'96 Volvo 850 R 5MT Wagon

[zipdoa]

Anyone have experience with this vehicle? I know Volvo's aren't known for their reliability, but 250HP + AWD + Torsen diff + Quafie rear = Fun

Especially in this weather, an inexpensive wagon to haul my Malamute around isn't a bad idea. Just looking for any input people have on the I5 in this car and what sort of results they got from chipping them.

This particular example has 278k.

TIA!

http://images.paultan.org/uploads/2007/04/volvo-850-t5-r.jpg

[trieu]

Do you promise not to make a thread in a few days about buying a damaged one and asking how much it would cost to get fixed? :poosie:

[zipdoa]

Listen I can afford anything I want. Bank pre-approved me for a $3900 loan OK?

[zipdoa]

Nevermind - Guy has it listed as AWD - it's a FWD. NOGO.

[Proboscis]

Some of the strongest hood hinges in the industry, I can atest to that. I say go for it, very different ride in a Volvo :)
I'll buy that wagon, must be well kept.

[HiTempguy1]

You want awd with a stick? V70R, was the fastest production vehicle in Canada when it came out!

[4DoorGTZ]

Originally posted by HiTempguy1
V70R, was the fastest production vehicle in Canada when it came out!

Care to elaborate? "vehicle" includes the likes of corvette lamborghini porsche ferarri and so on....

[HiTempguy1]

Originally posted by 4DoorGTZ


Care to elaborate? "vehicle" includes the likes of corvette lamborghini porsche ferarri and so on....

It was the fastest automatic (top speed or 1/4 mile I forget) out of any vehicle commercially sold in Canada in like 1997 for some odd reason. :dunno: I have a motor trend article from around then, but I'd have to find it :nut: Either way, they are cool wagons :bigpimp:

[bjstare]

^Is it possible it was the fastest station wagon in Canada at that time?

I would be blown away if it was faster in the 1/4, top speed, or any other challenge for that matter, than any other commercially available automatic car. Thats outrageous:rofl:

[bourge73]

I likes the AWD turbo Wagon idea.....good idea

[Tik-Tok]

Originally posted by cjblair
^Is it possible it was the fastest station wagon in Canada at that time?

I would be blown away if it was faster in the 1/4, top speed, or any other challenge for that matter, than any other commercially available automatic car. Thats outrageous:rofl:

I think if he finds his mag. he'll discover Motortrend did better in the slalom with an '04 than the non z06 'vette of the same year... that's about it.


Originally posted by bourge73
I likes the AWD turbo Wagon idea.....good idea

:D

http://i165.photobucket.com/albums/u64/TykTauk/Tiktoksig.jpg

[GT4rally]

Originally posted by zipdoa
Nevermind - Guy has it listed as AWD - it's a FWD. NOGO.

That is a GOOD thing!!! I would only buy a FWD Volvo around that year. The angle gear (transfer case) on those AWD Volvo's were crap. Leaked constantly and broke easily (~$5k for a new one).

Of course, if it was originally an AWD, the seller could have converted it to FWD when the case blew up.

[zipdoa]

I found a V70R, but it's automatic... Just doing some research on how reliable the auto trannies are. 1999 anyone?

[2ndgenlude]

i drove around a 1999 s70 t5 auto around for awhile. few things had to get fixed, but the big one was some sensor on the motor that are prone to fail. and it was over a grand if i remember right. the autos arn't bad. the car was alot of fun.

[zipdoa]

Here's the 850 R FWD: - edit updated link

http://calgary.kijiji.ca/c-cars-vehicles-cars-trucks-1996-Volvo-850-R-Wagon-W0QQAdIdZ271215309

Here's the V70 R AWD:

http://calgary.kijiji.ca/c-cars-vehicles-cars-trucks-1999-Volvo-V70R-Wagon-Turbo-AWD-W0QQAdIdZ269009792

SHARE THOUGHTS, DISCUSS VOLVOS.

[J-hop]

out of the two, if I were you, I would go with the V70R, newer and lower mileage. Yes I know volvos are known for their longevity (I own 2), but once you are over the 200k things start to degrade quickly so I'd want to go with the lesser mileage one.

That being said though, the 850 will be much cheaper to fix (IMO).

edit: and for those of you that have never heard of the wonderful tool called google , before you go on and on about a broken link:

http://calgary.kijiji.ca/c-cars-vehicles-cars-trucks-1996-Volvo-850-R-Wagon-W0QQAdIdZ271215309

[Sugarphreak]

...

[D. Dub]

The turning circle on the wagons V70R and sedans S60R is absolutely terrible -- it's as wide as an Escalade

[Tomaz]

I love the 850/V70. There is tons of parts available for them, and they can be inexpensive to fix (if you can do most of the work yourself).

There isn't much that is known for going terribly wrong with these cars, but I can list you some of the tings I have heard:

-Tranny: if you are deciding to push much more power out of your 850, install an oil cooler to maintain temps. The tranny is supposedly strong and can hand;e up to about 300HP without hassle.

-Cooling system: These cars are getting up in age and will likely need some new pipes and sensors. Not really a big deal, but cant be too prepared!

-Heater core: The factory cores like to crack. I will post a link at the bottom of my post to a parts/tuning site that I like to buy my parts from.

-Turbo: Great at factory boost only. If you decide to turn things up a bit, I would suggest buying something more suited for the job.

-Brakes: Nothing wrong with them from factory, but they are easily upgraded to Porsche/Brembo systems.

I have owned a couple of 850 volvos, and I can tell you that the only problem I experienced was the heater core cracking (not counting the stuff I did to the car that was my fault lol). If you look after your volvo, you can get a million miles out of her! :)

Buying factory parts will kill your wallet. I buy everything I need from IPD USA. They provide almost everything needed for your volvo including factory replacement and performance.

Good luck!

[J-hop]

I find IPD is a little overpriced sometimes. I used to source all my factory replacement parts from FCPGroton. I haven't ordered anything from them in a few years, but their prices were (are?) much cheaper than IPD. Also for random stuff you should look at swedishautoparts.com. Only thing I have ordered from them was a oil feed line for my old Garrett t3 on my (volvo) 240 turbo but they were the cheapest site I could find.

Also make sure if you buy one you get on Calgaryvolvoclub.com, the guys on there are amazingly knowledgeable and helped me throughout my 240 build, they are a great resource to tap into.


edit: also as Tomaz has mentioned the 850's turbo is no good much beyond the stock boost (don't care what some hack jobs try to claim) so you will want to upgrade to a 19T or something like that right away if you want to run some serious boost.

[Akira911]

I used to drive a 98 V70 T5 and it was great fun, very under the radar but very fast and it was nice and heavy. The turbo was awesome for passing on the highway.

[kvg]

MY mom has a 93 with 50k and great to drive but very expensive to repair, I still love the 850 t5r model the best and is faster than the 850r!!!