS 9146225 Idle Air Control Valve Hose ($5.85 RockAuto) 5/18/16 222000 miles
-JVC HS-CX539 5.25" 3 way speakers ($34, Ebay Sonic Electronix, rear doors) 5/17/16
-Kicker Dsc354 3.5" coaxial 3 way speakers ($25.50 Ebay hifisoundconnection) 5/18/16
-Valeo Ultimate 900 wiper blades (21" front, 18" rear $25, Rallylights.com) 5/27/16
-Hella Supertone horn kit ($49 Rallylights.com) 5/28/16
-Replace automatic gear shift **** 6/5/16 (u pull it, $4)
-Install "new" carpet (U pull it) 6/24/16 $30

-Transmission service:
-----BG QuickClean auto transmission cleaner (PN 10632 32 fl. oz. (946 mL) bottle ***Free***) 222,750 miles 5/29/16
***3x drain and fill method with BG synthetic ATF (PN 3123 3 gal. (11.36 L) mini-tote, local BG dealer, $63.60)
------First pass @ 222,750 miles 5/29/16
------Second pass @ 222,850 miles 6/7/16
------Third pass @ 223,000 miles 6/12/16
***BG ATC Plus Automatic Transmission Conditioner (PN 31032 32 fl. oz. (946 mL) bottle, ***free***) In @ 223,000 miles with final fill 6/12/16

-BG engine oil kit at 222,516 miles (44k fuel system cleaner/EPR "engine performance restorer" cleaner/BG MOA "motor oil additive" package, local BG dealer, $31.80) 5/27/16

-1 can R134 refrigerant ($20 Walmart) 6/10/16 222,865 miles

- Front Stoptech stainless steel braided brake lines (ebay, p/n 950.39001 $79) 6/09/16 222,850 miles

-Silicone door seals back to frame on rear doors 6/11/16 223,000 miles

-New inner tie rod ends (Uro 3546266, Rock Auto) 6/16/16 223,000 miles
-New outer tie rod ends (Uro 271598 left/ 271599 right, Rock Auto) 6/16/16 223,000 miles

-Cooling system overhaul *minor*
*** Flush and fill cooling system 223,000 miles
---BG cooling system cleaner ($FREE$) 6/16/16 223,000 miles
---6 qts distilled water ($6 local grocery store)
---1 gallon Valvoline Zerex G-05 HOAT concentrate ($19 Advance Auto Parts) 6/14/16 223.000 miles
---BG SuperCool additive package ($FREE$) 6/16/16 223,000 miles
---2 new Volvo radiator drain plugs ($10 Volvo of State College) 223,000 miles
-ÜRO PARTS 9141095 Coolant Recovery Tank ($16.61 RockAuto) 5/22/16 220500 miles
-ÜRO PARTS 9445462 Coolant Recovery Tank Cap ($3.18 RockAuto) 5/22/16 220500 miles
-ÜRO PARTS 9135267 Coolant Recovery Tank Hose ($2.08 RockAuto) 5/22/16 220500 miles
-DO88 silicone turbo return lines 223,500 miles 7/20/16 ($35, Ebay)
-Carquest Upper radiator hose 225,000 miles 7/30/16 ($25, Advance Auto)
-Used lower thermostat housing/ECT 9/30/16 ~232,000 miles ($30, local Euro mechanic)
***Hella Behr 92c thermostat ($12, Rallylights.com TX1392D) 9/30/16 ~232,000 miles



-New serpentine belt (Continental Elite (Goodyear Gatorback 4060686 revised routing, $19.35 Rock Auto) 6/18/216 223,150 miles
-New serpentine belt tensioner (Continental 49361, $50.79 Rock Auto) 6/18/216 223,150 miles
-NGK 54120 {#EUX023} Spark plug wire set ($43, RockAuto) 224,000 miles 6/30/16
-Beck Arnley 0771217S Semi loaded rear left caliper ($73.79 overnight, RockAuto) 225,000 miles 7/13/16
-Beck Arnley 0771218S semi loaded rear right caliper ($73.78 overnight RockAuto)
225,000 miles 7/13/16
-Centric Parts 110.08200 rear parking brake shoes ($19 shipped, Ebay "ishipautoparts") 225,000 miles 7/13/16
-Proparts Sweden 51990722 parking brake hardware kit ($12 shipped, Ebay "eEuroparts") 225,000 miles 7/13/16
-Wearever Silver semi metallic rear brake pads 225,000 miles 7/13/16
-New coated steel right rear brake line 225,000 miles 7/13/16
-Stoptech rear stainless steel brake hose (center of axle) 225,000 miles 7/13/16
-BG full synthetic 500 deg DOT4 brake fluid "flush" (drain reservoir, refill, bleed off, repeat. 1 qt ***FREE***) 225,000 miles 7/13/16
-Volvo Engine Mount Right(850) - Meyle 9135178 (FCP Euro, $28.39) 8/6/16 ~230,000 miles
-Volvo Engine Torque Rod (Urethane Upgrade) - ProParts Sweden Part #: PPS-62431042PU (FCPEuro, $26.59) 8/6/16 ~230,000 miles
-Rear upper and lower V70 tail lamps 11/15/16 ($60, Harrys U Pull It, Pennsburg PA)
-Pilot Sports LED bulbs in footwells 11/15/2016 ($15, Walmart)
-Proparts poly upper engine torque strut bushing ~237,000 miles 1/7/17 (FCP Euro, $18)
-Rear Powerstop Z23 slotted/crossdrilled rotors and carbon kevlar pads 1/7/17 ~237,000 miles (RockAuto, $130)
-Oil change service, Castrol Edge 10w40/Bosch Distance+ filter, cleaned intake w/ BG cleaner induced thru vac tree 1/7/17 ~237,000 miles ($50)
-Proparts copper brake line, right rear 1/7/17 ~237,000 miles ($5, FCPEuro)
-New Deka/East Penn Mfg. AGM battery (East Penn Mfg factory store, $65 wholesale) 12/1/16 235,000 miles
-Spectre 3" cone filter 9/20/16 (free, take off from old roomates Saab) bolted to MAF with Spectre 84143 MAF adapter and a 3" silicone coupler ($25, Advance Auto)
-9011 Halogen infrared low beam bulbs 12/17/16 ($45, rallylights.com)
-2 "new" (date code 0816) BF Goodrich Comp2 A/S tires 11/20/16 ($60, Harrys U Pull It)
-Replaced wiper arms with V70 arms 11/15/16 ($10 Harrys U Pull It)
-Snabb intake pipe ($135, fcpeuro) 2/14/17
-New ignition partsMaintenance/restoration parts on order (waiting on mailman):

-IPD A-pillar podSpare parts on hand:

-Front rotors/semi metallic pads (Ebay AM-Autoparts 10 year warranty on rotors, $45)
-PCV kit (came with car)[/FONT][/FONT]
-Stoptech stainless steel braided brake lines (ebay, 950.34511 left rear wheel)

Next items on maintenance list (with parts to order):




-"Big 4" charging system upgrade (replace engine/alt/battery ground wires, alt + wire, ~$30 for parts)

***Silicone radiator hoses (ebay)
***-New heater core (Ebay Swedish Car Parts Estonian core, $40)
***Heater core hoses/gaskets/quick connect parts


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-New power steering rack and pinion unit ($172 AC Delco reman w/ lifetime warranty, RockAuto)




"$20/20 minutes or less" repairs (little annoyances):


-Repair rear washer sprayer (u pull it)
-Repair passenger side rear seat belt (stuck)


Restore/upgrade/modernization plans, I.E. "THE WISH LIST" (things to do after maintenance is finished):

Exterior/Performance:

-Hella MicroDE fog lamps (rallylights.com HL96909, slightly modified with new plugs $100)
-9012 Halogen infrared high beam bulbs
-Custom headlight/fog light harness (hand built by Ray at rallylights.com utilizing Deka/East Penn MFG/Hella components, ~$75 and another case of beer)
-Urethane mud flaps (custom cut, thicker rallyarmor style material from rallylights.com, ***Free, using scrap urethane pieces***)
-Upgraded sway bars
***Polyurethane sway bar mount bushings
-Polyurethane control arm bushings (Whiteline?)

Interior:

- Finish sound deadening (roof, cargo area)
-LED interior lamps (Map/dome lights, IC bulbs)
-Install new headliner (U Pull it board, recovered w/black auto leather or microsuede)
-New stereo system (dual din DVD/Navi/Bluetooth head unit $220, Ebay)
-Black Walnut "R" dash

Thats the "short" list so far (LOL!). More to be added as I go along, and I will break down my posts/link posts in this thread back to this list as I do the labor and write it all up. A lot of the items on this list may get downgraded to stock components (i.e., rubber instead of stainless/silicone hoses depending on availability/cost) , but in a perfect world I'd do exactly whats listed here so as to "future proof" the car. Again, I plan to keep this car for the next 10 years at least, and follow up with a second Volvo (98 V70XC) as a winter car within the next few years, should the right car come along. I love these P80 platform cars, bulletproof, well engineered tanks that they are...

Stay tuned for more WanderWagen shenanigans to come


WTB:

full set (5) of Argon 15x6.5" wheels OR 16" Meteor wheels
GLT interior parts (trim/lower front seat skins in tan, etc)

 

Thats quite the list. let me know if you have any questions.

 

Will do, thanks :thumbup: I'm sure the list will change as time goes on and priorities change...Ideally, I'm going for reliability/durability, comfort, and safety over anything else, some (re)assembly required. I spend about 4 hours a day driving ~150 miles round trip right now, 3-4 times a week, and my tired Protege5 just isn't as comfortable or well built as the Volvo. I'm 6'2" and the Volvo just feels more comfortable..Its like the car just wraps around me like a blanket. Fell in love with these cars when I bought my 97 NA, first car I've actually loved since I sold my 88 Fiero in college (put a lot of love, blood, tears, and sweat equity into that car). The 850 is the car that gave me my love for station wagons in a world surrounded by fuel efficient sub compacts... This car will be with me for quite a long time, and hopefully will be my future family hauler...

One of the last things my Dad said to me before he passed: "Find something you love and stick with it" and thats the Volvo 850...Last time I had seen him prior to right before him passing was when I had my 97 a few years prior, before I sold it and moved west again...

Like I mentioned, working on this car helps me maintain my sanity...Call it my creative outlet...

Anyhow, back on topic:

Top of the list right now is cooling/hvac system overhaul in within the next 3 weeks or so (before hot weather sets in here in the Laurel Highlands/Northern Alleghenies), transmission service (cleaner/new fluid) and the sunroof leaks. Tired of getting a shower everytime I drive the car after it rains lol.

That's going to prove interesting, figuring out where the leaks are coming from and how to seal them. The drain tubes seem clear, with the headliner down I've been able to pull the tubes off and blow thru them with no problems...Seems to be the sunroof seals themselves, which may require I pull new glass with better seals from the junkyard and be proactive with the silicone. Its mostly leaking on the driver side, I've noticed water tends to pool up in the front left corner of the glass and it leaks from about midway back the rails. There is a bit of (surface) rust on the underside of that corner where it pools up, which makes me think it is the seals...the rubber is pretty dry too... I've watched rspi's video about sunroof leaks, going to try his suggestions and get under the glass seals with a hook and pick set to loosen up any trapped debris, then clean it all out with a good degreaser and run black rtv or silicone caulk along the edges/underneath once i'm able to flatten it back down...

As for the transmission, not sure if cleaner and new fluid will help it or not....shes slipping/kicking down a gear usually as I crest a hill and start down and let off the gas. I've noticed it mostly at the points where I start to hover my foot over the brake or right as I lightly touch the brake at the crest of the hill (by lightly touching I mean just enough to activate brake lights, but not enough to grab the rotor)...Not sure what would be causing that...maybe the brake light switch needs adjusted...dunno. Any suggestions? The old fluid does need changed, its nowhere near the dark red color it should be on a white shop rag...More very light pink than anything else...Fluid level is fine too...

Cooling system, well...Thats more of a peace of mind overhaul...Figure its probably not been done, and if it has it was probably 10 years ago at least...A drain and flush, as well as a new thermostat and silicone hoses are a definite, mainly for the ability of silicone to hold up better to the elements/heat of the engine bay over rubber components. Should be the last set I need to replace for at least another 10-15 years...When I purchased the car the previous owner said the heater core was leaking, but I haven't noticed any of the tell tale signs that its bad (fogged windshield, etc). I have noticed the occassional smell of coolant though and the temp gauge sits just a hair above the halfway mark when the car is fully warmed up and idling, drops a bit while driving and if I turn the heat on or drive her a bit more spirited it will drop and sit at the halfway point (I'll post a pic of where its sitting normally). Fans kick in normally...Suspect it could be the turbo return line or the radiator could be dirty/starting to leak. Looks to be the original radiator...A new Hella Behr OEM is about $60 shipped on ebay, but I'd like to upgrade to a 4 row aluminum to get away from the molded plastic end tanks...

Until I can get the parts ordered for the cooling system, I figure I'll work on tidying up a bit, do the little things to occupy my time...Get the cruise working again, tighten up the steering a bit and get her aligned, and finish changing the filters, fix the wiper arms (paint and the no touch at top of drivers side blade issue), etc...Got the suspension parts I can do also, but may hold off on those until I can make sure I can get her to the alignment shop right after. She feels a bit loose up front, just hoping its something simple like tie rods and not subframe bushings or the steering rack being worn...

 

hey 97-850. can you talk some more about your Dual din radio and speaker replacement? i've got a '96 with stock radio and speakers and i'm looking to upgrade very soon. thanks.

 

Sure

My plans are to install THIS head unit or similar using a universal dual din mounting cage like THIS. As far as speakers go, I haven't quite figured out what I am planning to do for them. I need to do some more research yet. I'm honestly not planning to do anything fancy, just something with better speaker cones than the aged, worn out factory paper cone speakers that sound like someone crinkling tin foil in a soda can. Not out to win any audio system competitions or anything...And my windows already rattle enough with the Koni yellows and IPD springs

I would like to retain the factory 8 speaker setup though with new speakers...Planning to follow THIS guide for the most part. I'll most likely go with some off the shelf JVC speakers. I've used the JVC CS-XM620 speakers in a few cars in the past and absolutely LOVED the sound output they had for a cheap ($50 for a set of 4 clearance/ebay scored) off the shelf 2 way component set. WAY better than stock. As they have been long discontinued though and don't come in 5.25" sizing (and I dont feel like modifying the car for 6.5" speakers) I am looking into the CS-HX536 3 way coax speakers, or equivalent. Similar power output with JVC quality for a reasonable price...Again, mostly a discontinued line, but thats where the value lies.

However, that being said, this upgrade will be quite some time in the future yet. Maybe next spring if I'm lucky, but highly unlikely in the next 1-2 years. I'll probably run the new wiring at least prior to then before I install the sound deadener, carpet and headliner and just leave it zip tied in place until I can get the parts. Would rather not tear the interior out again after I sound deaden the car and reinstall it all.

With that said, back to the tasks at hand (Todays update):

Tomorrow should mark the first parts arriving. Cruise control actuator, boost hoses, and the new Estonian heater core should be on my doorstep by mid day. Hopefully fedex/UPS make me an early stop instead of the normal "next to last of the day" stop so I can do this stuff with some daylight left. Supposed to be meeting up with a guy who is interested in buying my 03 Protege5 and if he does that frees up the cash to order the parts for the cooling system overhaul and transmission fluid exchange... Fingers and toes crossed...

I expect the Stoptech SS brake line kits as well as the hatch struts to arrive hopefully by Friday. Tracking confirms that they left California warehouse early this morning before the crack of dawn. Also got an email that my suspension parts and air filter were shipped out by RockAuto today, and I expect they should arrive by Friday also.

Plans for tomorrow include installing the new fuel filter, and if the cruise module/boost hoses show up I'll throw those on as well. Going to wait to do the heater core until I get the rest of the cooling system parts, make it a 1 shot drain/flush/fill deal and eliminate all the old parts of the system after flushing the coolant out of the motor so I have a system that is as clean as possible. Should get me another 5-6 years before I have to do it again. Also going to try and do a quick rattle can job on the wiper arms and clean out the sunroof drain tubes with an air hose, then silicone everything up tight if possible.

Pics of the car to come tomorrow, weather permitting.

 

thanks. i was under the impression you had already completed the audio install.

 

Anytime Once I finish up I will gladly post pics Pattynole

Today was a bit uneventful. Managed to get the fuel filter changed as well as installed the new cruise control vacuum module. Took a bath in about $10 worth of fuel while I was at it lol.

Still no luck on getting the cruise control to work, so back to the drawing board on that. I did notice one big difference between the old module and the new one: On the new module, there is a 90 deg. elbow over a vacuum fitting that wasn't on the old module. the opening is about 1/2-3/4" diameter and I'm wondering if there is another hose that connects here or if this is a check valve... I need to find a vacuum diagram of the system and trace the hoses to see whats going on.

Removal and install of the module was pretty straightforward: Jack up the car, remove the 3 T-20 screws holding the module to the bracket, disconnect the ~5/16" vacuum elbow that goes to the hard line from the module and drop it out. Then disconnect the power plug from the back and remove the entire module from the car. Install in reverse order. Hardest thing I found to do was disconnect the power wires.

Fuel filter was a breeze as well. I chose not to jack the car up and just worked on it by touch while laying on the ground next to the passenger rear wheel. In hindsight it probably would have been much easier to do by jacking up the car so I could better see what I was doing.

To start out, I removed the front fuel line from the filter. This one I was able to remove by hand, and this is the one that doused me in $10 of 93 octane because I didn't relieve the pressure on the system before working on the car I popped it back on the old filter, right at the end and just let it drip the rest out slowly. Next I tried pulling the rear one off but it wouldn't budge so I took my small pry bar and pushed it back and off it went. Loosened up the 12mm bolt on the band clamp that holds the filter to the frame and carefully removed the filter from the car so as not to spill anymore fuel on myself. Any excess fuel in the filter I dumped back into the fuel filler (maybe about a pint total). Reinstall was reverse order. Once it was all back together I bumped the key on 5-6 times to repressurize the fuel system and get fuel back into the new filter so I didn't have to start the car dry.

The new fuel filter seems to have made a slight difference in how smoothly the car operates. We'll see how the gas mileage fares over the next week or so as I drive it more. She doesn't seem to hesitate as much though from a dead stop. The old filter looked to be an original, or at the very least about 8-10 years old. It was coated in about 3 layers of rust and 2 layers of road grime.

Also managed to clean under the sunroof seals a bit today with a pick and pushed them back ionto the glass the best I could. Still need to seal them with silicone.

I'll post before sale pics tonight, as well as picks of the work I did today when I get a moment

 

Still downloading pics from my phone. Found another item to address in the immediate future. After doing the fuel filter today, I couldnt get the smell of fuel out. So I came in, changed my clothes, and opened all the windows while I took her for a drive. Still smelled like fuel, but less.

Went to get gas tonight and noticed a puddle behind the right rear wheel. Thought maybe the fuel filter was leaking, but it turns out that its the fuel filler neck right at the tank dripping. Could just be that I overfilled the tank a bit, but I suspect the O-ring on the tank side of the fuel neck is shot. So a trip to the dealer is in order to spend $30 on a $2 O-ring, since I can't seem to find it listed for sale online anywhere. And a quick search shows that my car doesn't have any open recalls, so lets hope thats all it is, a $2 o ring (and not a new fuel tank). Wasn't doing it before filter change, not sure what could have happened between then and now...

Before purchase pics:

 

Or its the vent hose on top of the tank which is an extremely common failure point and it pores down where the filler neck is located.

 

Oh boy...short of dropping the fuel tank, is there an easy way to check to see if this is the culprit? It really did look like it was dripping down from the filler neck connection on the tank, no moisture on the side of the tank coming down to there and no drips coming down from right above it... I'm not well enough equipped to drop the tank myself, nor am I really incline to do it either, and given labor rates these days at shops, well...I may just have to kick myself in the back and DIY (an excuse to buy more tools, yay! ). Theres a good chance I may have to drop the tank anyhow to replace the straps, one of them is starting to get a bit crunchy (driver side) and is showing a bit of rust...may not hurt to replace them and hit everything with a bit of por15 while I'm in there since I'm back in the rust belt of PA...All things considered though, the car is surprisingly rust free for having spent its life mostly in PA and on the salty west coast of Oregon...

What really boggles my mind is why/how changing the fuel fliter would/could cause this problem to happen...Didnt have the issue prior to that...

And I originally suspected the filter connections last night because I noticed when I put the new filter back in the rear (tank to filter) line seemed like it was a bit loose (I could pull it off by hand, whereas with the old one I had to use a small tool to pry it off). The front connection (filter to engine) fit tight as a glove though. Thought maybe the filter itself was just a hair too small...but no leaks and I haven't lost the line yet...I would expect more than that since its a Hastings filter...Their stuff is pretty top notch (although I'm a bit biased having lived in Kearney and the tri city area of Nebraska, home of Hastings and Baldwin Filters).

Its looking more and more like it may be a good idea to park the Volvo for now while I DIY things little by little (marathon, not a sprint) and get the Mazda brakes fixed for now...At least until I can get the WanderWagen leak free. She's pretty roadworthy as is, but the more I drive her, the more $ I want to dump into her to get her finished quicker lol...

I went for a drive out to the cemetery to leave some stuff with my dad, didn't smell fuel and no snail trail in the driveway..So I'm really starting to wonder now...

 

If you pull both plates off inside the car you should be able, with a flashlight, see the hose or at least the top of the tank.

I have replaced that hose on 3 of my 850's, dropping the tank by myself each time. Its not hard. Electrical is in the car at the access panel, release the filler neck at the fill door, remove the two fuel lines from the access panel. Jack the car up and put it on stands then use the jack with a 2x4 for support, take the bolt holding the strap and slowly lower it till you can work on it. Best to be empty though for weight reasons.

Or try this: http://www.matthewsvolvosite.com/fue...ping-tank.html

 

Doesn't look so bad of a job. I'll get around to it this summer at some point lol (sooner rather than later, hopefully once the weather holds out on me and I get a couple of nice days back to back rather than rain every 2 hours)

The postman was nice to me today. Left me 2 boxes of goodies while I was away, wage slaving to keep the gas tank filled on the 'Wagen. New GPlus silicone boost hoses arrived, as well as my new Stoptech stainless steel brake lines. I know what someone (i.e., me) will be doing Sunday afternoon while I have free time off work.

One thing that concerns me, the rear brake line kit shows on summit as well as multiple other sites as being the correct part number and fit all 850 applications, however on the bag that they come in they are listed as being for a BMW application...I suspect these are multipurpose, but we'll see once I get under the car Sunday if they fit properly or not.

New hatch struts were passed off to the postman today by FedEx. They will hopefully arrive tomorrow with the mail while I'm at work, and I'll throw those in Sunday as well. Shouldn't be much more than a 20 min job to do them since theres no headliner in the car.

Also scored a new (used, in box, showroom demo) set of 5.25 JVC speakers on ebay for $20 shipped that should be here Monday. Wasn't really trying to win them, just kinda threw out a best offer and he took it. For $20 I won't complain (although I should've offered $10 lol)

Mazda should be sold by next week (need to do some brake work on her before then after I warranty out the rear calipers and get the new front brake parts for the next owner), suspension parts and new air filter should be coming in from RockAuto Tuesday for the Volvo. Once the Mazda sells I can call the BG dealer and get my fluids for the tranny drain and fill, and order the cooling system parts from RA, then I should be pretty much done with the heavy maintenance items for a bit.

 

Quick question for ya Boxpin (or anyone else following the thread):

Which wheels are these? They look like S/V70 15" wheels...Are they the ones with 38mm offset?



Found a guy somewhat close that is asking $150 or best offer for a set of 4 with good tires (glacier grip II) and I'm considering picking them up if they are ET38s (since my stock 16s rub with the car lowered)

Also: 96-98 cars all had the 302mm brakes on them correct? Considering possibly picking up a 96 GLT sedan that has had new brakes in the past year and using it as a parts car...

 

I love those wheels. Around here, you can't afford not to have a parts car. Once I started buying them for $400, I bought 7 before I got myself under control.

I have never seen any variations in the brakes. None of my cars are "R" but I have had 3 turbos and 4 non turbos. 3 wagons. I took a set or rotors off a 96 and put them on a 98 just a couple weeks ago.

 

I think those are the Naiad style which came in 15x6.5

 

Thanks guys The guy is asking 150 obo for those wheels, came off his 99 V70XC and I think I can get them for under $100. You are correct, they are 15" wheels. He said he has 2 winter tires on them and 2 all seasons still in good shape, 205/65-15 size. dropping to 15's would certainly eliminate my rubbing issues that I'm having with the 205/55-16 continental DWS that are on the car with the ET43 wheels..

Gave the 'Wagen some loving tonight as soon as I got home from work. Post man was very nice to me, almost like a Volvo Xmas in May today. Suspension parts and my new Mann air filter arrived today, as well as the rear hatch struts.

Got the boost hoses in tonight. They are decent quality for Ebay hoses, and for the price I won't complain (much). In retrospect if I had to do it all over again, I'd probably put factory hoses on the car. They made a huge difference, however the fit on the funky 3 port hose is a bit short (UIC hose to throttle body/IAC valve). Its either 1/2" short on the IAC valve side of things, or the silicone is just so stiff and not molded with enough of a bend off the TB that it makes fitting the UIC plastic tube near impossible. I'll take a few pics tomorrow. The rest of the hoses were pretty decent fit though (with exception to the mid hose being a bit long, so theres a lot of overlap on the steel intercooler pipe going up and over the manifold into the turbo). The fitting at the turbo is an exceptional fit, like a glove. LIC elbow fit quite well also once I got everything situated. Total install time was about 2.5 hours, mostly because I was doing it by flashlight/porch light and touch, as well as never having done it before. Really is quite simple, but wrestling those silicone hoses is a bear. Most of my time was spent with the throttle body hose and the IAC hose going into the vacuum tree (which will be next thing I replace, someone rigged a piece of heater hose in and its a bit short, kind of crimped off in the center)

Bonus, no more major turbo lag. She kicks right into boost and now sits about 1/4 of the way up into the black at idle. Downside, I can hear a boost leak now when I get over 1500 rpm at about 1/4 throttle (unless its the blowoff valve I'm hearing? Sounds like a large vacuum leak). My neighbor runs a shop and offered to let me use his boost leak tester and air compressor to help check out the rest of the turbo system for leaks...

Tomorrow is another day. Suspension parts to put on (tie rods ends) and new brake hoses, as well as the rear hatch struts. Should be a fun day May hold off on the tie rods and brake lines,

 

One more thing I wanted to mention. At some point it looks like I may want to pull the throttle body and clean it out by hand with a toothbrush and carb cleaner. Lots of thick, greasy oil coating on the throttle plate, probably from the previous owner not cleaning everything out before/after replacing the PCV system...also might be a good idea to pull the intercooler and flush the old nasty, greasy oil out of it. Noticed a bit of milky oil/condensation in the upper intercooler elbow tonight when I swapped it out. I'll probably swap the new PCV system in that came with the car also and do the flame trap tubing mod using 3/8" copper tubing that I read about here on the forum. Peace of mind and all...

Need to clean up all the other oil as well that I found (inside the intercooler to turbo inlet elbow, etc) and make sure there aren't any leaking turbo oil lines. My 1 qt every oil change issue could very well just be internal/very small leaks that aren't leaving puddles...

Eventually I'll get around to replacing the intercooler with a better one, something universal fit that I can mount down low in the air dam...maybe.

Eyeing up a 98 V70 T-5 for $500 about 3 hours away. Has a turbo return line oil leak but looks to be in fantastic shape overall. I suspect its the return line O rings...Considering perhaps if I can get that car just swapping all the go fast/suspension parts from the 850 over to the T-5 and saving myself some headaches/money...We'll see if its still available and go from there. At the very least I end up with a cheap V70 T-5 parts car I can use to put the 850 back together quicker

 

Today's update:

Installed the rear hatch struts. Pretty simple, 20 min fix. Bonus, the ones that were on the car weren't terrible shape, but they were getting weak in cold weather. It looks like someone had replaced at least the driver side one in the past, it was stamped with the FCP Groton logo (passenger side was factory Volvo).

As far as R&I went, its a pretty straightforward job. Remove the retaining circlips from each end of the cup and ball mount on the strut rod, unbolt the 2x 12mm bolts from the rear mount and let it drop. Remove rear mount from strut rod, remove strut rod from front mount and install new strut in reverse order.

I found it was easier to remove/install them with the hatch open. Quickly found out though that the hatch requires both struts to stay open though lol. As soon as I popped the first one off the mount, it came slamming shut. Had my hopes up on the second one that the new strut would have enough pressure to hold the hatch open but alas no...same results as the first one, almost took my legs off with it lol.

Since I was working by myself (no helper to hold the hatch open), I found the easiest thing to do was lay on my back in the rear and hold the hatch open with my foot. When the time came to mount the rear bracket back on, once I got the first bolt in place and snugged down finger tight I could let off and let the hatch struts do the work.

The rear strut mounts are slotted to allow adjustment once everything is installed. As far as alignment went, I pushed up on the hatch as far as I could using my foot and snugged everything down as far rearward as I could. And Voila! The hatch now stays open on its own, and closes with a satisfying thump and probably way too much resistance now (I'll get a workout every time I push down on it)

Total cost for the job? $25 and 20 minutes of my time. Not having a headliner in the car makes certain things so much easier

Also managed to solve my sunroof leak issue. From what I can tell, the seals are ok and the drains are clear. What seems to be happening is, when I open and close the sunroof, it doesn't close completely at the rear edge. So the temporary fix until I get around to realigning/greasing/adjusting the motor/tracks is to push down on the rearward edge of the sunroof when I get out of the car. I'll throw some silicone in for good measure just to be safe.

Now, to find the energy to move on to doing my suspension and brake lines today... :doh:

 

Last update for today:

Went out to eyeball up the brake lines and tie rods to start doing them, and I'm now wondering if its possible with these StopTech lines to even do the swap...From what I can see, it looks like the front SS lines are too short to even reach the caliper, compared to the factory rubber lines. There's no mounting point in the center section of the stoptech lines either to clip them up to the factory bracket on the fender well. So I'm wondering if they (stoptech) made them shorter without the mounting bracket so that they can float freely, or if they are the wrong parts in the bag with the right part number...

As for the rear hoses, I'm almost certain they won't work. While under the car today, it looks like my car uses a hard line directly to the caliper, instead of a flexible rubber hose. The Stoptech rear line kit for the car is an ~8" section with a female fitting on each end...Unless they mount somewhere else on the car (i.e., between the abs pump and line etc) they won't work without another set of hoses to couple in that have male to male fittings to go from caliper to SS line. The only other thing I can think of is that for the rears I have to cut the steel hard line on the car back and reflare it...

Has anyone else used the stoptech kits before? Did you run into the same problems? What was the outcome? At this point I may not tackle this job myself and may just take the car to my cousin to have him install the lines...but I'd like to make sure 100% that I have the proper lines for the car...

As for the suspension parts, I may opt to send them back and hold off for now. It looks to me like the steering rack may be leaking, so I may opt just to get a new rack unit instead that already has the tie rods installed. Rock Auto has them listed as a complete unit for just shy of $300 and I can have my cousin install it at the shop for not much less and a case of beer (beer seems to be a common currency around here LOL)

Also add one more item to the list: A new serpentine belt tensioner. Noticed today that she has a fair amount of play back and forth on the belt tension while sitting at idle, and when I blipped the throttle I could hear her clacking back and forth a bit.

 

Update for today:

Upon a second look and more research, the rear brake lines will work. Didn't realize, but these cars use flexible lines further up the system instead of right at the calipers in the rear. After looking at the IPD lines (which look to be similar, if not the same part) someone posted a review mentioning that these bolt in at the rear axle near the proportioning valve.

Still not sure about the front hoses, I suspect they may be a bit short in length. I'm going to contact IPD over the next few days and get the measurements from their kit and compare to these Stoptech lines, as well as contact Stoptech directly to double and triple check the part numbers.

Sold the Mazda today and got the down payment on her. Have some brake work to do on her before the new owner takes it, then I plan to spend a bit of time driving her for one last hurrah... Hate to say I'm going to miss that car...Had a lot of good times and good memories (as well as some not so good ones). But she's on to bigger and better things, as am I. Sale allowed me to order the rest of the parts to do the cooling system overhaul (minus radiator and water pump) on the 'Wagen. Parts on order, should be arriving by the end of the week/mid next week. First post updated to reflect part numbers. For the most part I am sticking with Uro brand from Rockauto for most of the little things (after reading somewhere on the forum here that they are the next best thing to genuine Volvo parts). I opted to go with standard rubber cooling system lines for now to keep the cost down a bit. Also checked out the radiator hoses that are on the car and they still have some life left in them. Going to hold off on the silicone hose kit for now. Boiled down to either the Mishimoto kit or the Samco kit. Price difference is pretty negligible, leaning towards the Samco kit since its been tried and tested by other owners here (and I'm not too thrilled with the idea of blue hoses under the hood, would rather have black to retain the factory look).

When i install the new speakers I need to get into the driver door and fix the power window. Something is wrong with the track or the regulator, it pops out of the rear of the track when rolling up and tilts forward. It also rattles which seems to be a common issue and I'd like to fix that. Yet another minor "20/20" fix ($20/20 minutes).

Still trying to contact the guy with the V70 T5...If I get that I'll pull the 850 off the road and work on it as time/finances allow (so I don't have to worry about doing all this stuff so I can get to work)