Hi all. I'm a benz guy, I drive a 190e with the bulletproof m103 straight six. I like my cars boxy and long lived. Up here in Toronto it's nigh impossible to find a rust free benz wagon of the type I want so badly so I've started looking at Volvos. I've been reading the forums and volvo sites and I think I know what the common issues are with these cars .. PCV, rear main seal, AWD drive shaft, timing belt ..

It seems the volvos don't rust that badly??? At least, not comparing to other cars of that age. Around here, any early to mid 90's cars are rusty. Not so the volvos. Or am I imagining it? Either way, I like the looks of the car, I'm shy of the whole front wheel drive thing now that I've owned a RWD car... but I can live with it, I'm not a boy racer. I need a wagon and around here the volvos represent the best value in my eyes.

I've read some opinions on here that the 97 cars were the best, or maybe I read that the 98 V70 was best .. not sure. I prefer the styling of the 850 anyway. In my experience the later years of any particular generation tend to be best, they usually have the kinks worked out and typically there are cosmetic improvements interior/exterior. That all said......

I'm going out to look at a 97 850 AWD with a manual trans on the weekend. Car has 240,000 km on it (or 150k miles), no rust, interior looks great (from the pics). Seller says he's maintained the car and has records though I think the timing belt is up soon he changed that 80,000 km ago (50k miles). Now, on to my questions (finally):


Parts availability for 850 AWD - I understand that these cars are rare. That makes me a little apprehensive, should I be? I'm concerned about parts availability or are the parts the same as the V70 AWD?

Driveshaft - He has removed the drive shaft so it's a FWD car. To be honest, I don't care for the AWD. More gas, more maintenance ... ideally I want a 2wd car but this is the cleanest example at the most reasonable asking price so I'm considering it. Should this be a concern? Can I simply leave the whole AWD thing alone and not worry about it or is driving around like this bad for the car?

Clutch - He doesn't know if it's on the original clutch so I figure it is. I know that it depends mostly on driving style, but assuming average use, what does a clutch last on one of these and is this a DIY job? I've learned to work on my 190e over the past couple of years so I can do a lot of stuff myself.

Sorry for the super long post


edit: I don't know if it's a turbo or not. Were all the AWD 850s turbos? He didn't mention it so I'm assuming NA but he didn't include a pic of the tailgate either so I didn't see the badge.

 

Hi and welcome to the forum.

Now that the AWD shaft has been removed, there should be no issues driving it like it is. Parts are very easy to come by, hell, you may have some in the back of your MB.

You should be able to do all the work yourself. People here and other Volvo sites will help you every step of the way.

There is no benefit from '94 on in my opinion. Six in one hand, half dozen in the other.

As for rust goes, they are good for not rusting out if properly taken care of. Tail gates, rear bumper mounts, and parts underneath can rust pretty bad from someone not cleaning away the salt.

These motors are designed to last 500,000 (800,000 km) miles so it can last you a while. Only use Volvo or Mann oil filters and you should be good to go. They really don't have RMS problems unless you let the PCV stay clogged to long.

 

Oh, that timing belt should be replaced every 115,000 km.

 

Volvo's are amazing cars, I Especially like the 850 model's, they are reliable, safe, fast, and easy to work on. Parts should not be too much of a problem, but always check eBay first. I got a PCV oil trap, and a inter cooler hose for only around $80!. At your local parts store, it would be twice or even three times that price, Its crazy. They are great cars, and they have tons of character I have noticed.

 

I just bought a 1994 White Turbo 850 wagon. 2 owners , all from Bay Area California, and San Francisco. I'm the 3 rd owner . In Idaho. I love this car . I bought an 850 last year never owning a Volvo ever. I used to own an 89 560 SL . Loved it but I don't make enough money each year to maintain it. So I sold it, lost my *** in $ for what I got out of it . But then I discovered Volvos ! I can work on them, yippi!

 

Flick of car

 

Thanks all. I don't really need any convincing, I really like the 850 from everything I've read and I really like the looks of the car. Any comments on clutch replacement DIY difficulty?

 

I'll sell my 1997 850 wagon if you want it. Absolutely zero rust and a butt load of repairs done in the last few months.

 

Did I read you are from Canada. I get my parts for my 95 850 from autopartsway. Canadian dollars and a good price. Not as clever a company as IPD, but it gets me through most of the maintenance. I'd say they are are great to drive, a bit hard on fuel and a good tune up of TB, flame trap, vacuum line and proper oil changes with Mann filters keeps it running smooth.

 

Yup, Toronto Canada. I've used autopartsway but I've also made orders with Autohausaz. Even with the shipping they are sometimes competitive and/or autopartsway didn't have what I wanted. It's a toss up for me.


Someone is actually selling a drive shaft for this car here locally. What's the going rate for those? Is the fuel consumption a lot better with the shaft removed? I suppose there's still the weight of a differential on the rear. Not even sure how that works with the shaft removed. Are all the gears spinning in there regardless? Rotational mass and all that?

 

I dont want to make it sound difficult so I wont, its not tough just time consuming.

Hah, probably his friend.

 

Typed a reply but lost it when I hit submit. Oh well. Passing on the car yadda yadda yadda .. like the 850 wagons a lot though. Looked at a turbo 96 auto as well, loved it but too far gone on the rust and wear.

 

13.8@103 Manual 18T
13.7@99 Automagic 18T

Boxpin, how about some 20G times ??

 

Not quite ready yet. (When I am done I will have an 18T or 19T w/OBX downpipe and IPD HD CBV for sale. Just sayin')

20G - 18T - 15G