That's my guess. That was the idea behind bypassing it temporarily.

 

I had a similar problem with my 95 850 turbo. Thought it was a clogged or leaking inter cooler hose but it turned out to be the main vacuum hose on the IAC. Reconnected and clamped it and boom, everything worked perfect again. Good gas mileage and power.

 

I think bypassing the IC is probably my next step, I was waiting to hear feedback on if it was safe to do or not. If it's okay to do a quick test while the car is cold, I'll try to get it done later today or tomorrow. I forgot to mention I did a pressure test on the entire system by making a makeshift flange that would fit into the hoses, filling it up with an air pump, and everything held steady. I suppose if for some reason the IC is clogged up, it would BOTH hold boost pressure AND keep it from getting to the intake.

JoshVanSlam, can you send me a picture of which hose you're talking about? I'm new to these engines, still trying to make sense of the mess of hoses haha.

Also, is there a thread that explains how the turbo system works from point A to B along with all the other vacuum-related components? I think if I can get a good mental picture of everything that needs to happen in order for the car to boost, it will open up new options for me to inspect.

 

Yes, I will post a pic as soon as I get the chance.

 

Sorry for the delay in responding, it's been a crazy busy week. All I can say is I have a sad update... Started the car to head home from work and it sounded like it was running on 2 cylinders and then died... tried to crank it again and again and it wouldn't turn over.. There was white smoke coming from the dipstick and when I pulled it I found to my horror; PURE MILK, and same scenario under the oilcap.. She blew a head gasket and needs an engine Haven't decided if I'm gonna keep the car & put the money into it and fix it or if I should sell it at the auction and try for another Volvo with a working odometer and maybe a t5..

Just out of curiosity, could the bad head gasket be the cause of the lack in boost?

 

When you have boost pressure in the manifold it's with a valve or two open. The small amount of leak from a head gasket wouldn't even be noticed.

That's because the intake valve is open about 90 degrees and there's five of them so there's is always going to be a valve open to a cylinder when you have 15 or whatever psi of boost. That little missing piece of gasket isn't going to make a difference, sorry.
Don't take me literally as there is overlap and different cam timings but in general this is how to look at it to answer your question without actually finding the specs of the cam. Even if you were producing 15 psi the oil pressure wouldn't let it leak and it's likely the water pressure might be about the same.

Is there any chance it's the radiator oil cooler that failed and not a head gasket. Have you pulled the plugs to see if one or two are literally wet with coolant or extremely clean? When you have coolant into a cylinder it tends to clean the plug back to white porcelain.
Might want to run a compression test just to make sure it's the engine and not the radiator.
If the engine died it's likely the gasket but it's worth pulling the plugs to confirm it.

Is doing a head gasket out of the question for your situation ??
If you're asking about keeping or dumping it you might want to put up some photos for people to give their opinions. How well do you like it and are there any other problems with it you'd still have after a new gasket or used engine ??

 

+1 on the fluid mix situation. I would check compression as well. I'm not sure if fluid would mix if the turbo blew up or not but if the turbo totally failed it could cause the car to shut down. I just can't see how the car blew a head gasket. Did it overheat?

 

I don't remember it overheating, when it tossed a radiator a few months back it spilled coolant everywhere but I don't remember it getting hotter than normal when I shut it down. Compression? almost none in 1,2 and 5 and the spark plugs were practically soaked

I think in the situation I'm in now, it'd be best to pick up another because the car is financed and I work for a VERY good company, I would have the option of selling it at an auto auction and picking up another one and just roll it into a car loan. Other issues, it would still be running on a broken odometer and bad ABS module, I'm thinking it may be best to spend the extra and get a v70 or another 850..