my father in law owns a 95 850 turbo. he bought it on eby last week he checked
the oil and found coolant in the oil. does anyone know a common problem
with coolant in the oil. we dont know the first thing about volvo please help

First of all, i've moved this into the 850 Forum... You may be able to get more if you look into the archives section of that section.

But answering your query, generally, coolant found in the oil, points to one thing. Internal leakage of the coolant. :( Sorry, not so good news. If you look into the coolant expansion tank, you may find traces of oil in there as well.

This may be caused by:
1) Leaking cyclinder head gasket.
2) Cracked cylinder head / bore.

For part (1), have your tech/mechanic pressure test the cooling system. They may be able to detect the leakage.

But for part (2), you may need to disassemble the engine.

i figured that i was really hoping someone has already has had seen this problem
more than once and knows a common problem what do yall suggest
like i said i dont know muchabout volvo. im a gm man just incase anyone has
a question on gm products. the 3.1 v6 is real common problem with intake
gaskets and is an easy fix i was hoping for something similar with my problem
i sure appreciate your input.

The above may not be a common problem (in the sense that it recurs) but I have seen quite a few of my friend's Volvos going for the repairs when they see oil in the coolant expansion tank.

I had this problem with an earlier Volvo. It was the head gasket, could be on yours too. Not knowing the history of the vehicle and how it was handled, driven and cared for makes it difficult to guess.

Could also be a hairline crack... :)

Well, as you said, "Not knowing the history of the vehicle and how it was handled, driven and cared for makes it difficult to guess. "