95-850 T - 5 cylinders? Need information - 850s

I saw a 95-850 sedan, today.
I am really looking for a 960.

This one has gone 85k miles and they want $7000.
Was the 5 cylinder engine as good as the B230s?

Do these 850s last as long as my 700 series cars?

It was in very good condition!
It just had the t-belt replaced.

Will someone give me their opinion?

Regards,
Bill @ Home in Wisconsin, USA
Maroon 1989 760 Turbo wagon! w/140k miles ;-}
Black! 1989 780 Turbo Coupe w/146k miles 8-}
Blue Mule 1987 245 non-Turbo w/205k miles SOLD

 

When the 850 came out, I switched from Volvo to BMW. I wanted no thing to do
with them. The 9 series is a much better car. I would suggest the 940 over
the 960 simply because it is the proven B230 engine. The 6 cylinder is not a
non-interferance engine and the heads cost around $2000 new.

 

The 5-cyl engine has now been around from 1991. It was the second
in a series of modular engine designs from Volvo. These engines were
designed with the assistance of Porsche's Weissach Engineering Group.

They're alloy block engines, and unlike most of the B230 engines, they
are interference engines (some B23x engines were interference as well).
This means that scheduled maintenance is more important to avoid costly
repair.

I think that remains to be seen. I see plenty of older 850s around
Chicago (approaching 10 years) that look to be in good shape. My own
cars are much younger, but I anticipate that both of them will last
at least another 5 - 7 years before I sell them.

The best years for the 850 are '95 - '97. The turbo-charged variants
of the 850 are extremely fun to drive.

 

Just so we can understand your definition of "proven" -- the B6304 has been
around since 1990, and B5204 since 1991. When will you consider them "proven"?

By comparison, the B230 was introduced in 1984 and last used in 1995. While
based on the B23 (which was introduced in 1982), the B230 was a substantial
redesign to reduce friction.

Also, not all versions of the B230 are non-interference. If I'm not mistaken,
the multi-valve, dual overhead cam versions aren't.

 

| On Sat, 12 Jun 2004 13:40:02 -0500,
| AJ () wrote:
| > I saw a 95-850 sedan, today.
| > I am really looking for a 960.
| >
| > This one has gone 85k miles and they want $7000.
| > Was the 5 cylinder engine as good as the B230s?
|
| The 5-cyl engine has now been around from 1991. It was the second
| in a series of modular engine designs from Volvo. These engines were
| designed with the assistance of Porsche's Weissach Engineering Group.
|
| They're alloy block engines, and unlike most of the B230 engines, they
| are interference engines (some B23x engines were interference as well).
| This means that scheduled maintenance is more important to avoid costly
| repair.
|
| > Do these 850s last as long as my 700 series cars?
|
| I think that remains to be seen. I see plenty of older 850s around
| Chicago (approaching 10 years) that look to be in good shape. My own
| cars are much younger, but I anticipate that both of them will last
| at least another 5 - 7 years before I sell them.

My experience leans toward the 850s - I only had one seven series and it
wasn't impressive. My current 850 has 213,000+ miles on it and runs like
new. Doesn't burn oil beyond a quart every 2000 miles and still gets great
gas mileage. Handles well and is comfortable...

| The best years for the 850 are '95 - '97. The turbo-charged variants
| of the 850 are extremely fun to drive.

Most knowledgeable people will agree with you - but then, there are others
who aren't and won't......

PC

 

I had a 760 Turbo - it was an excellent car. However, just about
everything with the 850 and S70 is better - handling, power, comfort,
safety, and mileage.

I did get close to 200K miles out of the 760T before we sold it. It needed
a turbo rebuild at 130K miles, but everything else was original (except
consumables like plugs, wires, distributor cap etc.)

So far everything on the 850 is original at 88K miles (one change of plugs,
wires, cap).

My preference for the 850/S70 is based on comfort/driving experience after
having owned 240s, a 760T, '96 850, and a '99 S70. What I find peculiar
is those who chose to knock Volvos that have alloy-block engines (960s,
850s and their derivatives) haven't actually owned these cars.

 

| On Sat, 12 Jun 2004 15:30:16 -0700,
| Proconsul () wrote:
|
| >| I think that remains to be seen. I see plenty of older 850s around
| >| Chicago (approaching 10 years) that look to be in good shape. My own
| >| cars are much younger, but I anticipate that both of them will last
| >| at least another 5 - 7 years before I sell them.
| >
| > My experience leans toward the 850s - I only had one seven series and it
| > wasn't impressive.
|
| I had a 760 Turbo - it was an excellent car. However, just about
| everything with the 850 and S70 is better - handling, power, comfort,
| safety, and mileage.
|
| I did get close to 200K miles out of the 760T before we sold it. It needed
| a turbo rebuild at 130K miles, but everything else was original (except
| consumables like plugs, wires, distributor cap etc.)
|
| So far everything on the 850 is original at 88K miles (one change of
plugs,
| wires, cap).
|
| My preference for the 850/S70 is based on comfort/driving experience after
| having owned 240s, a 760T, '96 850, and a '99 S70. What I find peculiar
| is those who chose to knock Volvos that have alloy-block engines (960s,
| 850s and their derivatives) haven't actually owned these cars.

Agreed - it does, indeed, seem strange that the naysayers generally haven't
driven/owned the models they knock....

As for my 850 versus the seven series, the engine has not required anything
beyond normal maintenance except for replacement of the EGR valve at about
150K miles..... I did have to do the "dreaded: A/C repair when the
evaporator failed - but, on balance, that's not too bad....

PC



|
| --
| Bev A. Kupf
| "The lyfe so short, the craft so long to lerne" -- Chaucer

 

I'm with you on the alloy block engines... After seeing our 960 age thru the
years, and noticing nothing really has changed on it... especially engine
wise, I think it's an excellent drivetrain. Our 700 and 200 series' had oil
leak problems, a balance shaft problem (740 16 Valve), and ate batteries,
leaving someone stranded in parking lots maybe 3-4 times... Our 960 has only
stranded someone once, due to the battery too.

 

And also, the B230 has a major redesign in 1988, after only 3 years in
production, that substantially increased the size of the main bearings.
So I guess they went a little too far down the "reduce friction" road!

--
Mike F.
Thornhill (near Toronto), Ont.

NOTE: new address!!
Replace tt with t (twice!) and remove parentheses to email me directly.
(But I check the newsgroup more often than this email address.)