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Volvo 850 Wagons

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#209 of 491 A request from Edmunds' PR department: by revka Mar 04, 2002 (2:53 pm)
A journalist with a major magazine is looking for consumers who recently purchased 3-5 year old vehicles. If you are interested in participating, please respond by Wednesday, March 6 at jfallonedmunds.com. It is always helpful if you provide your phone number, type of vehicle purchased, and city/state of residence.   Thanks much!   Revka Host Hatchbacks & Station Wagons Boards
#210 of 491 Compression? by srfrgirl Mar 06, 2002 (10:44 pm)
Looking at an 850T Wagon. Mechanic noted that compression was 180 on 3 of cylinders and 150 on the other two.   Is that bad? and what kind of problems could this lead too?   Thx!
#211 of 491 compression on your 855T by javadoc Mar 06, 2002 (11:25 pm)
A good general rule of thumb to go by is the "75 percent" rule. The lowest compression number should be no lower than 75 percent of the high number. For your car, you pulled down a 180 on three cylinders. So, 75% of that would be 135, basically telling you that there is nothing to be alarmed about. Of course, uniformity is best but as time passes and miles are accumulated, the cylinders will move away from being identical w/regards to compression. A 150-180psi range should be fine, really.   Another type of test is a leak-down test, which a mechanic would most likely have to do for you, so it'd be more expensive. There's a specific machine for this that tests leakage in your cylinders. It's a great tool to use to see the condition of your engine.   A neat test to do on those two low cylinders, but really only if they were below say 120psi, is to put a tablespoon of oil into the cyl. through the spark plug holes then retest the compression. If the compression rises after this, that means the rings are worn (not so good). If it drops more, then the valves aren't seating properly and you need a valve job, or the head gasket could be blown However, I think the numbers you got were nothing to really worry about, as they're still w/in specs.   Sorry for the longish post... just a few items I picked up along the way. Can you get service records for this car? Those are extremily helpful when making a decision so you can see how (if at all) a car has been maintained.   /java
#212 of 491 Results of Leakdown Test by srfrgirl Mar 08, 2002 (3:08 pm)
Thanks javadoc. So we took it in for the leakdown test and the results were 8 to 10% leakage for the 3 cylinders, 22% for one, and 28% from the weakest. The mechanic said that 30% would be considered a pretty bad/high level and would be a high risk engine: he thought we had a 50% chance of no real problems and a 50% chance of problems ranging from a dirty engine to an engine replacement over the next several years.   Other than this the car seems to be in excellent shape and runs really well. The seller isn't in a position to drop the price to make up for the possible risk.   We have also heard from another mechanic that sometimes the volvo 850 just has erratic compression/leakdown test results and that this shouldn't really be an issue. So one mechanic says use a lot of caution the other says don't think twice.   Help!!!
#213 of 491 leakdown test by javadoc Mar 08, 2002 (4:25 pm)
I called my trusted inde-Volvo mechanic... always nice to shoot the breeze with him. I've been going to him for, gawd, 14 years now. Anyway, we discussed this, and he says, "Pass on it. There's lots of other ones out there." He also thought the test results were marginal, but why take any chances, right? How many miles on this car anyway?   Personally, your leakdown results could be from a dirty/crusty valves even. But I think he's right, there are lots of others out there... unless you're looking at a RARE pale yellow 'R' wagon, I'd keep looking. My $0.02.   /j
#214 of 491 Thanks / we passed on it. by srfrgirl Mar 09, 2002 (8:50 am)
Thanks javadoc. Yep, we passed on it. The mechanic thought the valves were ok and that it was more the rings, so we passed.   It had 73k mi on it and was otherwise beautiful. Yes, pleny of other cars out there, just not that many me and my sweetie seem to agree on!
#215 of 491 FWIW by mikenk Mar 09, 2002 (9:16 am)
Last year I sold my '94 850 turbowagon at 80K miles. My wife and I really liked the car and had planned on keeping it well past 100k miles. However, as it got older more things kept breaking; nothing really major, but expensive and time consuming. I consulted with a well respected local volvo repair shop as to what should be expected for the next 30K miles. His matter of fact response was rather sobering: rear main seal, evaporator unit, major transmission repairs, and a few more I have forgotten. The cost of these things were thousands.   I think he was saying that you buy Volvo because of the name, safety, and maybe engine durability, but not for low cost of ownership. Personally, I want to feel unlucky if I have car repairs, not lucky if I don't. I have been spoiled for too many years by toyota, Honda, and Subaru.   just my opinion, Mike
#216 of 491 srfrgirl, by javadoc Mar 10, 2002 (6:39 pm)
I stumbled across this '95 855 Turbo. If you're still shopping for one, this is what you want to look for. The guy religiously maintains his car. Price isn't horrible either... if you live in PA, and '95 through '97 models are the ones to want, imho. /j
#217 of 491 '97 850 GLT Wagon - Inherent Problems?? by patty6418 Mar 25, 2002 (7:19 am)
After searching for about 3 months, we purchased a '97 850 GLT Wagon from an Acura dealer in Brighton, Ma. I obtained the name of the previous owner who informed me of a problem with the keyless entry. Sounds minor, but it was a chronic problem which prevented the car starting on more than one occasion. The problem, apparently, was never solved. Right before they traded it in, they had a problem with the back-up lights, also. The dealer I bought from claims this was rectified. (I guess I'll know for sure when I take delivery in two days!) I would like to know if anyone has experienced these types of problems and knows the correct fix. The previous owners live in Wellseley, Ma. and say their Volvo dealer was HORRIBLE. They never even got close to solving the problems. Does any of this sound familiar to anyone?? Thanks in advance for the help!
#218 of 491 In dash CD for '97 850 Wagon by patty6418 Mar 25, 2002 (7:20 am)
Is is possible to put system with a CD player in a '97 850 Wagon without a major adaptation??? Thanks! Replies to this message: rcrea (Mar 31, 2005 3:55 am)

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