Hi,
I've got a '95 850 2.3L turbo - bought it about 4 years ago for my daughter. It's been under repair/maint for a few weeks - lots of things needed fixing, maintaining, etc. Just noticed that the hose from the crankcase breather setup to the turbo air intake area is cracked. Following it back to the turbo air intake area, I found turbo-related vacuum lines in very poor shape. All of that is being replaced. Before starting this extensive round of maint/repair, the turbo seemed to be basically working, but did seem to be loosing some of it's boost. Yesterday, at a pull-your-own-part place, I found a '96 850 2.3L turbo - same basic setup, but a year newer. Any chance the turbos are interchangeable? It's used and in unknown condition, but ... the price is reasonably low and they warranty parts for 30 days. The turbos for '95 and '96 have different Volvo part numbers (based on checking out availability/prices at various auto parts stores).

General questions - there's no maintenance specifically associated with the turbo, right? How reliable are they? Are there any typical failure scenarios related to mileage (i.e., will they go 200,000 miles without problems typically)?

Thanks - just looking for a bit of basic education on 850 turbos.

- js

 

It will bolt right up. They are both TD04's

 

I have seen these turbos with over 350,000 miles on them. If you change the oil regularly, treat them right (let them warm up and cool down properly) they can last a long time.

Usually they will need a blowoff valve or wastegate replaced about now (20 years).

 

 

The '95 might be one of the odd "conical" flange outlets on the cars turbo where the "96 would be a straight or angled outlet.
The housings will unbolt easily and can be swapped or if you put something else like a straight or angled housing on the '95 you would need to change the downpipe containing the catalytic converter.

If you pull the turbo it's always a good idea to put in new gaskets and copper washers to prevent leaks.

 

if your loosing boost, then you have a leaking intercooler hose somewhere or the CBV spring is bad. If your intercooler lines are original i would suggest replacing them as well as replacing or upgrading the CBV.

 

+1 for possiblly different flanges. Also I cringe at the thought of putting in a used turbo, solely for the damage it can do if it lets go. My turbo is fully functional but I'm looking to replace it for a 16t because my turbo is 155k miles old.

 

Thanks for the advice and education, everybody. Replaced the control-related vacuum lines and that seemed to do the trick. Lots of other little repairs - replaced heater core, radiator, o-rings and seals for the engine and trans oil cooler -> radiator lines, all radiator and cooling-related hoses, coolant overflow tank, glove box latch, A/C compressor -> condensor hose, injector o-rings and top seals, brake booster vac line, several other vac lines under the hood, sunroof trim ring, overhead light console/assembly, bad socket on one of the relays that mounts just above the radiator, and more. Lots of good parts found for cheap at our local LKQ Pull-Your-Own-Part junkyard. Still have several more to-do's, but for now , everything's smoothed out and seems to be running well now.

 

That's what counts, life is good