I am quite excited. I sold my Jeep last week. What am I getting to replace it? '96 Volvo 850 T-5R sedan!!! Only 61k, red, fully loaded, MINT condition and completely stock. I have to fly down to GA from VAto get it and drive back almost 500 miles, but what better way to learn the car, right? I am very excited. I will need to make some repairs on my '95 850 wagon so I can sell it, though.

So, after I get the car home, the first thing I will do is an oil change using Mobil 1. Since this is a turbo car, what weight oil should I use? Is Mobil 1 5w30 good? I'm sure the owners manual will tell me what's best, but I just so excited, I can't wait that long to read it! LOL

 

http://apps.volvocars.us/ownersdocs/...50_901.htm#9:2

Service manual suggests 10W30 when outside temps are between -4F and 104F. I am running with AMSOIL ATM 10W30.

https://volvoforums.com/m_25657/tm.htm
https://volvoforums.com/m_16392/tm.htm
https://volvoforums.com/m_17613/tm.htm

Also, it is approaching time to replace timing belt and serpentine belt.

 

Thank you for the reply and the information. 10w30 it is! I might actually go for Amsoil as well. Expencive, but well worth it. But, I would still change the oil every 3k. I just can't go longer than that no matter what lubricant I am using (yes, I know all about their extended oil change intervals...I've dealt with Amsoil reps, etc)

I'm already planning on replacing the timing belt, serp. belt, water pump, oil seperator, etc., once I get it home. Better to start the preventative maintenance immediatley!!! Even though replacing the timing belt would be early mileage wise, it's still 11 years old. I don't trust it.

 

5w-30 is for colder temps. 10-W30 is fine, especially w/ this mild weather. You might also want to go synthetic since the car is turboed, and you probably want the car to last a little bit longer.

Synthetic withstands high temps better. Just curious, how much did you pay for the car?

 

Hello xjflexer,

Greetings from Chicagoland.

This post may be of some use:

https://volvoforums.com/m_48928/tm.htm

When you do the timing belt, I suggest that you use OEM (German Continental Tech) parts (go with Continental Tech for serpentine as well). As for the water pump,Volvo pumpsseem quite durable and as long as it's not seeping coolant, you can defer it until next belt change. I did mine at 143,000 miles, as I noticed minor coolant seepage from the pump.

11 years is too long for a timing belt, regardless of the mileage. In general, rubber parts startdeteriorating after about 5 years. A dealer technician at Bay-13 at Volvospeed.com suggests that you dothe beltevery 5 years, regardless of the mileage and I personally agree with him. I do mine every 60,000 miles/5 years. Also, inspect the hydraulic tensioner (a small cylinder right under the tensioner pulley) for oil leak. If it's leaking oil, replace it as well.

In addition to the timing belt & its peripheral components, you might want to give a good tune-up, unless the car came with logbook/maint. record and a tune-up has been done recently.

Asfor the oil, it's more of a personal preference than scientific facts. However, I personally avoid 5W-30. 10W-30 is a good choice, and after a few minutes of running the engine, the viscosity should stabilize.Mr. RedTurbo850hasrecommended synthetic oil, and it is indeed a good choice for a turboed engine, as synthetic oil is best for extreme high-pressure & temp, encountered by the turbine/compressor bearing. I am cheap, so I've been using Valvoline synthetic blend 10W-30. So far the car seems to be happy with it. Make sure to use OEM filter (MANN). As for the interval, I do it every 3,000 miles/3~4 months for a turbo engine, 4,000 miles/4~5 months for NA.

Have a safe trip home,


JPN

 

Thank you all for the replies. I am picking this car up for the unbelievable price of $7300!!! With such low miles, that is an absolute steal! I really wasn't planning on buying anything at this time. But, when this deal came my way, I could not resist. Good thing is, I just sold my Jeep, so I can pay cash for this car. I hate car loans, and I won't have one! LOL

Once I get the car home, my mechanic and I are going to go over it with a fine-toothed comb. I've worked with him for several years(Idispatch work to the mechanicsfor a Lexus dealership in VA). He's also factory trained in Ferarri, Lotus, BMW, Peugoet (sp?), Aston Martic, Maserati, etc., etc. He is also very familiar with Volvo.

Synthetic oil is the ONLY oil I am going to use in this car. Amsoil at that. I am going to use the Amsoil oil filter as well. I am also only going to run premium Shell gas in this car, and every oil change pour a can of BG44K in the tank.

My '95 850 wagon that I will be selling soon is going to have new front brakes, timing belt, water pump, serp belt, oil seperator, flame trap, spark plugs, wires, cap, rotor, hatch struts. I'm also going to run a decarbonization and fuel induction cleaning to eliminate all of that carbon buildup on the valves, head, pistons and ring. It takes over 6 hours to complete the service, but is WELL worth it....especially if you can do it yourself!!

 

http://www.amsoil.com/storefront/atm.aspx


http://www.amsoil.com/StoreFront/ima..._qt_300pxh.jpg

I am using Hastings Premium Oil Filters in all of my cars (except my Honda Accord where I use WIX or NAPA Gold). Rumor has it that Hastings (AKA Baldwin) makes AMSOIL oil filters.
http://www.hastingsfilter.com/

Many folks use OEM Volvo Filters made by Mann.

 

Hello again,

I use MANN filter because it has check valve in it. However, as long as the filter you use has one too, there shouldn't be much differences.

As to the fuel system cleaner, some professionals use Techron. I haven't heard of BG44K, but as long as it's safe for O2 sensor & cat, it probably is good too.

Some people have been using regular octane 87 for 850 turbo, and they haven't had any problem. I myself like to stick with the owner's guide, so I usually use 93.

You did have a great deal on your 850. I hope you TLC it and enjoy years & miles of driving experience with it. I wish more people were like you, so buying used cars wouldn't be a gamble.

Peugoet →Peugeot
Aston Martic →Aston Martin

Sorry for being ****.

Have a good time with your 850!

Regards,


JPN

 

JPN, thank you for the compliment about more people sellingused cars should be like me. That makes me proud to hear you say that. Whenever I sell a car, I like to be as honest as possible. I also like to get the maintenance on the car up to date, and try to repair as much as possible so the next owner can just drive the car and hopefully not have to worry about any repairs for quite some time. Since I get OEM parts at wholesale cost, and do most if not all of my own labor, for me to repair/maintain these cars is not very costly at all. So, in the long run, I run a better chance of positive returns on my investment (i.e. top resale value).

I'm also very **** on with my cars. I follow the owners manual as closely as possblefor maintenance intervals. The one thing that I probably over-maintain is the transmission. At every other oil change, I do a drain and refil of the trans fluid. Granted, this doesn't drain and replace ALL of the trans fluid, but at least it will get about 3-4 quarts of clean fluid every 6,000 miles. I've never had a transmission go bad on me yet!

 

Until recently I have never changed the transmission fluid in any of my Volvo's and never had a transmission problem. I've been driving Volvo's since 1985 and every one of them had at least 150K on them. I was a member of NAFA (No. American Fleet Assoc) for a while and there was controversey about whether you should or should not change the transmission fluid. Some say if you haven't changed it for 100K, don't, because you're asking for trouble. If you start changing it regularly keep doing that. Since my R has had it drained and refilled every 20K before I bought it, I am doing the same thing. Only I'm draining and filling at least twice when I do it.

 

With Volvos I've heard both JimKW's philosophy and others philosophy of changing the fluid regardless of the known mileage since. I bought my car with 138k on it and decided after 12k to buy the IPD flush kit and flush it.

I did it about 3 weeks ago and I'm glad I did. Some find that their transmission after the flush develops problems, but mine has remained shifting smoothly. The fluid in there was burnt and brown, and it took a full 14 quarts to completely flush it. I plan on keeping the car for another 2-3 years, so I figured it was worth a shot. I've heard that the '94 transmission was the weak point of the car (supposedly they were improved in '95/'96), but knock on wood, mine works perfectly.

I even went as far as buying a PNP switch and a microswitch ahead of time, for the total cost was around $105 and I know they will likely need replacing at some point, so I might as well have them on hand.

850's in general are inexpensive to maintain, if you can do the work yourself. If I had to pay someone to do work on my cars, I wouldhave boughtan Accord wagon to haul my dog around in . I bought the 850 because I always liked them and got a good deal on it. It's been a great car forthe year I've owned it- AB

 

You should be fine flushing at any point as long as the fluid isn't black.
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I go to pick up my R tomorrow morning!!! I can't wait!!!

 

Well, I picked up the R on Saturday, and drive home 550 miles, or 8 hours. Man, that car is some kind of sweet! GOBS of power, tight handling, and the interior and exterior are just MINT! AND, when looking around under the hood, I saw that the timing belt had been replace 500 miles ago! So, that is one less thing that I have to worry about. I just need to check the plugs, I can see the plug wires are orriginal, so they are going to go in the trash (I think I could feel some slight arching at idle). It's icy here is VA this morning, so I didn't drive it to work. Maybe tomorrow!

 

That's great. Congratulations on the R! - AB

 

Good morning,

Congratulations on your machine!

Did the previous owner tell you when the last oil change was? NEVER allow your R to go low on oil, even though the engines on 850 are durable, they are extremely sensitive to correct quantity & quality of oil, I'm sure you already know. Avoid 5W-30, go with 10W-30. I currently use synthetic-blend, but if I could afford, I would use full synthetic for a turbo engine.

Make sure the timing belt isn't over 5 years old. Many rubber parts seem to start deteriorating after about 5 years. You might want to visually inspect it, it's easy enough for anyone to do. Simply remove the 12mm bolt that's holding the belt cover, and wiggle the cover upward. Check the belt condition, oil leak from the top of the hydraulic tensioner, and any coolant seepage from the water pump.

As for the ignition wires, I replaced mine with French OEM (Bougicord), bought from FCP Groton. Bosch also makes them at a bit lower price. As for plugs, I recommend either genuine Volvo or Bosch platinum (2 or 4 ground electrodes). Iridium plugsare allegedly better, but I believe they require more frequent replacement than platinum's.

Also, check inside the distributor cap & rotor tip for any carbon track/pitting/eroding. Ignition coil should last a while, unless you see arcing around it in the dark.

Sorry for being officious, but I only want you to enjoy many years of driving experience with your R. I think 850's look nicer than many of Volvo's newer models.

Have fun!


JPN

 

I think the first mod will have to be a radar/laser detector...

Congrats.

 

JPN, don't worry, I'm **** about maintenance. It will all get done.

axelm, upon investigation of the car after I got it home, it's already pre-wired for a radar detector!! But, unfortunately, they are illegal here in VA. The State Police here have those radar detector detectors, and if you get busted, it is a VERY VERY hefty fine!!!!

 

Are you telling me they can detect a passive radar detector (not a radar jammer)? I don´t see how since it´s not transmitting anything.

 

>JPN, don't worry, I'm **** about maintenance. It will all get done.

Glad to know, I can now sleep peacefully.


JPN