So my girlfriend just bought a 97 turbo 850. 147k miles. I took it to work today and decided to open her up and see what she's got. Well the throttle stuck wide open. I had to ride the brakes until I had a spot to pull over out it in neutral and quickly shut the car off. Opened the good and the throttle cable was flopping. Fiddled with it and the spring came unstuck. Upon turning the car back on the check engine light came on and it started running like crap. Go check the code it's p0301 cylinder 1 misfire. What's the most likely damage that occurred? Burnt out the plug or smoked the rings? She's gonna kick my ***

 

First off, most likely is a bad plug or wire on #1 cylinder. Second, the reason the throttle stuck wide open is probably carbon build up in the throttle body where the butterfly valve seals. You should take off the intake hose to the throttle body and carefully clean out the carbon and then work the throttle valve to make sure it does not stick on you again. Be happy it happened to you and not your lady!

 

Well, I'm not as optimistic as Psaboic. My guess is that the throttle body got jammed because the cable is bad, may not even be installed properly. And as for the misfire, you probably burnt a valve and need the head rebuilt.

These cars will steer and brake with the ignition off so it probably would have been ok to shut it off and drift to the side of the road.

A lot of these cars are NOT driven hard enough daily and can burn valves when new owners get them and "blow them out". Hope you get things sorted out and let us know if you need any help.

 

RSPI is correct (but I hope he is wrong) <grin> about the burnt valve. Dig into it and let us know what you find out.

 

So I checked the plug and it was toast. Swapped it out and it ran mint but the light was still on. Went down the road to the store. Came out to leave and it started acting like it was misfiring again. Maybe gonna change the rest of the plugs and do the wires and see if that helps

 

In regard to throttle it seemed like the actual spring was what was stuck that's under the plastic cover. I finagled with the spring on the throttle body and another spring snapped back to normal and the slack came out of the cable. Meh I was hoping this would be a good purchase for her for how safe these Cars are supposed to be and than the first thing that happens is the throttle sticks wide open. Might be trading it In for a jeep tomorrow.

 

Trust me, it is a safe car. I put all three of my boys in one and after three teenage drivers that car has 251,000 miles on it and still runs fine. Just check that spring and make sure the throttle cable is not binding. Should be fine. A good tune up is always a great place to start as you never know how a previous owner took care of it (or not).

 

Yep - if the car is new to you, start with plugs/wires/rotor/cap, air/cabin filter, oil change with filter to baseline your own repair records. Look at other posts for opines on synth oils vs regular debate (I prefer "hi mileage" blends with changes every 3-5K mi). Also lube up the throttle cable/linkage and the hood release cables/lock points, check battery terminals/clean up & seal. Look for any records of timing belt work (should have been done at 70-90K) and inspect your drive belts for cracks/wear etc. The car's a keeper and should be good to go another 100K with some regular DIY car. My 95T wagon has 200k+ Miles. Sits outside my daughter's apartment and has started every day this winter with temps as low as -15F in CT this month.

 

Yeah we're just not sure what to do. I know volvos are known for being very safe and dependable cars. I am just worried about how this one has been treated. Serious gunk in the oil. Which means the turbo probably isn't in the best of shape. I dunno. If we don't keep this one I will be keeping my eye out for another one for me. 850r would be nice.

 

I am in CT too, I wanted to hunt down that groundhog when he said 6 more weeks of winter

 

Since you are in CT, you get the benefit of next day parts from FCPEURO (or you can stop by their new location in Milford). I've actually called them and received great coaching over the phone as well. I've also shopped from EEUROPARTS who are in Windsor. they do some good specials from time to time. If you have gunk in the oil the thing you need to watch for is the PCV plumbing probably more than the turbo. Good news is there's a lot of local mechanics (some even show "factory certified" on their shingle) who know the 850s around here and parts are easy to come by.

 

A NEW Jeep? Because a used one may have more issues than this car.