Hello,

I am new to this forum and to Volvos.

I am thinking about buying a 1996 850 Turbo station wagon. With 130K, Automatic.

It runs, but when you put it in gear it dies.

It is drive-able if you use one foot on the gas to keep the rpm's up as you shift it into gear, it continues to drive.

What could be the cause of this, which part needs replacing and what is the cost of the part ?

I worked on other cars before but not on Volvos and never had this issue before.

The car looks clean. What should I look for ?

And is this issue an easy fix or is it indicative of possibly a major fix/problem?

Really would appreciate an Expert help here.

Thank you all,
AJ

 

First and foremost, is the check engine light on, and if so, do you have a way to read what codes are stored? Outside of that, the first thing I would do is unplug the Mass Air Flow Sensor (MAF) and see if it still dies in gear. Of course pulling the MAF will most likel turn on the check engine light if it is not already on

 

There are two sticky threads on what to look for, new owners, that sort of thing. If you look at Robert DIY's videos on youtube he has some good threads on what a new 850 owner should learn and do. These cars are fun to work on but they do require some upkeep, for sure.


If you are going to own this car (or any other one), I would recommend you get prepared to read and appreciate all the data that the OBDII system can give you. You can do that with a phone or with a scangauge, or various other tools that only read data. To me, to go through life without that ability is like deliberately trying not to know how to cook.


As far as the immediate problem of it not idling, I think it'll be easy enough to fix. A turbo 850 has very long piping between the MAF and the throttle, and of course many vacuum hoses as well. Any leaks in this network of stuff will throw the air flow measurement off. To control idle air, the car uses an idle air control valve that is mounted right in front of the throttle. Potentially that might not work exactly right.

 

Hi,

Thank you ALL for replying.

I DO NOT know if the Engine check light is On or not...waiting for a reply from the owner.

Ok, is the MAF on these cars attached to the air filter housing on top of the Engine ??

If the car itself is clean inside & out and this is the only problem....what price would this car be worth....at what price is it worth the trouble of buying and fixing?

I am trying to determine if it is worth driving an hour each way to go look/buy the car and how much is this car worth.

Oh, are these U tube videos listed under the name "Robert's DYI" ??

I appreciate your help.

 

If there is a torn hose or loose hose clamp, it can do what you described.

 

Why would that cause the car to die when you put it in Gear and not die when in Park or Neutral if it is a vacuum leak?

Sorry if this is a stupid question as it has been many years since I've owned an Automatic and never had this problem before.

 

the problem is the air/gas mixture is off and the fuel delivery controls are not in a range to compensate. Its close enough to let the car run without load but when your drop into gear, that's enough of a load to cause a misfire. Common causes are the intake plumbing from the turbo (via the "over the engine tube), through the intercooler (part of the radiator set up) and back to the intake metering (MAF, idle air valve, throttle body) or the vacuum lines (place to start is under the throttle cable cover - you'll find the "vacuum tree" with 4 or 5 lines and a pair of capped nipples. trace those lines to their ends looking for tears, cracks. Some go under the intake manifold to the PCV which are hard to spot so a shop may need to do a "smoke test". My bet is you have a tear a boot or connection in the intake air path...

 

Hi,

This is confusing as I am getting different opinions.

I am trying to decide if I should buy this car or the repairs would be complicated and costly.

Also maybe I did not make it clear that I was told that if you press the Gas pedal while shifting it into gear then the engine will not die and it can be driven without a problem.

Also on a separate issue the Check engine light comes on and off, intermittently.

He tells me that on these cars in California the check engine light is not considered when trying to smog it (I forgot the reason he gave me now).

So, for this car with 130K how much would you pay for such car if the inside and outside are in decent condition.?

Thanks for the help.
AJ

 

$500..

 

the only way you can tell if there's a major repair issue is through diagnostic tests. 1st question is whether the check engine light is on and what the stored fault codes are. idle and rough running can be something as simple as plugs/wires or a sign of a burnt valve. After that you need a skilled eye to look at other things in play such as checking the oil and coolant (head gasket ok?) and a compression test (expensive repairs if bad). So I second firebirdparts suggestion to bid low enough that if it turns out to be a major hassle you can sell the car off again as a parts car... Then if you are not doing the work yourself, have a tech friend do an assessment. Unless its a stone simple fix like fixing a vacuum line you need to be able to budget for parts and tech time vs what the car is worth in roadworthy condition. Here's what I'd do: Research the market value based on the car being healthy, then set an estimate for a repair budget. The difference is your offer price. In a sense you are betting the repair will come in under budget.

 

I would think in California there must be thousands more of these cars for sale that need repairs. You might want to compare prices with a few dozen more.

 

Is this the 850T wagon in Walnut Creek posted for $600? I did a quick search on Southbay Craigslist and there's a few 850Ts for sale some running good, some needing small repairs in the 500-700 range, but a pretty good selection out there. Unless you are a good DIY person you'd probably be better off with a car that has a known list of problems in my view. Key issue with these cars is the maintenance history. Say you buy this for 500 and get luckly and fix it for 250. Pretty good car for 750. Now if the car is overdue for a timing belt, you are looking at $300 in parts and $300 in shop time - so your car is now a $1350 car and so on. I'd press the owner for what they know about the needed repair and ask why they didn't bother getting it fixed on their own...

 

Yes it is the same one.

He said he doesn't want to put money in it to get it fixed. Since you read the ad, I think he states why he is selling it.

The timing belt costs $300 on these cars ?

Replacing the timing belt usually is not that difficult to do....not sure about these cars though since I've never owned one.

Thanks.

 

the timing belt is $15. BUT, when that is getting changed the typical procedure is to also change out the tensioner ($90 or so) the idler ($40), the serpentine belt $15, the water pump (every other visit ) $75, the serpentine idler and tensioner pulley $40, $40, front cam seals $5 each, crank seal $10... and $30 for the special tool to release the serpentine tensioner to do it right and get another 70-90K of worry free driving. A "small" update would be about $150 in parts (belts, tensioner, idler for the timing belt. The "small" job is not that hard with the special tool (IPD sells them). You can pop off the timing belt cover with a 12mm socket and inspect - if there is no coolant or oil leaks you can go small. In my case, I had a leaky cam seal and a possible coolant leak so I had to do the full kit (200K miles on the car)

 

So is this a job that needs to be done every 70-90K ?

As I had owned cars with a timing chain, not belt, I never had to do this job but know it is not that difficult....but again, I don't know about Volvos.

So is there an easy way (When inspecting the car I want to buy) to inspect if the belt and associated parts needs replacing?

Thank you.

 

Yes. Or replace the engine when timing belt breaks, your choice.


Ask for proof of timing belt being changed, if not, treat it as it was never changed and change it ASAP.

 

its not uncommon for a tech to mark on the engine when the timing belt was done. If no other records, then assume the worst. The idea of replacing the tensioner and the idler is if they fail they can ruin a good belt. Note that recycle yards and Craigslist are full of older Volvos, Audis, VWs etc where the owner had a timing belt on an interference engine (like the 850s)...

 

First of all...assume that all Craigslist sellers are crooks trying to sell stuff without disclosing deeper issues. Keep that in mind.

Second, in California you cannot pass smog with a check engine light on. It will fail the visual regardless of the readiness light.

Third, if you are going to change the timing belt plan on $150-$200 because you will want to replace everything in there including the water pump. This is still cheap and easy to do.

fourth, is this the car?

1997 Volvo 850
Runs and drives
Mileage stuck at around 150,000
Radiator leaks
Registration was due this month
Needs smog
Check engine light is on
Abs light comes on sometimes
Airbag light on . Replaced driver side airbag
Also Passenger side air bag but it needs to be bolted down and plugged in that's why light is on
HAS NEW BATTERY
Selling AS IS .
Needs work but it runs and drives .
AS IS $600 SERIOUS BUYERS ONLY NO BS


My advice...I buy, fix up and sell these often...too many issues and will be expensive to completely repair...stay away. This to me is a $200 car.

 

Even though probably no one does it, it is the seller's responsibility to smog the car before selling it.

Spend more, get a mechanic to check for you before buying. If you cannot work on these volvo on your own, do NOT buy any or ready to have a fat wallet.

 

Great advice. If you are not a really great mechanic, you should not buy an old European car, even if it's running great right then.