ok, I just spent $2700 USD on a 1996 Volvo 850T, seems to be fully loaded, heated seats, leather, cd/tape, real time mpg(neat!), sunroof etc etc.

Add $370 for a new timing belt(installed and done)
$37 for the serpentine belt(installed and done)
$110 for AC(reray?) and a recharge[r134?](installed and done)
$37 for inspection(installed and done)
and $22 for oil change.(installed and done)

So a total of $3276 USD(not including tax)

And now I have a working vehicle with 140,000 miles on it. There were a few problems with the car, right blinker didn't work, back tail light was broken, the back trunk/hatch door falls after a couple minutes(worn pistons?), the drivers door has trouble opening, and when it does open...it kind of opens too much.. like the pistons in there are dead or something(it just swings open all the way, where as the passenger door stays where it is and you manually open it to be ajar at the degree you wish), and the leather seats are pretty worn and there are some cracks. also the plastic molding around the shifter has a crack(maybe I'll find this at a junk yard some time)

So I got a new tail light on ebay for $30 total, I'll get that in the mail tomorrow, I got a blinker bulb for $2 at the store(installed and done), and I got a spare just in case. I got a gas door/flap on ebay for $20 USD(same color as my car[black]) I haven't put that on yet(just got it today), not sure how it mounts on. and I just ordered a Volvo 850 repair manual for $20 on ebay.

The right passenger tail light has some plastic peice at the end, so I got some universal black spray paint from pep boys, and my plan is to tape over all the red plastic of the tail light, and paint the bottom plastic part(that is grey) so it matches the rest of the car.

I guess my only real concern is the drivers door, how can I fix that? is that a hard job? I don't see any visible pistons near the door hinges. The door open handle doesn't open the clip thing all the way that attaches to the metal loop welded to the body of the car. So I have to pull really hard on the door handle to get the clip to clear the metal loop that is welded to the body of the car, and it gets stuck pretty often it appear.

Thanks for any help/insight you can give me.

Regards,
Diana

 

Wow, seems like you're a very hands on gal. Got on these repairs quick!

About the door, I'd look through the repair manual once you get it.
There was a thread a page back and someone posted this link.
http://www.matthewsvolvosite.com/cha...?p=26689#26689

 

thanks a lot for the link RedTurbo,
That looks like it's replacing the metal loop that attaches to the door frame/body of the car. The metal loop on the car seems to be secure, it's the clip that moves when you open the outside door handle(attached to the end of the door). That doesn't seem to clear the metal loop all the way, when you open the handle. That and the door(once open) swings open all the way too easily.(ie, if on a hill, it will swing open very fast, or not stay open and swing close depending.


Also for the back hatch/door, do I need to replace both pistons? best price I could find was $40 USD from pep boys for each piston. So $80 USD total. There were some pistons on froogle.com for $33, but with shipping it's more than what pep boys offers.

Regards,
Diana

 

^I'm no expert. But this means you got the wagon correct?

For the pistons, I think it'd be hard to really tell which piston is and is not good. So i'd imagine you would have to replace both. However....If you can tell which piston is bad...you may be able to get away with replacing one...

The only thing I worry about when you only replace one, is that if the used one isn't at 100%, you might have one piston that's stronger than the other. But on second thought, I don't think that would necessarily do anything bad...

But I just did a quick search for you on FCP Groton.
http://www.fcpgroton.com/volvo850bodymechanical.htm
Tailgate shock for wagons. $25 each w/ an aftermarket brand or $38 for OEM.

FCP Groton is a good company. However, check the stickys on the top of the forum and do a bit of your own searching and see if you can find some better prices.

Edit: The very first item there is a Front Door Check/Stop (fits either door). I think that MIGHT be the part that needs to be replaced to prevent your door from swining all the way back....

Email them for further clarification. Hope this helps.

 

Greetings.

I got my trunk piston rods(sedan) at Pep Boys and theirs were OEM (Stabilus, made in Germany).

For wagons, refer to service manual (though Haynes manual is missing vital information sometimes) or:

Wagon: http://volvospeed.com/Repair/TailgateStruts.php
*If Sedan: http://volvospeed.com/Repair/trunk_struts.php

*If sedan, the following precautions may be of help:
When installing the new struts (piston rods), the claw must be installed from the INSIDE[/u] of the car. The new parts may be damaged if forced from the trunk side. Remove L & R arm rests in the backseat to gain access to the claw-end of the struts, and pull down on the claw end from the inside. This may require 2 people, as the trunk is very heavy. However, it can be done by one person if care is taken. [/b]If the old parts are to be reused, care should be taken NOT TO[/u] lift the trunk too much, as this may break the claw-end of the struts. [/b]


These may be of some use for the door problem, in addition to RedTurbo's help:
http://volvospeed.com/Repair/doorpanel_remove.php
http://volvospeed.com/Repair/hingelub.php
http://volvospeed.com/Repair/hinge.php

For other problem for your future reference:
http://volvospeed.com/maintenance.shtml

Judging from your descriptions, you'll be able to attack all problems you have for now. I recommend that you have an assistant when replacing the trunk/gate piston rods. I'll leave you with RedTurbo; Red'll be a great help.

Cheers,


JPN

 

ok, I replaced the tail light, they look great now. And there is a gas cap door fastened on also. I sprayed WD-40 into all the hinges on all the doors, and the door latch(where it fastens to the loop on the body of the car) and the door handles... this seems to have fixed the problem with the door not opening. The door opens very easily from the outside and inside now, where as sometimes I would spend 20 seconds pulling on the handle and jiggling it. There is still the problem with the door opening too much too easily, or vise versa... closing too much too easily. Where as all the other 3 doors act normally as they should. Also... my alarm wasn't working.. so I investigated that:

I set the alarm to lock(with the drivers window open), then I opened the door and the lights started to flash.. with no sound. So I popped the hood and saw the "Klaxon" alarm horn.. and it wasn't doing anything. I poked the wire connecting to the horn with a voltage tester, and about every 1 second it got voltage and the light lit up on my voltage tester, so I knew the thing was getting power. I was able to adjust the bolts on the car horn, and then it made a little noise, but I don't think this is enough noise to please the insurance company. This alarm has some electronic magnet inside it or something? I'm not sure how this thing works, it looks pretty cheap though, so I'm on my way to pep boys now to see if they have a new one, and I'll pick up a trunk piston(for my wagon) there also. So the list of things I have to do before my Volvo is up to par is as follows:

gas cap chain
alarm horn
trunk piston(2 of them?)
leather seat shoe polish
plastic shifter molding
stereo auxillary input
minor paint touch ups
drivers door?(hinges?)
get a working key for the 4 locks on the roof racks

o yea... the bottom right tail light was a pain in the ***. The bolts were in a weird place covered by plastic and wiring, and I had some trouble getting to them. Also the bolts were long, so I need a deep 8 millimeter socket to get to it(ugh!), and once I loosened those bolts.. I couldn't get the tail light off until I took off the top tail light also!(ugh!), definitely not a good design for removing the tail lights, anyway it's done now.

Regards,
Diana

 

^Hm.........I didn't think removing the taillights is that bad...

Once you open the door, you can unclip the taillight switch board which houses all of the lights. It comes out enough that you could change a taillight right there and then...

As to the bolts, they were kind of in a weird place, but not overly hard to get at....Although....I'm not sure what you mean by top tail and bottom tail....Because they are two piece taillights. If I remember correctly, there were 4 bolts that you had to undo.

Just curious though, does the insurance company actually come check your alarm system?

 

yes, I'll have to take the car to the insurance company, and they'll take pictures of it.. and they have a list of things to check off on some paper. I believe they'll check the alarm also.

 

ok, I got some electro magnet alarm from pepboys for $15 USD, so the alarm works now. THe connector wasn't the same, so I had to strip the wires and connect it myself, so the casing doesn't cover the ends of the wire anymore. I hope the rain or engine heat doesn't do any damage to the wires, they were probably covered for a reason. Regardless I'll put electrical tape everywhere on them anyway.

Next thing I'll do now is the truck pistons, I'll use the guide JPN posted.(thanks)

This one: http://volvospeed.com/Repair/TailgateStruts.php

Regards,
Diana

 

Hello again,

Here're my suggestions:

â—�gas cap chain
Not an absolute necessity but will be a nice addition.

â—�alarm horn
Well done. If you're worried about heat damage, see if you can find a heat-resistant insulation.

â—�trunk piston(2 of them?)
Definitely do both of them; if one's shot, the other one isn't far behind. Also, have an assistant if possible; the trunk lid on sedan is heavy enough, so I bet the gate on wagon is as bad.

â—�leather seat shoe polish
I would use leather conditioner specifically designed for automotive leather seat use. There are quite a few selections to choose from (I used Armor-All). Let it soak for 10 minutes or so, before wiping off but follow the instructions on the bottle. In my case, it was only the driver's seat that was deteriorated (cracked), but after using Armor-All, the seat softened and felt a lot better when I sat in it.

â—�plastic shifter molding
Junk yard would be better, but see how much the dealer wants. Or, there may be aftermarket wood-finish parts.

â—�stereo auxiliary input
?

â—�minor paint touch ups
I wouldn't buy one from dealer; I bought one from a dealer, a tiny bottle for $15 and it didn't last much. An aftermarket paint would do, unless your car is painted in unique colour (mine was black). Or better yet, try finding a chemical that changes exposed metal to darker colour; this prevents rust from forming.

â—�drivers door?(hinges?)
I assume that it needs the slider thing that was indicated in RedTurbo's pic (situated between upper & lower hinges).

â—�get a working key for the 4 locks on the roof racks
This one I couldn't help, as my 850 was sedan.

Good luck,


JPN

 

yea, auxillary input for the stereo. I want to modify my stereo so I can easily input from other devices. ie my rockbox player. So I can just plug the rockbox into the volvo stereo unit, and listen to it via the car speakers.

Anyone know where I can get the 8ish inch headlight wipers?

 

http://www.fcpgroton.com/images/9133824.jpg ... nevermind found it. I think I'll stop posting for awhile, I don't think I have any questions anymore. I've kind of been using this forum like a blog just to talk about what I'm doing to the Volvo. Thanks for the help all, I really appreciate it.

 

ok, I put in new trunk/tailgate struts, the tailgate works great. Very easy install, just as simple as taking off the panels, banging the old piston with a ratchet and they pop out, and snap the new pistons in. It's a c clamp on the end of the pistons, so they just snap right in. I also took off my door panels on the front doors, and I found out my drivers side check/stop is broken, so I ordered a new one from here: http://www.fcpgroton.com/volvo850bodymechanical.htm (first item on the list), and I also got a couple headlight blades, and a trunk rattle kit.

So the new check/stop came in the mail, I'll put that in this weekend probably... seems like a pretty straight forward job.

I do have a question about doing touch ups on the volvo, there are little marks here and there on it. I got a universal black touch-up paint from Pep Boys, it matched the "black" volvo from 2001 in Pepboy's manual/book/index in the paint aisle. How should I paint each touch up? my plan was to do one spot, and see how it comes out, if it matches etc. I was thinking to wash one spot real good, make it clean, dry it.. then just use the touch up paint on it. Should I use a little paint laquer on a rag on the spot before I do it? to clean off any excess paint or anything?

Regards,
Diana

 

If your Volvo is black and the chippings are small, it is very difficult to see the difference, so I think you can try it on a small spot to see if you like it.

I personally wouldn't use a rag & lacquer method, as it may harm the existing paint. I would first try a chemical thatoxidises bare metal and turn it into darker colour; this indicates that the surface is already oxidised and rust cannot form (sort of like stainless-steel theory; the surface is already "rusted" so it does not continue rusting).

If such chemical is unavailable, I would just clean the spots with soap & water, let them dry and paintthem with a few thin layers rather thanone thick coat, which is a formula for faulty touch-up.

Good luck,


JPN

 

bleh, I was at my University today, my 1996 Volvo Wagon 850 was parked in a spot, and I was in class...

When I got out of class there was a note on my car, saying "My name is xyz, I accidentally hit your car in the parking lot. I can be contacted at xxx-xxx-xxxx, sorry again, xyz"

..

He did some damage to my bumper(It's all scraped up), I couldn't find a price for the back bumper.. anyone know how much it is? I didn't see it on FCP Groton, should I just buy a bumper and put it in myself... and ask him to pay for it? Or should I just have a mechanic do the whole thing? Is the bumper installation hard?

 

^Installing a bumper is very very easy.

It's really just a matter of popping in screws.

 

RedTurbo do you know how much a back bumper is for a 1996 850 Wagon? I didn't see any parts listed on FCP Groton, Ebay and froogle didn't show anything either. I have to get it from a Volvo dealership I guess?

 

^Haven't bought one before. But they are typically around 150.

Check some local junkyards and see if they carry any. If you buy it off the internet, you're going to get killed with shipping because bumpers are huge.

How scraped is the thing? Is it simply paint scratches? Because you could maybe touch it up. Or perhaps you could get it repainted.

And have you called your insurance company? I don't know how much your deductible is, but contact them and maybe they have some type of solution.

And I found one for you on Ebay.
http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/05-97...spagenameZWD1V
It's $150 shipped, but I'm not sure you have a red one and I'm not completely sure whether or not the part numbers match for sedan/wagon.

 

That bumper looks like it's for a non-wagon car. I have a wagon, my bumper looks different for that. Is the 850 sedan vs 850 wagon bumper different? And as for price, this guy is paying for it.. so I'll get something new if possible, instead of buying a used one from a junk yard, or repairing it.

I didn't file an accident report yet, the police officer I spoke with said I have 10 days. So I was going to go to a mechanic tomorrow and get an estimate(that's why I'm researching the price of the back bumper), and have him pay it.. or threaten to file an accident report(which would make his insurance premiums go up)

So I want a new bumper, if possible. Will the Volvo dealership still make/sell them?

 

My advice would be to go to a reputable body shop and get a written estimate. There should be no charge for getting an estimate. Give that estimate tothe guy who hit your car and see if he wants to pay it out of pocket or not. If not file an accident report and have his insurance take car of it. If for some reason, he does not pay or turn it over to his insurance, have your insurance take care of it (this will mean you pay your deductable) and then your insurance will get reimbursed by him or his insurance and once they get paid, they will reimburse you.

If he wants to pay the money out of pocket or you get a check made out to you from his insurance, then we will talk about the cheapest way to get it fixed. If his insurance pays, they may want to cut the check directly to the body shop. That's probably the best was because you get it fixed right and it costs you nothing. Right now I wouldn't worry about finding a bumper yourself, just take it to a body shop or Volvo repair facility.