Hi all,

My 1994 850 T5 has this problem where the gear stick vibrates in 3rd and 4th when the engine is revving above 2500rpm, sometimes in 3rd its 200rpm. Also the clutch sometimes feels squeeky and like its rubbing. Has anyone experienced this? If so what was the remedy?

 

There are a few things I can think of but the one that's most likely is the motor or transmission mounts are falling apart. Have you checked them yet?

When I bought mine last year it had the big bushing in the upper motor mount/torque strut close to the master cylinder from the engine to the firewall pushed out. Found out it was fairly common for this to happen. But any of the mounts failing will allow the engine and trans to vibrate a lot.

The picture is with an IPD blue polyurethane replacement. It's a lot easier than pressing or beating a stock one in and it's better and only around 27 bucks I think.

 

Kiss4aFrog,

I have not looked at any of the mounts, I'll try to get the car on ramps today and get under and have a look. Is it easy to replace the mounts one at a time by yourself or is it more of a job for a mechanic? Also are there any vibration dampers? I guess under the centre console on the gear stick itself?

Thanks!

 

Mounts are easy to inspect and you usually don't need to get the car up on jacks to check it out. The top mount that he pictured is in plain view. Look at it for cracks or tears. The link below will show you the most common torn/worn mount. It's the front motor mount that I thought was indistructable and safe even when torn, however, I seen one yesterday that was totally flat. The guy had a motor replaced and they didn't even put bolts in the frame, it was torn and almost off the frame.
Motor mount, right side, Volvo S70, replacement instructions


The transmission mount is often worn as well. It's located under the motor and has 3 bolts holding it in. It usually makes the car shift hard from 1 to 2nd and 2nd to 3rd. When replaced shifting becomes smooth again.


This blue transmission mount is heavy duty poly mount. It does add vibration to the car at low speeds. You can feel it in the steering wheel. Some people will not like that so you may want to go oem style. The top mount in the pic that Kiss linked to is also poly that will add vibration as well. They will likely outlast the car but do add vibration.

Mounts: Product Search

 

Is this vibration always when your moving?

Just a thought here, could he have an bad CV joint that is out of balance? Third and fourth, rolling at higher speeds, he begins to feel the (out of balance) vibration.

@winston901 - Can you pull the Ebrake tight then put the car in reverse then put a load on the transmission...listen/feel for a thud or thump or bang as you begin to let the clutch out, then do the same in first gear. Do it a couple times to try to identify if a CV is worn.

If the car rolls you might have to use your foot on the brakes. Heel on the brake and your toe on the gas.

 

Along similar lines..

If the trans and shifter mounts are all good it may just be time for a clutch; with wear the pressure plate and disk can get out of balance.. seen it before..

 

It's a matter of getting your face in there and looking around for something that looks out of place or physically damaged or deteriorating.
CV joints yep, clutch ... not so much for a vibration in third and fourth due to it would be tied to RPM so should show up in first and second too.
If you have an 850 that indicates it's at least 15 years old and most likely has 100k to 300K with the average being closer to or above 200K is my guess. That would be a prime time for the rubber motor trans mounts to go.
If you have them and you feel safe you could put it up on jack stands and run the engine with it in gear. Have someone run it at 2500 in third and watch the engine to see if it starts to dance around and also get down and check out the CV shafts to see if any look bent or out of alignment as they spin.

You might also want to check the harmonic balancer as I know mine is way over due to be replaced 265K and I should be doing that later this month. My rubber is well cracked and I'm a little worried it might split in two if I start to push some higher RPMs.

 

DO NOT DO THAT - Kiss, have you lost your mind? Really!!! I read that to my wife and she instantly had 5 minutes worth of comedy material. Tears are still coming from my eyes.

The first thing she said was "if you won't let your 3 year old do it, you shouldn't do it". There has to be safer ways to check those parts.

 

Sorry for the late reply all. A holiday to Africa, home to see the family and a hectic schedule at work is to blame! I Replaced the lower torque rod mount, thought the existing mount looked a-okay I decided to proceed. What a difference it's made, it hasn't completely eliminated it, it's only minor vibration now compared to the scary hard and loud vibration. I have been eyeing off the Derlin shifter assembly bushing kit from FCPEuro, I suspect that the bushings are crappy because there is still some degree of difficulty when getting the stick into position. I tried the handbrake stick to see if the CV's are worn and everything felt fine but maybe I was taking it easy because I'm pretty s#*t hot at breaking stuff!

 

Well I thought I'd give another update. Replacing the lower torque mount worked out for about a day, it's back to the same old vibration, maybe a little worse. So maybe I should replace ALL the mounts and see it it works.