I just bought my wife a Volvo 850 from a friend of mine. I was looking over the stickies and saw alot of things I will be doing very soon as the car has some issues. The two biggest concerns right now are the interior lights, we believe the switch is broken is there anyway to repair/replace it? And the white plastic piece on the top of the shifter is broken. The car is a manual. What exactly is that piece called, where do I get it and what possible upgrades can be done to take some of the slop out of the shifter? Thanks for the help and I am looking forward to learning more about this car and fixing some of it's issues.

 

Welcome to the forum. Hope you enjoy it here and enjoy your 850.

The interior lights don't work on one of mine also. If I fix it I think I will buy the entire switch assembly up by the mirror from Erie Volvo. Don't know anything about the five speed so can't help there.

 

Do they offer exploded diagrams of what you can order?

 

They are used parts. Probably just sell you the whole assembly.

 

Welcome!
My interior lights don't work either.. seems to be one of those common issues

 

http://snabb.3dcartstores.com/

 

+1 for SNABB's short throw shift kit.

 

Are there any other upgrades that are mandatory? The current issues are the odometer does not work, lights in the cluster don't work (I'd like to replace them with led so any help with that would be great) radio doesn't work (needs code) and the small plastic piece on the shifter is broken so you have to push down to select 1st. I sold a GMC Yukon XL that was lowered 4-6 with 22s 14" brakes all around two tone paint leather interior stereo and a hand full of performance mods. So a 1993 850 glt with an indicated 230k miles is an interesting step down. I am looking to fix all the issues and maybe do paint and interior. I have 2 children and am restoring a Camaro with my oldest and probably getting a Mustang for my youngest. So this Volvo could be their DD. Since they're so safe. Linuxman (Kenny) is a good friend and who I bought the car from, after seeing his wreck of his 740 I am not concerned in the slightest transporting my kids in ths sedan. Thanks for the replies

 

You can call a Volvo Dealership with your VIN and they will give you the radio code. Some try and charge you and some don't. Darling's Volvo in Bangor Maine does not. 114 Sylvan Road Bangor, ME 04401-4221 (207) 941-1460... Write the code down in your owners manual or some place safe as you will need it each time your battery gets unhooked...

 

Pull the radio and see if someone wrote the code on it. I've found several like that.

 

IPD sells an odometer repair kit for around $25. As for "mandatory repairs" the general consensus is that you should get your car to a solid "stage zero" to get the best reliability. Stage zero entails plugs, wires, cap, rotor, air filter, checking your ignition for proper voltage, fuel filter, PCV, at least cleaning the O2 sensors, timing belt and pulleys/tensioners, trans fluid swap, and coolant flush. If i missed anything, im sure someone will chime in.

As for the dash lights - that's a common issue. You can swap those out when you replace your odometer gear - there's a writeup here somewhere for instrument cluster removal. The only bulbs you are going to be likely to find that you can get LEDs for are the 4 194 bulbs. Personally I would just leave the standard bulbs in it though.

Another suggestion: while you have the instrument cluster out, change ALL the bulbs. One thing I hate more than anything is having to go back and do the same job twice....if you only replace the ones that are out, you'll most likely be back in there within 6 months to change some more. Spend the $25 or so and just do all of them. I was able to find the replacement bulbs at NAPA....they were a little high, but not anywhere near dealer high.

 

Thanks, before I bought it Kenny got everything straightened out maintenance wise. I am pretty AR so I would have replaced all the lights anyway. How hard is a NA to T? I did a little searching but I haven't found anything on the 850s. Nothing I was planning right away just more curious at what is possible

 

I've seen that a few times, usually when the radio has been replaced by one from another car. Smart people write it on the radio itself if going in another car or when they take out. One has to call a dealer more times than not and hopefully the radio hasn't been replace by someone who didn't think to write it on the radio. Even then you can still get a code but it's a little harder to find someone in a dealership with the patience and fineness to do so... All of the other advise I've seen on this thread about the rest of your problems seems fairly sound to me. I'm more of a 240, 740 and 940 kind of guy. (Rear drive Volvos.)

 

skyhigh: its far easier to sell the car you have and buy a turbo than it is to convert an NA to a turbo.

 

Ok Just a thought

 

Welcome to 850.

 

This past weekend I changed out my odometer gear, with the help of this site it was a cinch, I can attest to the fact that you should change the instrument cluster bulbs while your in there,after putting it back together found 2 bulbs burnt out,?? so going back in today to swap them.Also had my gas gauge and rpm gage drop to 6 oclock, I pulled out the guage needle and put it to 0 on the gas gauge,(just to see if it would work) which it worked, so when I change my bulbs I'll reset my rpm guage to 0 as well.. Congrats on your new volvo