1997 Volvo 850 buying.....???

sno · Oct 30, 2008

Am thinking of buying a non turbo 850 automatic transmission....body and
interior in good condition....less than 100,000 miles does anyone have
any comments on the 850....pros/cons ??

What should I look out for...am planning on having it checked out by a
volvo mechanic....

thanks for any help...have fun.....sno

Tim.. · Oct 31, 2008

The later the better as a rule - 95/96 years.

Look at condition and evidence of money being spent on regular servicing
rather than mileage.

There is no specified oil change interval on the auto'box and without it,
they will die in the 140k area. Flushes and refills every 30k will triple
the life of the 'box- has this ever been done?

Check drivers door check strap (easy repair if caught early) ac evaporator
leaking (dash out job) saggy rear suspension, knocking front suspension,
engine should have fresh coolant not murky and be totally free from valve
lifter noise. If not, find another.

Tim..

blurp · Oct 31, 2008

Wow, that's interesting... I have a 1995 850GLT w/~205K km:

There is no specified oil change interval on the auto'box and without it,
they will die in the 140k area. Flushes and refills every 30k will triple
the life of the 'box- has this ever been done?

They won't flush it but they'll do a drain-and-fill and it makes a
huge difference. The previous owner didn't do this so it now slips
after about 10K km.

Check drivers door check strap (easy repair if caught early)

Yup, both front doors broken.

ac evaporator leaking (dash out job)

Had the AC system completely rebuilt after compressor seized at 175K.

knocking front suspension,

This just started a month ago.

valve lifter noise.

Yup, until the oil gets around after 1st start.

All in all, listen to Tim, he knows what he's talking about!

blurp

sno · Nov 2, 2008

Tim.. said:
The later the better as a rule - 95/96 years.

Look at condition and evidence of money being spent on regular servicing
rather than mileage.

There is no specified oil change interval on the auto'box and without
it, they will die in the 140k area. Flushes and refills every 30k will
triple the life of the 'box- has this ever been done?

Check drivers door check strap (easy repair if caught early) ac
evaporator leaking (dash out job) saggy rear suspension, knocking front
suspension, engine should have fresh coolant not murky and be totally
free from valve lifter noise. If not, find another.

Tim..

Tim....thank you very much for the information....
sno