...and I'm pretty excited. Sold my Honda Pilot for the 850. The Pilot was great, but looking back it just cost too much and ate a lot of gas.

The first thing I'm going to do is change the oil. I'm not sure what the previous owner used in it, but can I switch to synthetic oil? Would you guys reccomend it?

I'm not a wrench junkie, but I know a bit about cars. Is there anything that I should be looking for on the car before I hand the cash over? I told the guy I was driving 4 hours to pick it up and I didn't want any surprises when I got there. It looks beautiful in the pics.

 

Welcome to the forum.

Don't worry about the Pilot, it was originally built by Isuzu anyway. It does not have "Honda" feel to it.

Before you hand in the cash, I would have it inspected by a reputable Master ASE technician. If this is not possible, visually inspect the overall condition, as well as fluid leaks & levels. Make sure to test drive it.

Don't be surprised to know that the car requires minimum of $300-$500 just for the parts for initial repair. This is inevitable for a car like 850 due to age. Check the interior & exterior for general conditions, check the tyres for tread wear, check for engine oil, coolant, brake fluid, tranny fluid, etc... Does the car come with full maintenance record? Does it have the owner's manual? A car that is missing the owner's manual has most likely been neglected. Make sure that the timing belt has been changed within the last 70,000 miles or 5 years. If not, it should be your top priority, as well as the brakes.

Check out the following thread for general servicing info:

https://volvoforums.com/m_48928/tm.htm

And here are the 2 parts vendors some of us use:

http://www.fcpgroton.com/volvo.htm#850
http://www.eeuroparts.com/home.aspx

I myself like FCP Groton, as they have good illustrations, great selections of OEM parts (the same parts the dealer uses), and their shipping is usually very quick. If you do not see certain parts, you can call them and they often have the parts that are not on their on-line catalog.

If your 850 is turbo, yes I would recommend full synthetic 10W-30 (5W-30 for extremely cold climate). However, if it is non-turbo, either regular oil or synthetic-blend 10W-30 (5W-30 for extremely cold climate) would suffice.

Good luck,


JPN

 

I only use synthetic in all my cars. The ABS module is guaranteed to fail. There are places that repair and are reasonable.

 

Well I picked up my 850 today and the pictures did not lie, he's (I named him Irv, don't ask me why, it just seemed to fit) in beautiful condition.

I told the sales guy that I was driving 4 hours to pick it up and I didn't want any surprises, oil leaks, check engine lights, etc... . Well 1 hour into my trip back home... you guessed it, the check engine light came on. I called my brother, who has an S 40 and he told me not to worry, his has been on for a year now, he's says it's probably the O2 sensor. I pulled over, checked under the hood and continued to drive another 3 uneventful hours.

What a beautiful ride. I even let my father in law drive (major Chevy guy) and he was impressed with Irv. So much so that on a curvy stretch of highway he pulled over and told me that I had to drive. He didn't want to have all the fun in my new car.

So back to the light, any idea how much it costs to change the sensor??

 

Get the codes pulled first it may be many other things.

 

Are we talking Check engine or SERVICE light? There is a huge difference. The service light is meaningless.

But I would never change anything out without substantiated proof that said part is bad. As tech said, pull the codes at autozone or a similar parts store.

 

What do you guys mean by "pull the codes"? And can I do this myself?

 

What year is your car?

 

A code is registered into the car's computer when a trouble has been detected by self-diagnostic function. A code can tell you what component(s) are having troubles.

If your car is '93, you can manually retrieve codes in the engine compartment. If it's '94, certain models have both OBD-I and OBD-II functions. If it's '95, your car should have both OBD-I & OBD-II. OBD stands for "On-Board Diagnostic", and the first generation, the "I", is what you have in the engine compartment, and it gives you codes via flashing of an LED. OBD-II requires a scanner that connects to your car's diagnostic ports.

If it's '96 & '97, you cannot retrieve codes manually. You need an OBD-II scanner. Some auto parts stores, such as AutoZone, provides free diagnostic services. If your car is '94 or '95, make sure to tell the clerk that your car does have OBD-II connection, in front of the shifter, right under the coin holder. OBD-II officially did not come out until '96, but certain cars came with it a bit earlier.

If you replace some suspension components, the car would handle even better.

Good luck,


JPN

[IMG]local://upfiles/6892/12E35450C55546D68559C3A56CA9F3CC.jpg[/IMG]

[IMG]local://upfiles/6892/A57A90221DF345299D933B67F756A14B.jpg[/IMG]

[IMG]local://upfiles/6892/4CF28BBEE2674E039D9D896E4390EBFA.jpg[/IMG]

 

2ND PIC: OBD-II port location.
3RD PIC: OBD-I location (image courtesy of Volvospeed.com).


JPN

[IMG]local://upfiles/6892/230B14D1401B415DB5233F7AF8685F01.jpg[/IMG]

[IMG]local://upfiles/6892/0A4270EA983049F19C3C05A480999033.jpg[/IMG]

[IMG]local://upfiles/6892/5F5991F4A6704D3D9FE14BA9B8AB60D8.jpg[/IMG]

 

That damn CEL can come on for something as simple as your gas cap is not on tight. If you car is 96 or 97 you will need an ODB-II reader to pull the codes. Autozone will pull the for free, but sometimes they will not reset the light. Tell them you just bought it and want to see if the light will come back on, and if it does you will buy the needed parts from them. I hardly ever fix what is wrong unless the light comes back on. I bought my own ODB-II reader from AutoZone for about $70.

What year is the car? We need pictures!

Sorry to repeat some of the same advice the other guys gave.

 

Make sure the gas tank recall is/was done. When I bought mine, the previous owner neglected to mention that the tank had a couple of holes in it. This caused a CEL to come on (evap system), and I almost paid $700 to get it replaced by an independant mechanic. Luckily I checked the recalls before this was done, and the Volvo dealership replaced it for free.

My CEL came back on again a month ago, and I'm pretty sure it's an O2 sensor, seeing as my gas mileage dropped to ~15 mpg.