My mech says my engine noise is in the bottom. Most likely a rod or crankshaft bearing.
If I can do the repair myself...It should be worth the cost of the parts to do it.

I read threw my haynes manual (these are not as good as they used to be!) and found the section on oil pan/intermediate section removal. Except for the odd bolt loosening/tightening procedure it seems fairly easy.

Now, if i take those parts off....will I have access to both the rod caps/bearings AND the crankshaft bearings? I would like to replace both...even tho its more likely that the noise is a bad rod bearing.

 

You will need to have some machine work done if you want it to last. When the bottom end starts knocking around chances are that the journals are scored and the rods can be out of round and will need to be re-sized.

If you find a crank kit online please post it in the forum. ive had a hell of a time finding internal parts for these cars

I guess I didnt really answer the question lol. you need to pull the motor and then you can remove the rods and crank.Then take to a machine shop

 

If the crank is not damaged you can do the rob bearings. But if it is the main bearings then the motor has to come out to replace them.
When my bearings spun my crank looked like this.


But if it still looks polished good you should be fine.

 

Here is 2 sets of main bearings I found online.
Volvo 850 - Main Engine Components - Page 1

1995 VOLVO 850 Crankshaft Main Bearing

 

OK
well pulling the motor out for the main bearings isnt an option for me. Thats beyond my skill set...lol.

But if I drop the oil pan and intermediate block and remove the rod bearings and whats underneath the bearings doesnt look bad then a new set of bearings can be installed.

I fear I have NO good option here. Iether the main or rod bearing(S) is damaged. No way of knowing till I drop the parts and inspect them. But a motor swap or rebuild are also out of my price range. Seems either would run me $1500.

I have asked the mechanic to give me a quote on replacing those brearings...but I have a feeling that will run $500 easy. Thats alot of cash to spend on a motor...that could have other parts fail 500 miles down the road.

And there is no real telling how long the motor will last "AS IS" either. I mean, if that damaged bearing starts to fall apart it could get in the oil and cause damage to other parts as well. Not to mention once it finally gives up the crankshaft will get chewed up.

I am really at a loss as to what direction to go in here. I mean, for $1500 I could buy another older volvo that is road worthy! But now I also have felt the turbo, and dont want to go back to a NA volvo.

If the noise is a rod bearing.... and the journals are scored, how long can new bearings last? I ask cause I only put around 2000k per year on my car. If I can put $150 worth of rod bearings on the car and run it for a year then its worth the $ and effort. Especially since I have only owned it for a month...spent $1500 on it and another $400 for repairs. Id hate to scrap it as it is, or worse run it as is and kill the motor a few hundred miles from now.

main bearings did seem alittle harder to come by, but I found multiple places for rod bearings. lowest I saw was $33/rod. I figure if I do give it a shot I might as well do all 5.

 

Have you even tried just looking for an engine to drop in? It will be 100x easier, you don't have to worry about getting machine work done, probably find one with less mileage than the one yours has. . Don't forget that when you rip apart the engine there's A TON of gaskets/seals to replace.

 

Yes I tought about it. I actually found a 97 turbo with only 140k on it for $500. Its a whole car, with front end damage...still running/driveable.
But the quote i got for installing a motor was $800. He said it could be less, they base the estimate on some site that says how much time it takes to do the job.
I do not have the tools...or the know-how to install a motor myself.
Plus...that quote didnt include taking the motor out of the parts car.

I do have 1 other place I could call. Its a junk yard that installs motors. But I kinda doubt they will have a 850 turbo.

Right now I am leaning towards replacing the rod bearings myself. It shouldnt be more than $200 for all the parts. Its a big MAYBE as to wether it will fix the problem. The noise could still be a main bearing. I feel it may be a rod bearing tho....noise kinda sounds like it moves. Plus someone here said rod bearings tend to fail more than main bearings.
If I could spend $200 and install them myself and get at least a year out of the motor I would be happy. I usually use tax return money to purchase my car. My wife gets a nice new car that we have a payment on. But we can only afford 1 car payment. So when tax returns come I have to try and get the best car I can with what I have and it needs to last a minimum of 1 year.

 

well, I called a volvo repair shop thats an hour away and told him my issue. He said I should drive it to him so he can hear it. So I emailed him my utube vids. His responce: "Ben ... no need to drive it down it might not make it !! Needs new
engine.... That noise is a classic case of rod knock...."
Very sad I am, I cant afford a replacement motor

 

More often than not, when you have bearing issues, it's going to be the rod bearing. Like 10 to 1 or more. How loud is this knock? If it is just barely heard when the engine is revving down from rpms and almost not noticeable at idle, then it's a good chance you could just replace the rod bearings and be good for quite a while. On the other hand, if you can really hear a knock at idle and while revving up and then gets very loud while revving down, most likely a spun bearing and the only repair is too pull and replace the crank or have the journals resized and also have the rod repaired or replaced?

Can this knock be heard from like 50-100feet away?

 

Its very loud. Can be heard form 10-20 feet away even at idle.

I have decided to part out the car. Anyone need parts?

 

rent an engine hoist and lever find the engine, its not that hard. no reason to give up on it.