Volvo 850 Forum

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Can I fit Volvo 17" alloy wheels - Comets on my 96 850

they come off a 98 v70 r

thanks

steve

I bought a 2005 remote (the new type one with the folding key) on eBay, now I plan to make it for my 1996 850. I'll let you know how it works out!

Anyone out there know if the hard plastic pipe that goes from the flame trap to the oil trap is accessible without removing half the engine? I broke the pipe at the flame trap end and am hoping that maybe I can somehow remove and replace it only. I do not need to replace the oil trap, just get to it. I was not able to remove the EGR valve bolt behind the valve itself, so removal of the intake manifold is in jeopardy. Thanks. (If this works, I am attaching a picture. The pipe is part number 8)

Hi, two automatic transmission questions. No fault lights coming on so maybe
this isn't too bad??
Sometimes the car won't start unless I shake the gear lever back and forth.
Sometimes the car won't shift into second gear, just stays in 1st and I can't drive faster than about 35mph. Are these two issues both related to the gear shift
lever? Is this something I can fix myself?
Thanks, Rich

I just bought a 1995 volvo 850 turbo that has been sitting for a while. It looks to be very well taken care of, and I jump started it before I bought it and it started just fine, and everything seemed to work. When I got home I jumped it again to drive it into the garage and it started them died again so I went to jump it again and it sparked really bad when I placed the cables on the negative, then it just started to smoke on the battery, so I took off the cables and pushed it into the garage. I bought a new battery figuring I had ruined the other one and now the engine turns over but will not start. I hear the fuel pump come on so I know we have fuel, so I was assuming there is a fuse somewhere that I blew that allows spark to go into the engine. However, I also noticed that when I turn the ignition key forward none of the engine diagnostics come on like they did when I first started it like the check engine light and all other indicators, not my radio or my a/c fan motor. So I am wondering if the car went into some kind of limp mode from the sparking and is there some kind of inline fuse I need to change. Any help is much appreciated. Thanks

I found out my front seat heating was not working... and I hate it when things are broken, even if I don't need to use them... they are there so they should work!

It's that simple!

But now I need to find out what is wrong .

I pulled out the relays, not broken.
I pulled out the switch at the middle console.
Power is supplied, so no problem here.
At the other end of the cable everything is OK as well... so far so good.
I follow the wiring to the point where they appear to enter the seat, all the way at the back of the seat.
At this point I get my digital camera to make a picture of what I can not see laying head up on the rear seat.
The picture shows a small round gap in the seating where only one wire dissapears... the other one is hanging down. It seems that I have found the problem. Someone sitting on the rearseat kicked off the wire accidentially.

I pull out the plastic container which is found at the end of the gap, containing the heat-sensor (thermostat). At the back there are two connectors, one wire missing!

Problem solved. Reconnected the wire, pushed the entire container back in again and made sure this problem cannot appear again, I fixed the wires to the frame of the seat.

For those who wonder what temperature the seat should reach of if your seat isn't getting warm enough: Volvo's 850 until MY1994 have a thermostat set to 45 degrees Celsius, the later 850's, x70's are equipped with a thermostat reaching to body temperature to prevent overheating, 37 degrees Celsius. So if your seat is not getting warm enough, get yourself an older version thermostat!

Ofcourse the pictures taken:

Hi, my name is Jason I am going to school taking business up in Alberta Canada and I have a 94 850 turbo volvo. Before that one I had a 91 740 turbo I must say I really like volvos. I do have one problem though. When I tried to start my car tonight(to get a caffine fix to study for my midterm tomorrow) it started normaly, but after about a second she turned off. I tried to start her up again and all she will do is turn over. Anyone have any info as to what might be wrong? I have to go to Calgary on friday. Any help is great. Thanks in advance.

Jason

Great forum!

My '94 850 Turbo, 115k miles has an oil leak whicm my mechanic traced to the turbo charger. Like another poster, it drops a 2-3"spot of oil when is sits overnight, or even when it is driven short distances.

Of course, the price if around $1k for a rebuilt unit, and more for new. I read here about replacing the gaskets in about an hour for $30 or so. Where can I find the procedures for this to determine if I can tackle it myself?

Also, how can I check to make sure that the leak is indeed from the gasket versus something more troublesome?

Thanks in advance,

Chris

Hi there. I dont know if there's anybody out there that has ever replaced the bulbs in an SC-805 radio, but if there is, I would sure be grateful to know of any tips.

It is the bulbs behind the panel that aren't working, the last one packed up last night, the backlight to the display works fine.

Hello everyone. I am going to pick up 1995 850 turbo this weekend and was wondering if the front leather seats can be replaced by anything other than the obvious 850 seats? Perhaps seats from a newer model Volvo? The car seems to in very good condition body and engine wise. The interior is a bit beat up though and I need to replace at least the driver's seats and the glove box. Thanks.

Greetings, The heater/ac blower stopped working. I disconnected the plug and bench tested it with 12volts and a ground while still in place. It spins fine. So, I just knew it had to be the resisitor, so I replaced the resistor next to the blower and still nothing happening. Can it be that the ECC itself is gone? The dual temp controls do control the temp of the little bit of air that seeps thru the vents without the blower working, but the middle air function direction selector control has stopped doing it's job. Does this sound like I need a replacement ECC unit? it's a '93 850 and otherwise runs and performs perfect. THANKS
I forgot to mention that since I put the new resistor, when I start the car, the blower will come on for exactly 3 seconds at any speed then shut down again. It is doing this on every start up. It does not do it when the speed control dial is set at zero. Any hints? THANKS

Hey Guys,

New to the forum, but I've seen some great comments as I search for a solution to my Volvo 850 woes. I have 95K miles on my car and it is beginning to eat me alive with dealer repair cost. More than $2,500 this year alone in service bills. The largest being six months ago I had the Air Pump and Valve replaced, which brings me to my question. If the Air Pump is turning off and on while the car is off on a 80 degree day, has it gone bad again, or could it be a solenoid valve or relay issue? I'm certain this will run my battery down eventually....it has been going on for hours now. Any suggestions?

I have 94 850 estate. I recently changed to winter tyres (I live in Norway) and had a shock when I removed the summer wheels.
The tread on the left rear tyre was completely worn away around the full circumference on the inside edge for a width of about 5cm. The wear was so pronounced that the tyre was actually chamfered . The left front tyre was also similar but nowhere near as bad.
The tyres are 205/55 and the car has always reacted to uneven road surfaces - especially the ruts made by studded tyres.
Any ideas why the tyre should be worn like this?

Wher to get exhaust tip for 850 turbo?

dealer wants like 60$ for the screw in tip.

thanks,

HP

If the motors that control the doors in the duct system for heat and defrost are broken.....can they then be opened and kept open manually? I guess I am really referring to the one for my defrosters. I got the heat, but it is all on the floor ducts. I need it to come from the defrosters for the winter here in NH. If I remove radio, ECC unit, and panel of passenger knee bolster, will I then have access to this ductwork?
THANKS!

Reading through the forums you tend to either get a good one or a bad one. Now i have heard many say over the years that there are two kinds of peugots, good ones (french built) and bad ones (british built). I have also come across similar comments for the likes of VW (German / Mexican builds) and wondered if the same was true of Volvo to any measure? I noticed several factories listed as building 850's so could some of the vastly different opinions of the 850 be down to different factories.

Just a thought

I own a 1993 Volvo 850 with 240,000 miles and have had to have alot of work done it seems like to the brakes. Now I am having more problems with them. Whenever I press the brake pedal while driving the car startts to really shake. The problem is alot worse when I am goin say 50mph-stop rather than 25mph-stop. I just had the axel replaced along with new rotors and pads.

Also my drivers side rear tire seems to produce a burning smell whenever I drive it at higher speeds. There is no noise or crunching sound when I brake and they also have new rotors/pads on them as well.

All the tires are oonly about 6months old and are decent tires.

Thanks,


Ryan

I have an 850se 2.5 10valve with a funny noise.It is not easy to discribe but I will try.When the car has been turned off and left to stand for about 1 hour a funny noise occurs at 20mph,the noise comes from the rear left side and sounds like a couple of relays clicking in,it is not affected by engine speed (rpm) or gear selection(manual box)it occurs at 20mph and once it occurs it will not happen again untill the car has been turned off for about 1hour and restarted and driven up to 20mph. Can anyone shed any light on my noise it does not affect the cars performance and is probably not a problem but it starting to annoy me as I now can't stop listening for it.Thanks

my 850 i got in july 2nd hand so the first thing i done was change the timing belt then the garage told me it needed a new automatic tensioner but i still hear a squealing noise coming from that area can anyone shed some light i only get the noise when the engine is cold when it heats up shes fine

Here's the scenario...

1) Normally happens if the car is park for quite sometime. If it happens, it would happen when starting the car first thing in the morning or at night, after a long rest. Sometimes, even a four-hour gap would be enough to make it happen.

2) Distributor cap and Rotor is new. Just two months young.

3) The sound of the pump working is audible, when first slot key in and park key at Position II. (I assume then that the Fuel System Relay + FuelPump is OK)

4) Fuel Pressure Regulator is also new. About 3 or 4 months young.

Here's the best part:-

5) Sometimes (and only sometimes, not all times) when you play the gear stick for a second or two, resting at all positions, and then crank the car, IT WOULD START! But only sometimes.

Any idea, Tech or anyone?

Thanks!

I hope this helps people save the insane dealership replacement cost for a seized odometer. I wrote this up after doing the work, not during, so I may have a couple of small errors in here. Please let me know if you see any and I'll correct them. This is a pretty easy job with some patience. It's even easier with a friend to help with the dashboard. I've put in some tips for stuff I either screwed up myself or thought it would be wise to avoid. I hope the detail helps, but if it's overwhelming or just too long overall, I'm open to suggestions.

Needed Tools:
Torx Wrenches: T8*, T10, T25
* T8 is an small size not included in most Torx sets I saw in stores.

Parts:
I recommend replacing both the 15-tooth and the 12-tooth gears. The 15-tooth gear is the most commonly broken one, but save yourself the trouble of replacing the second one later on. I got mine from http://www.odometergears.com Jeff is a very helpful guy and I highly recommend his site.

First take out the 6 T25 Torx screws holding the dash on (see http://www.seawinds.ws/volvo/instrument_cluster.htm for details). If you decide not to take out the two screws in the central vents, good luck not damaging your dash (and getting the cluster out).

1. Bend up the dashboard, unplug dash speaker (push clip in center of connector to release).

2. Unhook the two latches on top of the instrument cluster enclosure. You don't have to detach them. Unplug the two green connectors on top (squeeze central clip on each to release it).

3. Put some towels between the dash and the cluster to keep it from being scratched. Telescope the steering wheel out towards yourself and push it down. Make it so you can reach through and push the cluster from underneath. Pull the cluster out carefully. It's very easy to cut up your hands so be careful. I would take the towel with you and put it down on the table you're working on.

4. Unplug the green connector on the back of the enclosure and remove the two T10 (I believe) screws holding in the small time display you just unplugged from the back and remove it.
[attachmentid=997]

(5). This step is optional. Before you take the cluster apart, you may want to draw or take a picture of the dials (needles and faces). The reason I say this is twofold: 1. You'll have a picture of your mileage pre-repair. 2. You'll see the default/off position of all the dials in case you accidentally push one out of place removing the dial surface in step 11.

6. Take the 10(?) T10 screws from around the back edge of the enclosure. Don't worry about the plastic black backing, just the white edge.

7. Pull the front (black) plastic surface off of the back (white) part. The back part has the dials and everything except the front plastic face and attached "overhang". This is the point at which you will be breaking the tamper seal on your cluster.
[attachmentid=1002]

8. This is the scary part of the procedure the first time you do it. Once you have the back white part off with all the dials, you'll notice that the front black face is separate. DO NOT try to pull off the needles or push them further down as they will be misaligned then. You actually need to pull the entire dial face out as a single unit. Start by gently prying up one edge of it just a little bit. Repeat at another edge and work your way around. Each dial has three pins sticking out that are pressure fit into their receptacles; if you're reasonably cautious, it's pretty tough to damage the dial face and dials. Set this whole face aside for now.
[attachmentid=998]

9. You'll notice that you can't do much with the odometer portion yet as it seems fixed to the back. Turn the unit over and take out the three little silver T8 screws behind the odometer cluster to release it.
[attachmentid=999]

10. Once you remove the cluster, you'll see the motor on the right side of it. Use a small screwdriver to remove the motor from the odometer wheels. You'll notice two gears (they look almost like one gear with two pieces), the smaller of which is usually the broken one. Note the placement of the small gear (one face of it is longer like a stalk) on the large (carrier) gear. I recommend replacing both gears at the same time to save yourself the trouble of repeating all of this not too far down the road. It's a good idea to take some compressed air (the stuff sold for computers is perfectly fine for this) and blow out junk from the cluster (shake it a bit too) to make sure that little bits of the gears don't get stuck inside the cluster and make it seize up later on (thanks for the tip Jeff from odometergears.com)
[attachmentid=1000]
[attachmentid=1001]

11. To reassemble the odometer cluster, you need to fit the gear carrier onto the motor spindle. What worked best for me was to take the spindle/inside magnet out and placing the gear onto it separately. Before putting it back in, place the magnet/spindle and gears onto the end of the odometer cluster and spin it a bit to make sure it fits/turns freely. Don't get any stupid ideas to try and dial back your mileage. It won't work and you could end up breaking something in there. Now put the other half of the motor back on the end. It will pull up the spindle/magnet and gears, so you have to either do it quickly or be careful about putting it back on once it sucks the spindle back out. Replace the screw holding the motor on the end.

12. Assembly is the reverse of yada yada.

A few tips for putting this all back together:
1. When you put the dial face back on, be VERY careful not to push down on any needles or anything so that you don't mess up the dial alignment. Line up the pins with their receptacles before pushing down obviously, and use even gentle pressure working your way around the surface to keep it all relatively flat. Check the needle off-positions with the picture you took earlier if you did so. Otherwise, eyeball it and go by memory.
2. Don't forget the time/trip computer bar green plug after you reinstall it.
3. You may want to change out some backlight bulbs while you have the cluster out. It's a few bucks and may save you some time down the road. I would say if it's blackened, might be worth doing it.
4. Getting the reassembled cluster enclosure back in is harder than getting it out. Make sure you pull the two green plugs up a bit so you don't lose them pushing the cluster around. I found it was easiest to push them behind the back part of the dash you pulled out so that they stay there. Make sure you get the two retaining shafts into their holes below. Use the space between the steering wheel spokes to move it around and place it.
5. Don't forget the two clips that lock down the enclosure at the top.
6. Plug the two green connectors back in.
7. Before you start bolting things down, drive around for a mile or so to check out that the odo is spinning, the dials are working, and that nothing seizes up, etc.
8. DO NOT forget the speaker connector before you start reassembling.
9. Buy yourself a few of beers/shots/upgrades with the couple of hundred you just saved yourself.

Have just come back after 2 weeks of touring Scotland, or 2,300 miles to be exact Now considering petrol over here is around 95pence / litre, and many of those miles had a heavily loaded caravan attached you can guess my fuel bill was shocking. So my thoughts are returning to an LPG conversion for my wallets sake.

Does anyone know what type of fuel injection system is fitted to my non turbo, 2.5l 1994 estate (one of the first models with the wider cam belts ). The LPG sites keep going on about "multipoint injection systems" and "complex ECUs", which appear to have the most expensive conversions, and i wondered if my volvo would only require one of the older tech and somewhat "cheaper" solution?

Im no expert on LPG, but the quotes i am getting range from £700 to £2000 for the different systems. If i can get a reliable system at the lower end of the scale then it should be worth it, otherwise i am bargaining on an already ageing car lasting many years just to return my investment.

Hi, I purchased my 1st 850 sedan ..'93 and I am very very pleased. It runs like a new car. My question is about the electronic climate control. The dual temperature dials work properly for temperature. However, the middle selector knob does not seem to do anything. Regardless of position the air comes from the floor mostly and a little from the dash vents. No defroster air flow. I know that my power stage resistor between the blower speed switch and the blower motor is not good. It has failed. So now I have bypassed it and just use the blower motor with a toggle switch. Will the new resisitor make the air direction selector knob operable or does it only control blower speed. So, could I be looking at a new Electronic climate control unit? THANKS.

Greetings -
Anyone have this happen? Do you know the cause?
Thanks, \
VW

Hi, Does the power stage resistor control the center direction air flow dial on the ECC unit? Or just the blower speeds? My dual temperature controls work just fine but the center air flow direction dial does not seem to work. Most of the air just comes from the foot area and a little comes from the dash vents. I am working the blower just with a toggle switch mounted in the glove box, since I have already removed the resistor. It works only on high speed with the toggle switch. Will replacing the resistor fix not only my blower speed control switch, but also that air flow direction knob. Or is that knob not working indicate a bad ECC unit?

Hi All,

Can anybody tell me What LPG installation do I have in Volvo 850 2.5 20V??
It was installed in the NL so the car was produced there. Year of Prod is: Jun 94.

Appreciate your Help as I have to change the LPG filter immediatelly ???

Rgds
Magic

Is it OK to start using Mobil 1 Extended Performance 10-30 W synthetic oil on a 115,000 mile 1997 850 R, if it was never used in the past? I think the person who owned the car before me just used regular oil, is it ok to make the switch? Will it mess up the engine?
thanks,
vcar

is there a cabin air filter in a1995 850 if there is where is it located thanks micky

My son just bought a 1996 850 wagon and has a chance to purchase a good used set of Euro Rails for the roof. They do not come with any mounting hardware or instructions. Will someone please advise us on the complexity or such an installation? Is the installation kit of fasteners available from Volvo? Is there any drilling of holes in the body necessary? All assistance will be greatly appreciated?

Where is the Fuel filter in the 850 turbo?

Oh, and also i was trying to change a boot CVJ on my Drivers side, well i had to take the bearing and carrier out (also pulled it from the tranny) and could still not get the CV joint out. any tricks on this? Oh, TECH and or ampgbear (sp?) if you read this its a 36 mm socket. thanks in advance

HP

hi guys im a mechanic of 35 years and have a small prob with my 850 2.5/20valve ovlov it has 190000 miles now,and recently through up lambda light. have bought from partco universal sensor but there are no instructions for my wire config.
i need to no,if anyone knows, the wires on the car i have a red yellow black and brown. i need to know which is heater in/out earth sensor heeeeellllllppppp. please.ive had the car for 2 years and havent even had to put brakes in her yet ive coverd 30k in this time wot a good car want the v70 cross country next any bad points to look for????????

My ECU gives me a knock sensor fault. I reset it and it comes back afer a few weeks. I repl