"New" 850: smoke/general maintenance?

I just bought a "new" '94 850 turbo for my wife, who drove it home (~80
miles interstate) and then around town with some short stops. A very
fun car to drive, but I'm used to my '92 940 and know very little about
the 850, and less about the turbo.

I do most of my own maintenance and don't intend to change that, so I
see the new car as an opportunity to learn something new and buy more
tools. =) Being new to the 850/turbo world, however, I have some
questions:

1) is there an equivalent to the excellent 700/900 FAQ for the 850, or
do I need to pick up Volvo service manuals / Chiltons / Haynes? Any
obligatory links other than swedespeed, brickboard, Matthew's Volvo
site, and swedishbricks?

2) When we started the car it idled fine, but once it warmed up it put
a _lot_ of grey* smoke out the tailpipe. We stopped for gas, and at
idle after the smoke seemed a bit better but still there was a fair
amount. On the interstate I saw/smelled nothing from behind after ~10
miles, and by the time we got home I could smell it on the tailpipe but
the smoke was not visible with my flashlight. Looking through aav
history I'm thinking some water in the tailpipe or gas plus a minor oil
leak, maybe problems with the turbo? but I'd love some better-educated
opinions.
* I say grey, but it could have been bluish tint; it was getting on to
dusk. It was not black like soot.

2a) If in fact the turbo is going, is there any harm in letting it run
out a while longer? Does the car stop running when the turbo dies, or
just lose power?

3) Overall it looks like the car was well-maintained for a while, then
sold to somebody who didn't do much maintenance for a few 10k miles -
it has 142k now. The transmission shifts more smoothly than my 940,
the engine is strong and quiet when warmed up but has a bit of a rumble
when idling / cold (is that the turbo?). What general maintenance is
likely? My list is presently:
a) oil+air+fuel filter
b) spark plugs and wires
c) check/clean/replace? PCV system
d) timing / accessory belts as needed
e) engine wiring as needed
f) RH CV joint
g) 4xTires
h) I understand from other threads that I'll likely have to change the
turbo soon regardless of #2.

Sorry for the newbie questions. Thanks for any help / pointers and
happy holidays to all!

-TC

 

Be sure to check out bay 13 on volvospeed.com; lots of repair technique
help.

I have a 95 turbo (850 sedan) with over 160,000 miles. I have always run
Mobil One 10-30 with 6 month/5k mile changes. No smoke, almost zero oil use
between changes. Turbo still as good as new. I'd say run the turbocharger
until it fails. Be sure to be alert for the "common" problems with the
850's: AC evap, pnp switch, power seat back cable, turbo oil return line o
ring, be sure to change auto transmission fluid every 2 years or 25k miles
or so. Front O2 sensor will likely need replaced if not done after 8 to 10
years or so. Change cabin air filter every year - if it does not have one
put in the kit - AC evap will last longer.

Good luck with the car. I still like mine better than anything you can buy
new.

 

Cheap and easy thing to try - have the crankcase ventilation cleaned out.
The symptoms sound like what I had on our 765T; the crankcase pressure
increased at idle and caused the oil to back up in the turbo drain tube.
Eventually it overflowed into the exhaust and produced an impressive amount
of smoke out the exhaust. When cold the exhaust was too cold to burn the oil
off, and once on the road the ventilation apparently worked well enough to
stop spilling the oil in the exhaust.

Even if that isn't the solution, you'll have a clean cranckcase ventilation
system!

Mike

 

Interesting comments. I have a 95 turbo (850 sedan) with under 50,000
miles. I have always run Mobil synthetic (last few years the Rally
Formula 5-40) with 3k mile changes. I have no smoke and zero oil use
between changes.

I have had the power seat back cable problem and the driver's side
windscreen wiper problem. I am waiting for the pnp switch problem and
the glove-box latch problem.

We don't have too much occasion to run the AC here in the frozen north
(the car lives in Finland) but there are a few hot days every year and I
do switch it on from time to time regardless of the weather, for the
sake of the seals. I have never had any trouble with the AC, except that
two years ago we had to get the Freon re-charged. It has been fine ever
since.

I have never changed the auto transmission fluid and the car still
shifts smoothly at all speeds, city and highway.

I still like this car better than any other I have ever owned and if the
next 11 years are as satisfying as the first 11 have been, this could
well be the last car I will ever need.

cheers,

Henry