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What To Look For When Buying An 850.


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Hello everyone, Im in the market for an 850 wagon. Must be a turbo car and I have a few questions.

1. Common problems, anything to look for?

2. Year changes...any big changes year to year?

3. OBD1 vs 2. The model years go across the switch between the two, is one better/ more tunable then the other?

4. Milage, how many miles is too many for these cars?

5. I have check all the normal places cars.com, autotrader.com ect and Im having trouble finding a 5 spd. are they rare?

6. Finally....anyone know of any good cars in the CT area.

I hope to be joining you guys soon....Im not new to cars, but very new to volvo's.

I currently have a 400+ hp 1.8t GTI and a 1985 Audi URQ. The 850 will be joining the garage as the new daily driver =).

Thanks!

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Make sure the rear main seal is not leaking. MAJOR PITA!!! in 1996 the cars went over to OBD II. Check when the timing belt was last changed. These cars are very solid. Also check the turbo oil return line for leaks. performance places www.ipd.com www.eurosporttuning.com www.vptuning.com and a place to get parts cheap www.fcpgroton.com or www.ebay.com

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look for an Turbo, T5-R, or R

...u dont wanna be stuck in the dust when we fly by you :P

i got 125k in mine and its still good as new. :D

Im looking for a 5spd, turbo, wagon....are they gold or somthing.

I havent been able to find many at all....

Thanks for everyones responce.

Can wait to start playing with it when I get it,

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Im looking for a 5spd, turbo, wagon....are they gold or somthing.

I havent been able to find many at all....

Thanks for everyones responce.

Can wait to start playing with it when I get it,

hey, they didnt make any 5spd 850's in the U.S. if i remember right, unless you want an n/a. there is actually a 5spd s70 (the newer, rounder 850) for sale in the forsale section. as for the wagons, they are hard to find turbo, and im pretty sure impossible with a 5spd. but make sure the rear main seal work has been done first. other then that the norms, and if you have a 400hp 1.8t youll know what to look for. good luck with your search. also there is a really nice 95 platinum edition turbo with a 125K on the odo in the for sale section too, 6 grand and looks awesome. good luck. -Ryan

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You can easily find a 5-speed wagon turbo 850, but you'll have to look some place that's not the United States. Check Canada. You should be able to find one there. If not, you may want to look at bringing one over from across the pond. It's more of a PITA to get into US Spec, but it can be done. I know some people that have done it, except with Japanese cars. If you don't want to do either of those, you can buy an auto 850 turbowagon and do a manual swap, which'll run ya about $2000 total depending on where you source the parts from.

It is not at all uncommon to see 850's w/ over 300k miles on them. The car will take care of you if you take care of it. As far as I know, there is no difference on tunability from OBD-I vs. OBD-II. '93 is a bit different cosmetically than the rest of the years and '94 has different taillights. Otherwise, they're pretty much the same. Nothing major.

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Do the auto's hold up well?

How much power can they take before then "break"?

Thanks everyone.

The Auto's can hold up well. I believe the auto tranny in the '97 was a bit stronger and the final drive gear was a tiny bit different. These cars use Aisin Warner auto trannies. My transmission went out at 107,000 miles. I wanted to upgrade, but I do like 95% city driving, so I compromised. You can see what I did in my signature. The setup is guaranteed to hold about 425 ponies at the wheels. The general rule of thumb on the stock transmission though is it can handle a smidge over 300 whp when the car is tuned correctly. It is also a good idea to use an external transmission and fully synthetic fluid on these transmissions.

EDIT: I've noticed people on here with AC problems, but my car's service records indicate that it has never had any climate control problems whatsoever.

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