upcoming troubles with a 850 volvo

Hi forks,
I am driving a volvo 850 wagon of year 1996, with only 89K miles on it.
But as you can see, since the car is getting old, more and more issues
are coming. I just replaced a new battery 2 weeks ago, and today I was
told be the same dealer that I may need to have a new alternator. After
that I may have the timing belt and water pump replaced, so on and so
on.

So here is my question,
If I was going to keep the car running till it is about 150K miles, how
may new things I may need to add on and what the costs are about ? OR I
just have it saled by now ?

So far, this car has new tires, new battery, new front bumper, new
body,

thanks a lot


Chun

 

My 94 850 turbo wagon is at 220,000 now. Major parts replaced:
Alternator (Early) Radiator (Last year), Rear crankshaft seal
started leaking about a year ago, and the engine had to come out to
fix that one. Still runs great, burns about 1/2 qt oil every 2-3000
miles.
I'd keep it longer, but 10 years is up, and it's time to try something
else. Getting ready to replace it with an Audi A3 3.2 .

(No more Volvos for me because owners can't buy service manuals or
read fault codes any more)

 

On 17 Jan 2006 17:52:37 -0800, wrote:

Getting old? I have a '96 850 with 160k on it. I bought it with 110k
about 4 years ago. I replaced ALL the fluids when I bought the car.
Since then, it's just been routine maintenance and a few "well known"
issues with these cars. This car will probably run another 100k if I'm
unlucky

The list of problems/fixes I have had are common to most cars of this
age are as follows:
1) Replaced all wires/plugs (2 times in 50k miles)
2) Replaced Timing Belt, Water Pump at 140k (per recommended interval)
3) Changed oil/filter every 5k miles
4) Changed brake pads once or twice (use OEM Volvo).
5) The A/C evaporator leaks, but I just keep filling the R134 when it
gets hot around here. Fill lasts about 2 weeks
6) The air pump was not working when I bought the car and I get a P410
code about once a month. I built an OBD reader/resetter so I just hook
it up, verify the code then reset the fault. I have bypassed the
exhaust valve that the air pump feeds into so there is no exhaust
leak. No need to replace the air pump since it is not tested during
the Connecticut emissions test and you really don't need it. It's only
there so the car can pass cold emissions for the first 2 minutes of
operation out the door, then it shuts off.
7) The transmission PNP switch intermittently causes a CE light when
it is cold and damp (humid). All I do is shut the car off and cycle
the shifter 5 or 6 times, then restart the engine and the fault is
gone. (I have bypassed the fault storage for my transmission module
since this is a nuisance fault as far as I'm concerned. In your car
you will need to bring it to a stealer each time you get a PNP fault
since Volvo's don't allow the transmission codes to be reset with a
normal OBD tool, or replace the switch at some point).
8) Drivers sdie seat heater temperature sensor wires broke, so I had
to repair the wiring. Not a big deal. There is a recall on some cars
to replace the temp sensors with lower temp versions, but I prefer to
have the "hotter" seats than worry about it burning up under my butt.
As one Volvo tech put it, the recall is only for "BFB" drivers anyway.
(BFB = Big Fat Butt).
9)Trunk struts failed. Replaced both at the same time.
10) Rear main seal was leaking when I bough the car. I
cleaned/replaced the flame trap. After about 10k miles the leak
stopped. (Common rear seal leak cause is plugged flame trap).
11)Just replaced the battery.
12)Replaced leaking O-rings in the heater core lines in the passenger
compartment to stop the coolant from leaking under the drivers carpet.
13)Replaced the trim panel in the rear tail section (don't ask!)

I haven't replaced the body as you have, and I don't expect to. That's
too much for my backyard mechanic skills

Good luck!!

Bob

 

That's a good car, if you've kept up on maintenance it should be sound
at least until 250K, though the interior might be getting a bit tired
around 200. My advice is replace the stuff it needs, they're not known
to fall to pieces at 100K like domestic cars tend to.

 

I had to discard my '96 850 after 67,000 miles. Two separate certified
Volvo dealers declared that I needed a new transmission ($3500), which would
cost more than the book value of the car ($3000).

According to this group, it may have just been the PNP switch. In which
case this bunch of geeks knows more about Volvos than two separate certified
Volvo dealers.

In retrospect, I lost a small fortune and dozens of weekends fixing up every
little bit of my 850, expecting it to last for 300Kmiles like my old
260-series Volvos.

 

read a thread about the flame trap causing rear seal leakage....where is the
flame trap physically located? clean? replace?
difficulty? cost of part?
enlighten me please!
'96 850 glt-usa version
regards

 

Dealers making dollars ,its up to you to fins an honest person to check the
car out .What about your local Volvo car club ?They will assist you .Your
car is only a baby .A timing belt yes a new alternator I doubt .The water
pump is a worth while item to do while the belt is done as are the seals .Do
it keep the car its just run in ,but do check with a car club .

 

It's located in the middle of a hose connecting the throttle body to the
intake manifold. You can find step-by-step instructions with photos on the
(excellent) Bay 13 WWW site: http://www.volvospeed.com/Repair/ftrap.php

I went to my dealer to buy a replacement flame trap for my '96 850 and was
informed by the parts guy that Volvo now recommends simply removing the
trap, so I did.

 

I left mine at the dealer shop yesterday to replace the timing belt
and fix an oil leak around the dipstick tube. I also requested a
through cleanign / detailing.

Today, they said they found:
1. ""Possible" camshaft seal leak (I looked, Just normal 220K worth
of crud)
2. Leaking right CV boot (The one THEY replaced a year ago.
3. $150 to replace the O-ring (Includes engine cleaning, I said to
just replace the damn O-ring, and I'll spray the gunk off)
4. Rear brakes worn
5. Front tires "worn out"

They've never done this before, but they're under new ownership.
Disgusted at this pack job, I just said to replace the belt and
O-ring, and nothing else.. Their greed nearly lost them the whole
job..

I hope the Audi dealer isn't owned by weasels too..

 

We were told by a dealer (Nemith Volvo, Latham NY) that our '88 240
needed
a rebuilt transmission installed, for $3000. It turned out to be the O/D
solenoid,
and the total repair cost, performed elsewhere, was $300.


(...)

 

Why anyone takes their older car to a dealer for service is beyond me.
Most dealerships have *no* interest in working on a car more than about
5 years old. They only want you to trade it in on a new one and will
generally quote as much as they reasonably can for the repair so they
don't have to deal with it.

 

Well, first I took the '96 850 to my mechanic, a fairly competant reasonable
guy, who tried to read out the transmission codes and then referred me to
(in his opinion) the best Tranny shop in Salem. I left the 850 at the
tranny shop for a day and their diagnosis was "we can't talk to the thing,
you've got to take it to the dealer." It was only then that I hobbled on
over to the (first) dealer who declared the transmission dead. It was
subsequently towed to another (second) dealer, who also declared the
transmission dead.

So, if you were looking to fault Volvo engineering (which I am), you could
fault them not only for designing a transmission that failed at 67,000
miles, but also for designing one that only Vovlo dealerships can diagnose
or repair.

Personally, I didn't believe the dealers, because sometimes the car would
operate perfectly (exclusive of the flashing lights on the console), and
sometimes it wouldn't shift at all. I always suspected it was some sort of
computer malfunction, tried ratcheting the shifter, etc. and would have
liked to try a new PNP switch before giving up. Certainly, if any of the
mechanics had sugested PNP, I would have gladly paid for the experiment, and
I even suggested it to the second dealership but, of course, the person on
the phone had no idea what I was talking about. Alas, by the time it left
me stranded by the side of the highway, far from home, and had to be towed
around from mechanic to mechanic, my choices were fairly limited.

--

 

Then they went to the wrong dealership. Before I went to my present
dealer, I took in a 240 that had a starting issue that my other dealer
just wanted to throw money at. I told the dealer that if he could fix
the 240, I would buy my next car from him. He fixed it and I have bought
2 850's and one XC70 from him. I keep my cars 180,000 miles and my
dealer does all my service. I find that going in for dealer service
means that I just about never have anything go wrong. Routine things
wear out, but almost nothing breaks. After I go to the dealer, Volvo
contacts me to see how the service went. If the dealer gets bad
customer reviews, then he gets penalized by Volvo on the price he must
pay for new cars. So it is a win-win situation for the customer to
keep taking their car back to a good dealer such as mine.

 

Ok, where do you buy your cars (although Reading IS 90 minutes away....)

 

Allentown Volvo.