Tensioner spring was/is about shot on the old one. Suspect its the original one with 225k miles on it from 1995. Call it a bit of preventative "peace of mind" maintenance for a new one. The old one was bad enough that I could hear it clacking around while the car was running, and when I took it off the car the spring was light enough that I could almost (within 1/4") release the tension and lock the pin by hand. The idler pulley still seems good, bearing doesn't seem dry and spins freely. So for now I'll hold off on replacing it until I need to place an order for more Uro brand parts with Rock Auto (save on shipping from multiple warehouses since all the Uro stuff seems to come from the same one)

After having a belt tensioner fail on me 30 miles from the nearest town and having to hitch a ride with a truck driver from the bottom of a canyon in Oregon, I'd rather spend $50 for a new tensioner and know that it's not going to fail on me anytime soon

Failed tensioner in the mail and on its way back to Rock Auto for refund. In the meantime I'll see if I can grab a decent low miles one from the boneyard on Thursday just to get me by until the new one arrives. For $8 it'll make a nice backup to carry in car with belt and tool if/when the new one ever fails.

 

I would suggest that you're playing with fire using Uro parts on your 850, and many of them may fail before the OEM parts that are 20 years old will fail.

 

URO parts are trash that will last for about a month before needing replacing.

Yes, I bought and used URO parts. You get what you paid for with cheap parts.

 

Only thing I've bought so far from URO has been inner and outer tie rods as well as rubber hoses, along with the coolant expansion bottle and cap...I don't expect the hoses to burst/fail anytime soon, and the tie rods seem pretty decent quality (better than the alternative cheap parts from Borg Warner, Beck Arnley, etc). Coolant bottle/cap look like quality copies of factory parts. From what I can tell (given what IPD has listed with their Uro parts) they seem decent quality. Guess we'll see in time...Honestly, for the price I won't complain if it fails. If it gets me another 10k down the road trouble free and fixes the issues on the car, then by all means...In all honesty though I prefer to order OE supplier parts before anything else if I can help it. But for right now I'll have to settle on cheap/effective. Other things taking precedence at the moment so work on the Volvo is effectively slowed down.

New Continental tensioner is in the mail from Rock Auto to replace the broken one. Didn't get a chance to hit the junkyard this week, so I'll just wait til it comes in Monday/Tuesday and get everything back together again. Got my belt tensioner tool while at mom's today, need to get the 3/4" attachment for it from the parts store when the tensioner comes in. For now I'll just call the insurance company and have them put the Mazda back on the policy I suppose...

I appreciate the feedback and input guys, but respectfully ask that you keep opinions to yourselves about parts quality etc. If you want to crap on a build thread, do it in someone elses backyard, not mine. One mans experience can vary from another...Just putting it out there.

 

What's the point of blogging a build if you don't want feedback? If you don't want feedback, you might as well write it in a 3 ring binder and put it back on the shelf every time you add to it.

Respectfully, I appreciate feedback from other forum members about parts quality. As I haven't used every part there is from every manufacturer, I depend on the feedback of others sometimes.

The value of a part isn't always about getting another 10k miles out of something. If a part failed, you replaced it, and drove on, perhaps that would be a valid theory. But, if a coolant hose bursts going down the road, there's a really good chance you're going to overheat the car and end up doing a head gasket - which is 2-3k or more at a shop on an 850.

Parts of all brands can fail. Even OEM. The frequency of failure of 1 brand to another is something to consider, because not all brands are equal.

My intention isn't to crap on your thread. It's to pass along things I've experienced as a fellow 850 owner.

Good luck with your build!

 

I understand that. My point was simply that one man's experiences can and will usually differ from another's, especially when it comes to part brand/quality.

At this point in time, my focus has shifted to daily driver status/weekend project car. Its no longer just a straight project car. I'm doing what I need to at the moment to get the maintenance done to keep her on the road another 10k miles on a reasonable repair budget. The fun stuff will have to wait now that I no longer have a second vehicle to drive. When time/funds/alternate transportation allow, I plan to utilize better parts (case in point, the URO tie rods...I am planning to replace the rack in the future anyhow, so if I get 10k out of them while I save up for a new rack, then I'll have gotten my money's worth).

You mention coolant hoses. That I understand. I don't intend on using URO radiator hoses. I am planning to use Samco or Mishimoto silicone hoses for that purpose. But as far as the little rubber hoses in the system, I needed something better for a temporary measure until I can find/fabricate a silicone hose set for those purposes (return lines, etc).

Point being: I'm not trying to break the bank with this build or start a flame war on parts quality (which is why I am asking to keep opinions on parts quality minimal or to yourselves...I've seen too many flame wars get started over "part A is better quality that part B, C, D, etc).

My goal is to show that it is possible to rebuild/restore and slightly modernize this car while being budget minded. Hence why I've bought a lot thru Rock Auto and Ebay. For anything I can't find/afford there, or need in rapid order, I'll reach out to my contacts and purchase locally (like the BG fluids and the Hella items) with the wholesale pricing I get, or pull from the junkyard (however there are certain parts I won't salvage for safety or peace of mind reasons, like the belt tensioner, suspension items, etc).

Anyhow, that said....Back on topic:

First batch of sound deadening material laid tonight in driver side front and rear floor pans. It looks like I'll be placing another order for about 8-10 more rolls to finish the entire car. Front driver carpet is laid, need to tuck it all behind the trim and get everything buttoned up for that. Rear carpet won't be laid until I can finish the floor pans with sound deadening material. For now I'll finish sound deadening the front floor pans, get the factory foam/rubber underlayment put back in, heater core shields, then put the seats back in properly. I'm about 3 rolls shy for the rear floor pans to finish deadening, 2 rolls for under the seats, and maybe 4-5 for the rear cargo floor/spare tire well and roof. Total cost will probably be around $150 for the required sound mat using the 6mm thick foil/foam self stick stuff from Ebay that I bought.

As far as the front seat skins go: I haven't decided if I am going to pull new seats from the junkyard or just pull the skins. I may opt to just use seat covers that are airbag safe. The foam in the bottom portions of my seats is worn away in certain spots, so short of replacing the entire seat it'll never be quite perfect again even with new skins. I'll figure that out when the time comes.

Biggest ticket on the list is getting her back on the road and running. As soon as parts come in I'll be out Tuesday morning getting that belt on. Going to put the car in the air and pull the passenger front wheel and liner to make it easier, work the belt on from the bottom once I get the top pulleys lined up. I still need to toe that side in just a bit, so the wheel needs to come off anyhow.

 

Finished up putting the carpet in tonight, sans front passenger floor pan. I need to pick up a piece of lower door trim for that side next time I go to the junkyard, broke all the tabs off this one accidentally when I was moving the seat back in place.

I need to pick up more sound mat before I put the front passenger carpet in. For now I may opt to put the carpet down anyhow just to get it out of the trunk.

Overall the V70 carpet fit pretty well. The pieces I got seem to be a direct fit replacement for the factory carpet. The holes all lined up properly, the only modification I made was to the under seat vent hole going to the rear. It was about 1/2" off on the driver side, so I had to cut a small square out to get the hvac duct back in. I also opted to cut a slit in the hole for the front seat wiring, rather than monkey around unplugging everything from the seats in the dark. Once that was done everything slid into place like a glove.

I'm going to finish gutting the interior out of that V70 in about 3 weeks and swap all the trunk carpeting over as well, which will also add the option of rear jump seats (minus the seatbelts, probably won't install them as I don't intend to use the rear seats). As far as the seats go, I've decided that a set of tan aftermarket covers is my option for now. Looking at the instructions for removal of the seat skins on Elwood's website, I'm not really thrilled/comfortable with pulling new ones just yet from the junkyard.

I'll need to find a new center console and lid also. May swap the V70 one in at the same time.

Other than that, I'm still grounded from the belt tensioner assembly. Scheduled for delivery on Tuesday, hopefully I can have it in after work Tuesday night.

 

Down to the waiting game. Parts on the FedEx truck..

While waiting for them to deliver, I took the opportunity to pull the front right wheel and reset the toe. Also pulled the spark plugs and cleaned them up. They really didn't look bad at all. Actually look pretty new and are Volvo factory plugs. They look like they are platinum plugs. I may opt to switch over to copper Champion plugs as the owners manual calls for. Could explain my misfire issue I have under higher boost.

Also found I need to replace the spark plug wires soon, which could be causing issues as well with the misfire under boost. The boot on the one closest to the drivers side is torn at the top. New NGK wires on order at the end of the week. I suspect this is more of the cause of the misfire issue than the plugs...That the spark could be arcing on that cylinder to ground under heavy load...New wires should fix this if that is the case. Will probably opt to do the cap and rotor as well while I have it all apart. Depending on funds I may also order an MSD coil.

 

And she's back together. New belt and tensioner on.

I still had to remove the ECU box to get room to get my 1/2 to 3/4 adapter in so I could use a proper serpentine belt tool. This time around I also opted to pull the inner wheel liner back and make sure the belt was completely on the crank pulley by stuffing a rag underneath it once it was lined up.

Once I got the tension off the tensioner and put the pin in to hold it, it was much easier. I still struggled to get the belt on all the pulleys, and opted to line all the lower pulleys up first (including the idler) and slip the belt over the power steering pulley. I still didn't have enough slack to get it on by hand so I took a small pry bar and worked it on little by little. Once it was in the rest was cake. The tensioner will need to seat itself once I run the car a bit, it doesn't seem terribly tight. But once the belt settles in and stretches out it'll be good.

Now to jump start her and get the battery charging with the alternator, and she'll be back on the road. I'll replace the battery with an AGM Deka one in about 3 weeks and I should be done with major concerns for awhile. Need to refocus my $$$ on student loans now, so the Volvo will get worked on as funds permit.

I suppose the lesson in all of this was a reminder in patience. To not rush things and let them flow. To slow down, stay calm, and get it done. That even though my time table is what it is, things will happen accordingly. Or something like that...

 

She's running pretty well. Updated first post. More parts on order. Need to get the fuel tank vent hose fixed ASAP, tired of dumping $5 worth of liquid gold on the ground every time I fill the tank up. Also need to get the plug wires replaced ASAP.

She has a vibration in the front end now. Suspect something is loose, either with the tie rods or ?

Still need to get an alignment, so perhaps thats the vibration i'm feeling. Or it could be the transmission. Or both.

Also need to get a new right front motor mount on order soon and get it replaced. That could be contributing to my vibration issue as well.

Friday I'm making the trip over to see my cousin to get the rear brake lines installed if he has the time.

Starting to run out of things to fix very quickly (or I should say parts to replace).

Once this stuff is done I need to focus on getting the battery cables and battery replaced. The terminals on the battery cables keep working their way loose, causing the occasional no start issue and loss of power to the entire car. I've pulled them and cleaned all the terminals, and it helped for a couple hundred miles, but its coming time for replacement. I want to go to heavier gauge wiring anyhow, so its a win win.

After that it'll be on to the MSD coil upgrade and new cap/rotor, then I'll replace the rear o2 sensor to take care of the CEL. I've noticed the car does seem to run smoother once I clear the code, so again I wonder if this is contributing to my vibration under load, due to the ECU not getting that signal (however unlikely, since the downstream o2 sensor is usually just for reference to the front one...not sure how its handled on these cars though).

 

Gotta love Rock Auto. Put my order in last night at about 1am for the vent hose and plug wires, and ETA is tomorrow by end of day. So I know what I'll be doing. Scratch one more thing off the list. Last section of carpeting will go in tomorrow as well until I can get the cargo area carpeting from the junkyard in 3 weeks to match the rest (cargo/3rd row seat parts, quarter panel carpet, etc).

Wednesday marks the rear SS brake hoses going on the car.

Does anyone have any tips on how to remove the rear seat backs from a 99 V70? I tried pulling up on the cargo cover boards that butt up against the rear seat backs while they were folded down, and can't seems to break it free. Didn't try taking a pry bar to it for fear of breaking something...Are there catch tabs somewhere I am missing?

 

...And the listing for the fuel tank vent hose on Rock Auto is the wrong hose. Its the one for the valve right behind the fuel filter (rollover valve?) that I already replaced with off the shelf fuel line...

So a call to the dealership in State College is in order tomorrow to order the Volvo 9463088 vent hose and a new filler neck gasket (2 birds 1 stone). Hopefully I can get the part in by Tuesday and have it done next week on my days off.

New plug wires went in today with no problems. Made a difference under higher boost pressures, but not much. NGK wires are a bit longer than factory so I have extra slack on the cap side of things, but otherwise they seem to fit pretty well. And with the lifetime warranty NGK offers, well...I won't complain.

Front end seems to be getting looser and looser. Its getting kinda scary to drive on wet roads. The steering definitely has some slop in it and it wants to wander a bit, especially in standing water. So it looks like the rack will be getting replaced sooner rather than later :-/

 

...And my rear brakes went **** up...

Starting to think this car is cursed

Looks like this week I'll be ordering new (cheap) rear rotors and pads, as well as e brake shoes and possibly a new left rear caliper to get her fixed. Also suspect my e brake cable is hanging up a bit or the shoes have separated from the backing plates (the rear of the car shudders and shakes like a tank and grinds to a dead stop at low speeds).

Taking the car into my cousin's shop tomorrow anyhow to have him try and do the rear hoses. May just hold off for now and have him do it all at once...

Just curious, the OEM caliper maker for these cars is ATE, correct? Can anyone recommend somewhere I can find a good set for less than dealer cost?

 

New rotors, pads, e brake shoes and hardware kit ordered yesterday. Grand total (bought cheap ebay rotors with ceramic pads from same people as the front set I have sitting in the basement, AM Autoparts) was $56 for rotors/pads, $12 for Centric e brake hardware kit, and $19 for Centric premium e brake shoes ($86 shipped all said and done). Everything should arrive by Tuesday.

I've had a lot of good luck with Centric branded parts lately (the makers of Stoptech). Not so sure about these rotors and pads from AM Auto parts...cheap chinese blocks of steel that they are. But if they hold up until I can get the Powerstop Z23 Evolution front and rear drilled/slotted kit or until I can invest in the ATE premium 302mm rotors (with their fancy, swirly slot pattern) and do the upgrade, all the while getting me down the road another 10k miles, I'm happy. For what I paid for them its a stop gap measure to get the car back on the road and safe(r) than what it is now.

Also got the verdict in from work today after they did a brake inspection for me. Both rear calipers seized up I guess thats what I get for trying to scrub the burnt material off the front pads (trying to get them to stop squealing) when they were never properly bedded in. I suspect during all of the hard braking either I shook a bunch of rust loose in the system and it seized the caliper, or the heat just soaked the rears and stuck them fast. Didn't take long for them to go out after all the heavy stopping I was doing from speed (about 2 days and the pads were completely fried/metal on metal and grinding the rotor away on the left rear). Lesson learned...

New calipers from Beck Arnley on Rock Auto ran me about $57 after $12 in core charges each plus $46 for guaranteed overnight shipping...Have an appointment with my cousin to get it all put together on Wednesday so I wanted to make sure it was all here in time

One thing I want to note for anyone else doing this job in the future: It seems Volvo uses 2 different rear calipers for the Turbo model. One has a 10mm mounting hole in the caliper and the other has an 11mm mounting hole. I had to call the Volvo dealership with my vin number to find out the factory part number, then do some google searching between eEuroparts and FCP to make sure I had the right crossover number for the Beck Arnley calipers I ordered. It seems that my car runs the 11mm mounting hole calipers. I can't confirm but I suspect the 10mm ones are either for the GLT or the T5.

Sunday will be new pads and rotors on the front (the stock replacement ones I have on hand with semi metallic pads) just to get that out of the way so its less $ I have to pay my cousin. I may opt to leave the current ceramic pads on the car and just install the blank chinese rotors since the rear pads will be ceramic also. Again, only a temporary measure to keep the car running and it'll leave me with a spare set of semi metallic pads just in case.

 

FWIW, the rear calipers are not floating. You'll see that of course when you replace them.

I have found my parts cars to be very willing to give up their calipers for the greater good. However, I've never seen a seized one. I have just had a couple with bad dirt seals, and lots of ugly rust as well. I also think the brake pad fit on the rear is too tight. On other cars, I have observed that tight-fitting brake pads themselves will stick when they get hot and expand. The factory clearance is probably just fine (designers know they get hot) but things get tighter due to rust.

 

P.S. Did you hear about the guy who was addicted to drinking brake fluid? Of course he said he could stop any time he wanted to.

 

Yup, they are static calipers with "floating" pistons/pads. Not the first time I've run into this setup that uses 2 drift pins to hold the pads in the caliper (Saab uses the same design, as well as most of the other Euro makes I've worked on, and even a select few older domestic trucks had this setup). Its a weird design, especially since it uses a hard line right into the caliper and the flex/rubber hoses further up the system...But effective nonetheless... Only real flaw from what I can tell is the e brake setup having bonded shoes instead of riveted. I may have to get crafty with some brass/copper rivets and a drill before I install them...Not a fan of bonded brake shoes, have had way too many separate on me in the past (had an 86 Jeep Cherokee sport that would skid 30 feet when the rear wheels locked up due to this problem, with brand new shoes no less...)

I suspect the problem with mine is the pistons themselves seized due to bad dust seals letting water into them and rusting. Made worse by my overzealous beating of the brakes My other thought was a bad brake hose collapsing when the system is under pressure....Unlikely but I've seen it before on other vehicles. The driver side is the worst, the rotor is completely shot, the wheel caked in 1/8" of metal and pad shavings... I also think that the previous owner (or one of them at least) had semi metallic pads on the rear instead of matching them with the ceramics on the front. And we all know how semi metallic pads hold up to high heat and abuse...

For now the El Cheapo chinese stuff I'm putting on will work, I just won't be able to abuse them as much as I'd like to LOL. It'll give me a bit more time to save up a bit for the $250 Powerstop Z23 front and rear kit with carbon fiber/ceramic pads...Bit overkill, but given how hard I was walloping on these brakes and that even with the ABS I was locking them up and sliding, well... probably wouldnt hurt lol. My only complaint about the Powerstop kit? It doesn't come in the 302mm size I may have to call them to see what/if they offer in that size that may be able to be redrilled for the 5x108 Volvo lug pattern... Although considering that the 302mm rotors require 17" wheels (or significant grind/mount caliper, mount/dismount wheel, repeat) I may opt to not do that for awhile. Unless I stumble across a set of Titans or similar for an "impossible to turn down" deal or go full race car with this 850...

LOL! How about the idio....err, guy who drank the Volvo branded Kool-Aid when he bought a $900 partially modded daily driver project, looking for a reliable, safe vehicle to run for the next 10 years...

 

Well, this just isn't my week for Volvo shenanigans...

Walked out of work tonight and as I was getting in the car I noticed the front right tire didn't quite look right. Upon further, closer inspection, around half of the outer edge of the tread there are 2-3 steel belts showing

I knew I was going to need tires soon, and have been planning to replace them, but wasn't expecting them to be needed until end of summer... :/

So it looks like I'll be hunting down at least 1 (if not 2) replacement tires for the front in 2 weeks when I get paid again. Here's hoping this one will hold out for now and not shred on me until I can get the funds together to replace it.

I have a set of 185/65-15 tires with 85% tread sitting in the basement, however the kick in the pants is I don't have any 15" wheels to go with them >_< lol...

Kinda reminds me of that line from the movie "Friday": "Man, ya'll ain't got nothin' around here that matches....ya'll got Kool Aid but no suga', cereal but no milk..." LOL

Talked to my cousin tonight, he says he has a couple used 205/50-16 tires on his Stealth that I can loan for now to get me by...If thats the case, it'll be something at least until I can order a set I've been looking at online (there's a place I've bought from in the past that deals with new tire take offs and has a huge warehouse local to my mom, and they have a full set of 4 Tiger Paw Touring tires 95% tread for $215 shipped plus tax). I may just opt to spend $225 on 2 Nokian WR-G2's on ebay and order 2 more later on...depends what size I end up getting (50 or 55 series)

 

Definitely not my week for Volvo repairs...

New rear brake parts all came in time. Rear calipers were seized on the outer piston and completely shot. New ones installed without any issues. New e brake shoes and hardware kit went on without a problem also. So that much is finished.

Problem I have now is, the rear rotors and pads I ordered don't fit. They are listed as compatible, but are completely the wrong design. The rotors aren't deep enough to fit over the e brake, and don't have an adjustment hole in them for the parking brake. The new rear pads don't have the 2 mounting ears for the roll pins to slide thru in the caliper, rather they have a little wire clip riveted to a single mounting tab in the center of the top of the pad itself.

They sent the wrong parts. So now I'm ****ed without a car and cannot afford to order new pads and rotors that are correct.

For now I've got the old, beat up and destroyed rotors back on the car without pads. Until I can figure out wtf I'm going to do to get the rest of the parts, she sits in the driveway on stands (yet again)....This time I don't have the Mazda to rely on though to at least get me to work.

**** me...

 

You know as I read through this I appreciate your passion. But I can't help but think you are setting yourself up for more headaches with this car down the road.

Proper European cars are 'expensive' to maintain because they require qaulity parts to give the excellent ride characteristics they were designed for. These are cars that were designed to sit comfortably at 130mph on the Autobahn. If you replace parts with cheap ones then you might as well be driving a Chevy.

Don't mean to discourage you. Maybe just motivate a shift in how you approach this car. Also for the love of cars please don't put anything like seafoam in the crank case. It's solvent for christ's sake.

All the best
Shawn