Hiya guys, hoping you can give some much needed advice. A little background: bought my 1994 850 N/A with 193k on the odometer for $800 with some known problems, and later noticed that the odometer wasn't rolling . Pulled the true mileage from the ECU, 267k. Thought, no big deal, it's in great cosmetic shape, it's a Volvo, if I care for it properly it'll be fine for a while yet.

After driving for a while, the car started exhibiting sighs of a bad headgasket. So, I put in more of my limited time/money and replaced the thing. Damn near had a heart attack last week when it started giving me a #1 cylinder misfire and a bit of white smoke/steam from the exhaust, but cooling system held 70 kPa of pressure for about 10 minutes until one of the radiator side tanks started seeping (fantastic!). My next thought was bad/clogged fuel injector causing incomplete combustion and excess water vapor, or just unburned liquid fuel (think poor spray from injector) entering the exhaust and burning off. Did notice a gas smell from exhaust when the car starts cold and misses hardest, so I'm hoping an injector flip flop this weekend will tell. Aside from this, however, I've been driving the car with no major problems from the day I finished the headgasket job.

So far, I've got a total of $1600 in it, including the car itself and the following:

Coolant flush/oil/plugs/Air filter
Decent set of used tires
Exhaust flange gasket/donut
PCV system
Timing belt/tensioner
FP wheel bearing
Passenger side CV axle
Intake Manifold (old VVIS flaps were completely immobilized by 267k worth of glop)
Starter
Headgasket (including all relevant seals, machine shop work on the head)

I noticed this morning that the clutch is slipping a little bit (think about 200rpm of engine speed increase (and subsequent settling down) in 5th gear at freeway speeds with no change in velocity. This got me thinking about what the car will need put into it at some point to bring it back from the abyss of semi-maintenance that the previous owner(s) seem(s) to have subjected it to. As far as I can see it it will need/could use the following within the next year or so:

Clutch kit/rear main seal
The rest of a Stage 0
Transmission oil change
Struts/shocks
Motor mounts
Subframe bushings
Radio (speakers sound 20%-30% quieter on passenger side. Dying HU amp?)
Various minor interior repairs (think switches, lights)
Radiator
Power steering rack (maybe, a bit of seepage from the seals that I can see)


I'm a full time student with 2 jobs. I've already put way too much time into the car, and any major repair will have to wait until the summer.
At this point, I can't decide whether it's worth it to keep the car and put more time/money into it, or whether I should just cut my losses and sell it for what it's worth. On one hand, it's absolutely rust free (a rarity in a car this old around these parts). It's pretty darn good cosmetically, and the work I've put into it has taken care of at least some of the major problem areas. The whole Volvo high mileage reliability has always been a plus in my mind regarding this car's potential life span. When I did the headgasket, I noticed that there was still actually factory cross-hatching on the cylinder walls!

On the other hand, the car will require me to devote time/money to the above mentioned issues, and any others that may arise due to the age/neglect of the car. (Did I mention I found a race track slip buried in the owner's manual folder? Makes me think the car was probably beaten on in the past). I also noticed when I had the motor apart that it had eaten an intake valve or two in the #1 cylinder at some point during its life. All in all, there's at least some potential for future problems.


With all this in mind, I've got about $3000 that I can put into a car if I absolutely have to. For that, I know I can get a 120k-150k Japanese gas sipper if I'm patient and look around. Curious to know what some of you guys would do in my place. Many thanks for any insight/reasoning.

 

I'd start off by checking compression in #1. It should be between 186 - 215. Check #2 just for comparison.

I would also replace the rad just to give the car a chance. That is only if the compression test comes back good.

I'm not a big fan of NA 850's unless they are wagons and you need the big rear end for some useful purpose. And as you already see, they need constant work to keep them going good. If you're going to drive something that needs constant care it midaswell be something that is fun to drive (turbo).

 

Who do you know that knows cars that you can sit down and talk it over with ??

Do that.

If you're making a list of needs and it's getting longer you need to cut and run. Either sell it and go for the sipper or toss stop leak in or replace the radiator and drive it into the ground.
I hate to say that and even more so on this forum but there are times you need to face the fact these (Volvo) aren't the easiest or cheapest means of transportation. While unemployed (full time) as you're going to school I'd lean towards something else and hopefully once you're out of school and pay back the 987,365 dollars in student loans you can get anything you want to play with and you'll have all the money to throw at it.

As for the head gasket, pressurizing the radiator isn't an exact diagnosis as the head gasket can seal when cool and only leak under running conditions.
A better test is the hydrocarbon sensing fluid that you test at the radiator or reservoir tank neck. Best to do cold and when at op temp.

 

It's winter time, so you should have steam from the exhuast anyway. Think positive.