Greetings all,

OK, so I finally decided to let my local Volvo professonial put my recently acquired '94 tubo up on the lift. No surprise, there was a multitude of issues to contend with. As he said, looks like the prior owner did *no* maintenance.

Some of the fixits are more minor than functional so I'm going to live with those. But there are a few that need to be done sooner, rather than later, or I'll be looking for a new pass-me-down to work on.

Your help in prioritizing is much appreciated.

The must-do list generally looks like this:

Upper spring sets
Front hubs
Front sway bar links
Turbo return oil line
Oil trap cleanout
Oil cooler lines
pads and rotors all the way around
Front engine mount

I'm thinking the first three, then engine mount, brakes, oil trap and lines.

Am I OK? Should I rejigger in anyway?

The only thing I'm not clear on is the engine mounts. Best left to my tech? Or can be done in the shade of my backyard?

Thanks, as always, gents.

JR

 

I'm not expert on the 850, but in general I'd say #1 on the list should be anything that's severe enough to cause catastrophic damage. I'd probably take a close look at the oil trap first, and the front hubs, unless you've got a brake line or cylinder leaking. Do the pads if the rotors are still usable. How about the timing belt? Serpentine belt? Pick up a spare fuel pump relay. Look for any fraying in the hood release cable. Run down the standard periodic checkup list.

Does it have a sunroof? If so, on a nice sunny day pop out the mechanism covers (they slide toward back about a 1/2 inch off three little pins — my covers were jammed, had to drill a hole straight through the side, stick a needle nose plier in there and hit it lightly toward the back with a hammer). Then, take off all 3 screws on each side and pop out the glass. Check it for separation from the metal strip along the bottom edge (which would mean the seal is leaking along the side or back). Vac and blow out the slide tracks. I'm going to blow out my drain tubes from the bottom up through. Grit can get in the tracks and bind things up.

Clean up the mechanisms and re-lube cams, etc with a light lithium grease and some spray lube on all pivots. It goes back together pretty easily. Just note screw positions, but you can tinker with adjustments to get it reseated if the drive mechanisms are all working right.

Then hit the headlight lenses with some Blue Magic and elbow grease.

I've been living with a loose spring seat for 5 months; it doesn't seem to affect handling. Will probably change it this spring. The new neoprene replacement on FCP site seems intriguing.

You should have it safe and running like new in no time.

 

Thank you, sir...And I'm off.

JR