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Volvo 850 turbo wagon diversion

Any updates Dale? :D
 



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Odometer & upper dash

My wife reminded me of my annual spring yard duties so progress the last month has been slow. I purchased a 1/4 inch diameter 15 tooth plastic gear for the odometer. It cost me $11.50 with free shipping. I installed the gear and manually incremented the odometer to add the miles I've driven since purchasing the wagon. I installed the gear and reassembled the instrument cluster. I tested all of the warning and cluster lights with an ohmmeter and replaced all of the burned out bulb assemblies. I removed the SERVICE bulb since it can only be reset by an authorized Volvo repair shop. I installed the cluster in the vehicle as shown below.
Cluster.jpg


I was able to remove the passenger air bag without deploying it. I separated the air bag cover from the dash. The photos below show the unsightly bulges in the main section of the upper dash.
Buldge2.jpg

Buldge1.jpg
 






Reinforcing the dash

When I examined the underside of the dash I found numerous splits in the plastic. I glued the splits back together with superglue and then reinforced them with aluminum flashing stock as shown below.
DashBLft.jpg

DashBRt.jpg

This was a tedious and time consuming process.
 






Repairing the dash bulges

Next I used two part epoxy to glue the leather bulges to the plastic form as shown below.
Glue2.jpg

Glue1.jpg

Even though I waited 24 hours before removing the clamps the glue did not hold to the rubber like substance that is bonded to the underside of the leather. Instead of trying a different glue and chancing it coming loose I decided to "sew" the leather to the plastic. I used 24 gauge galvanized steel solid wire as my "thread". I used my electric drill and a 3/64 inch drill to make a hole for every "stitch". The results are shown below.
DashTRt.jpg

The stitches will not be visible when the dash and the airbag cover are installed. I doubt the leather will ever separate from the plastic again. I still have to repair the broken plastic airbag cover and reattach the leather to it.
 






Stupid dashboards... Ugh- I worked on a 850 that had the same issue, and we resolved it with staples. :)


Oh- nice tablecloth, Dale. Next time let the wife pick one out! :D
 






Wow Dale! You are a far more patient man than I! Awesome work. That dash was way worse than my 850's! Keep us posted.

Adam.
 






Airbag cover

The two photos below show how the shrinking leather pulled away from the airbag cover plastic frame.
Curl1.jpg

Curl2.jpg


A large section of the plastic was broken completely off on one end and there were cracks on the other end. It was necessary to reinforce the plastic with metal flashing as shown below.
Cover1.jpg
 






More "sewing"

Even though I tried an adhesive advertised to work on leather and plastic and let it dry for 48 hours the leather began separating from the plastic within two hours after removing the clamps. So I reverted to sewing the leather to the plastic with metal thread as shown below.
Cover2.jpg


Because the leather had shrunk when I reinstalled the airbag cover into the upper section of the dash there was a gap on the left side as shown below.
Dash1.jpg

Also, the stitches at the top were more visable than I had planned.

So I used two different gauges of wire with black insulation to fill the gaps.
Dash2.jpg

I attached the wire with adhesive only applied to the dash and not the airbag cover so it would not interfere with the airbag deployment. It's not perfect but I've spent way more time than I planned on this particular task so it will have to be good enough.
 






Odometer works

I placed the dash in position and connected the airbag so I could connect the battery without getting an airbag fault that requires a special tool to clear. I connected probes to the vehicle speed sensor (VSS) and set my analog voltmeter to the lowest voltage AC scale. Even though the engine had not run in over a month it started immediately without charging the battery first. I selected Drive and was pleased to see the trip odometer incrementing. The total mileage odometer clicked the next mile just as the trip odometer incremented from .9 to 1.0 so I managed to get them synchronized correctly. I noticed that only the passenger front wheel was rotating so there is no limited slip in the differential. I was unable to detect any voltage pulse from the VSS. The VSS fault was not displayed even though the odometer incremented several miles. I learned thru some internet research that for 1996 the speedometer is driven by the ABS instead of the VSS. The VSS is used for torque converter lockup and some other transmission related functions. I went for a test drive never getting more than 0.5 miles from my house and the VSS fault was displayed at less than 2.0 miles.
 






Dale, any update on the Volvo?
 






blown head gasket?

Dale, any update on the Volvo?

Due to a family emergency (my 88 year old mother was hospitalized for a colon blockage and then had a colon resection due to a tumor) I have not had any time to work on the Volvo for the past month. I will probably resume work in a few days.

After driving the Volvo some I checked the engine oil dipstick and found foam probably due to coolant in the oil. It is possibly the turbocharger leaking coolant that gets into the oil return line to the oil pan. However, it is more likely due to a blown head gasket. I'm certain that the previous owner told me the head gasket had been replaced but I'm starting to doubt it. That would explain the low compression in cylinders #1 and #2. My next activity is to drive far enough to fully warm the engine and then perform a compression test. If cylinders #1 and #2 still have significantly lower compression than the rest I'll assume the head gasket between the two cylinders is blown and I'll order a head gasket kit. That means repeating a lot of work that I've previously accomplished assuming the head gasket had been replaced.

I still have the VSS fault. I've learned that I have an uncommon program in my engine control unit (ECU) that eliminates the EGR function to match the configuration of the engine. That complicates purchasing a replacement ECU to eliminate the possibility that my current one is defective. I know the VSS signal from the ABS to the instrument cluster is good. I also know that the VSS signal from the instrument cluster to the cruise control is good because the cruise control works. I have verified continuity between the VSS signal going to the cruise control and the VSS signal going to the ECU. I have checked for internal shorts and opens of the ECU VSS pin. I even disconnected the VSS signal going to the radio and the cruise control so it only went to the ECU but that made no difference. I'm almost looking forward to replacing the head gasket to be able to forget about the VSS fault for a while.
 






Bump.gif
 






no water in oil yet

I've driven the Volvo short distances several times after replacing the engine oil and filter and so far have not detected any coolant in the engine oil. It may not be necessary to replace the head gasket after all. The VSS fault does not seem to have any detectable performance impact. I wonder if it may be triggered because I have larger diameter tires than stock (205/55R16 instead of 205/50R16). I fixed the spare tire jack that had been damaged by someone's incorrect use. I bought a used space saving spare that is much smaller in diameter than the rest of the tires. I was not able to find a stock replacement spare tire (T125/90R15) that fits on the 4 inch wide spare rim. I'm considering purchasing a 185/65R15 that has a diameter comparable to the 205/55R16 and should fit in the spare compartment. My concern is that the specified minimum rim width for a 185/65R15 in 5 inches. I'm currently repairing the broken plastic frame where the glove box door hinges mount. A few days ago I filled the fuel tank and initialized the trip odometer so I can determine the fuel economy. When driving up a long hill I floored the accelerator and boost registered on the boost gauge so the turbo appears to be working. The right drive axle seal has a slow ATF leak so I added some transmission seal leak stop. It takes several hundred miles to work so I'll start driving the Volvo on a daily basis to seal the leak and build my confidence in the vehicle while looking for a better spare.
 






You could look for a 155-80-15 tire. BFG has a Radial T/A in that size, and recommended wheel width is 4½"-5½".

Tires around that size are popular with the old school VW cars and buses...
 






Are you going to drive 'er for a while to recoup some of your investment, or is she going down the road?
 












I just came across this and read the whole thread. Having a Volvo S80 myself, I understand some of what you have had to deal with, when I bought this car it hadn't been driven in 2 years. Fortunately, I was able to get it up and going with a lot less effort! Kudos to you for not giving up on it. I would never have had the energy to keep going if I kept running into one wall after another like that.
Any updates?
 






I have only owned my 850T for a number of months and I have done the PCV Replacement and I have read this posting at least three times over. I have enjoyed it very much. 2000StreetRod great job, you have done a great job with pictures and descripitions of what is going on. I only wish that others would make post like this one. Thanks
 






Pictures are worth a thousand words

Thanks, Dale, for your detailed pictures and descriptions. This 850 seems like a real pain! I just tore down the top end of a 1996 850 base to find a blown head gasket. The owner sold it to me for 1200, which was a bit pricey, but it was his payoff, so I grabbed it. It has 115,000 and was otherwise in good condition. Good tranny, new tires, body like new.

My issue has been time to work on it. It's been sitting now for a year and half, since I was only able to work on it for a few hours a week. Now, with a new baby, I haven't been to the shop in four months. I am hoping that my neglect is not making things much worse. So far, I've put in a gasket kit, replaced the coolant tank, some hoses, a ball joint, had the head machined and valves replaced, and installed a new oil trap system.

As a non-turbo, one thing that has to be done when replacing or fixing the oil trap system is a honeycomb filter (Volvo calls it a flame trap) that sets in the vacuum hoses from the intake hose to the oil trap. That honeycomb filter clogs solid with carbon if not changed at each oil change (or removed completely, according to Volvo's TSB), and can blow a head gasket in no time, which is what happened to this one. I had to replace all the lines and the intake hose because the plastic was so brittle and carboned that it had become one piece, and it splintered when I removed it.

When putting the 'valve cover' back on, despite removing the correct number of bolts from the head, I was short about 7. So, now to get the correct fasteners, and ensure the seal has held. Then the distributor, plugs, wires, exhaust cam sensor (the white part shattered mysteriously while sitting in the trunk with the rest of the parts), some vacuum hoses, new fluids, and putting the mounts back on, and I should be almost done. Since I've had the car, the battery has been down, so I haven't been able to read codes, but when we worked on it before, my buddy said the DLC wasn't connected to anything, so I have that to troubleshoot as well.

My dash has done the same as yours, only mine was caused by condensation. The entire interior molded. After moving it to a different location, in direct sunlight, the mold is gone, but the damage is done to the dash, so thanks for the ideas on fixing it. I thought it was a leaking winshield seal, but it's still outside, and it's no longer leaking. Maybe it's the sunroof drains plugged?


Anyway, thanks again, and good luck on the Ford.
 



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flame trap

Many years ago I purchased a brand new 1983 Volvo DL. The owners manual replacement interval on the flame trap was something like every 100,000 miles. After a few years the flame trap clogged causing high crankcase pressure resulting in a rear main seal leak. The main seal had to be replaced. In 1987 I purchased a new 740 and kept the 1983. A year later I replaced the flame trap on both vehicles. I was surprised at how clogged the flame trap had become in just a year. So from then on I replaced the flame trap every year on both Volvos. I later purchased a used 1986 GL for my daughter to drive. For several years I replaced three flame traps every spring.
 






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