hi folks, I just bought a 95 volvo 850 turbo wagon here in Maui with the hopes for something cruisable and functional for island life. Im in upcountry Maui so its either uphill or downhill from 0 to 8000 feet sometimes. I bought the car with a few mechanical problems and Im not sure what needs to get done first. I enjoy working on cars, I had worked on my last car a 1978 300d mb, but I'm not sure I have the resources for repairing this car. What should I have the mechanic look at first? I am using oil (doesn't seem like that much yet- maybe a quart per month) Something seems to be wrong with the motor mount, axels...suspension from oil leaking on bushings, etc. Lots of rattles from the front right. I'll find out tomorrow if the timing belt has been replaced-I have 100k. Also, After riding in low gear for awhile I don't get any aceleration plus a lot of smoke out of the rear. Any reccomendations?

Maui,

I think you car needs quite a few basic checks.
http://www.volvo-forums.com/t3118-things-t...g-a-new-car.htm

so, perhaps I should have avoided the car, but since I've already bought it, what might be the things to look out for?

Personal opinion, timing belt is always first. If that breaks, your engine is toast. Very few things will break as suddenly, and with such catastrophic consequences, as a timing belt. Unless the previous owner can provide me with a receipt from a shop that did the work, I change it no matter what they say. I'm not risking my motor for the sake of a $25 belt just because the previous owner says he did it. However, this presumes I'm doing the work myself. If you're paying someone, thats a slightly different call you gotta make.

Second, I'd fix the motor mount. If the engine is moving around, it's going to cause other problems. Next, I'd figure out why it's smoking. Then I'd figure out where the oil leak is coming from. No point fixing things that went bad from the oil leak if you don't first fix the oil leak.

Most of this can be done at one time. For the smoking, check to see if the oil separator is clogged. You're going to have to pull the intake manifold, but it's not too tough. Just a couple of the bolts are a little tricky to put back in, but there are tricks for that. While you have the manifold off, check the hose on top of the seperator that goes to the fitting on the plastic tube that connects the airbox to the turbo inlet. On my car that tube, which is plastic, was mostly missing, and what was left was broken into a whole bunch of pieces. That's $60 at the dealer, probably more in Hawaii. I replaced it, but couldn't blow air through it. I found that the fitting where it attaches, just before the turbo inlet, was clogged. I cleaned that out and my car, which had been smoking badly, stopped smoking completely. The easy way to tell is unscrew your oil filler cap when the car is running. If you hear air escaping, like unscrewing a soda bottle, then the engine is pressurizing internally, which means something in the emissions system is clogged.

Anyway, while you're doing this, you might find a leaking valve cover gasket. Good time to do both, plus the motor mount, plus the normal stuff like plugs, cap & rotor, and air filter. It's all pretty straight forward stuff, especially for someone with some skills. Half a day, maybe more if you keep dropping the intake bolts like I did, but then you've got most of your problems solved.

Good luck.