paulplom Posted July 29, 2018 Share Posted July 29, 2018 Imagine what a 2.5 20v turbo is like!!Imagine what my t-5 manual is like! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tetleysmooth Posted July 29, 2018 Share Posted July 29, 2018 Imagine what my t-5 manual is like! If you'd take 450 for it, I'd have it. Thought not!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Richard Posted August 12, 2018 Author Share Posted August 12, 2018 I thought it would be a good idea to try out the two things these are supposed to be good for- mile munching and camping. The intention was to head as far south as I could, then find somewhere to sleep and continue to Cannock in the morning. I ended up not stopping until Sandbach services, which was practically there so I carried on and parked up on the A5. As usual for a Volvo estate the process of folding the seats down was well thought out. The head restraints flip forward out of the way and you end up with a completely flat load bed, just long enough for me to stretch out in. The mpg display was showing just over 35 when I filled up at Cannock but the real figure worked out at just over 37, which isn't bad at all for a big old Volvo. It's now showing 36 average for the 700 miles I did over the weekend. Now that it's had an MOT and a road trip I think it's completed the transition from "my new car" to "my car". rml2345, catsinthewelder, dome and 13 others 16 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
davehedgehog31 Posted August 12, 2018 Share Posted August 12, 2018 Thats a lovely thing, well bought. I'd never really thought much about Ovlovs until recently. Definitely a motor I'd like at some point. Richard 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jim Bell Posted August 12, 2018 Share Posted August 12, 2018 Looked like you had a grand old camping set up you had in the back of the 850 man. I reckon youve done well with the old bus. Only car youll ever need? Richard 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Richard Posted August 13, 2018 Author Share Posted August 13, 2018 I'm not sure if a camping matress, sleeping bag, kettle and Standard Nato coffee sachets constitute a camping set up, it did the job though. I have a van for work and my wife has the Duster so I don't really need a car at all. I'm hoping the Volvo will continue be the only car I don't need for a few years yet though. Twiggy, Lacquer Peel, Dirk Diggler and 2 others 5 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jim Bell Posted August 13, 2018 Share Posted August 13, 2018 Hopefully. It may only need curtains to be perfect. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Richard Posted August 13, 2018 Author Share Posted August 13, 2018 It looks as if car curtains are a thing, so it could happen. Jim Bell 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Richard Posted August 19, 2018 Author Share Posted August 19, 2018 I dropped my wife off this morning so that she could walk 25 miles in the rain ( https://dundeekiltwalk2018.everydayhero.com/uk/jacqui-5 ) and then went to fill up. When I got to the edge of town I noticed that the trip counter was still at zero. If you ever see that in a Volvo 850 advert it's a dead giveaway that the odometer is broken and the MOT history is likely to show the same mileage for several years. Luckily Robin had bought a new set of gears and hadn't got round to fitting them, so a deal was done. You start by removing the top of the dashboard, there are screws all along the length, some of which are hidden but I know where to find them. The instrument panel unclips, unplugs, and then lifts out. I did this bit wrong, I should have removed the front then prised the dials out. End result was the same though. The patient. The yellow bit you can see there is the broken tooth. It's important to recover all the broken bits or they will jam the new gear. The broken gear. The new gear in position. Reassembly didn't go according to plan, it seems I broke the lower stop on the rev counter. I stripped the gauges out of the spares car, carefully this time, and took the opportunity to replace a couple of blown bulbs, which is actually what I'd planned to do today anyway, and... Success! Only 8.8 miles lost, which might be a record. Lacquer Peel, RobT, jumpingjehovahs and 7 others 10 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rml2345 Posted August 19, 2018 Share Posted August 19, 2018 The infamous Volvo odometer cog of cheese. It's quite a satisfying repair though. aldo135, Richard and Angrydicky 3 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Richard Posted August 19, 2018 Author Share Posted August 19, 2018 Looked like you had a grand old camping set up you had in the back of the 850 man. Here is the catering part of it in action today, with the accommodation department packed away at the back. Lacquer Peel, nacho man, mat_the_cat and 1 other 4 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Richard Posted August 25, 2018 Author Share Posted August 25, 2018 Another thrilling update on the world's dullest old car. An unusually fruitful visit to the breakers today means that this now looks like this It's more grey than beige, but you can barely tell. I replaced the upper trim too, unfortunately that is black and only slightly less broken, it'll do for now though. I've found out what breaks the upper trims. The little spring loaded fingers on the luggage blind get stuck in so they aren't fully engaged with the slot. With less of Volvo's brittle plastic holding onto the blind it's inevitable that it will give. It always seems to be the right side that breaks, which is probably to do with the way right handed people would attach the blind. I got blanking plugs to fill the holes vacated by the dog guard. It's the little things. The new plastic bits have eliminated about 80% of the trim rattles, most of the remaining 20% is from the rear wiper cover. One day I'll get round to sticking some foam behind that. I managed to get a spare pair of Nivomats too. They are something like £400 each new and second hand ones of unknown provenance can be over £100, so it was well worth getting a spare pair for stock. Some people do away with the whole system but it's an expensive way of making the car worse. Shep Shepherd, Lacquer Peel, Jim Bell and 4 others 7 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Richard Posted August 26, 2018 Author Share Posted August 26, 2018 Dilemma. Do I spend half the price of the car on a NOS luggage blind that's made of the same 20 year old plastic as a used one? https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/223066234473 Or fix the one I've got with a repair kit that's made of metal and stands some chance of not breaking? https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/283054514514 Lacquer Peel 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tickman Posted August 26, 2018 Share Posted August 26, 2018 Repair kit all the way Richard 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Richard Posted August 26, 2018 Author Share Posted August 26, 2018 It wasn't really a dilemma, can you imagine how traumatic it would be when the NOS one fails in the first week? Tickman 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Richard Posted August 27, 2018 Author Share Posted August 27, 2018 Built-in cargo net. Who knew? Shirley Knott, Jim Bell, Lacquer Peel and 2 others 5 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Richard Posted August 28, 2018 Author Share Posted August 28, 2018 You're starting to see unremarkable examples advertised at several thousand, which will inevitably drive all the prices up. https://www.volvoforums.org.uk/showthread.php?t=285756 It's certainly better than the usual expensive 850, usually they are povo spec saloons that aren't really that tidy, but you would have to really want one. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Hooli Posted August 28, 2018 Share Posted August 28, 2018 Built-in cargo net. Who knew? I used to work at a dealer when they were selling these & I never knew of that! Richard 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Richard Posted August 28, 2018 Author Share Posted August 28, 2018 It's part of the 'Estate Pack', along with Nivomats and roof rails. I knew there had been a net because it had the anchor points but I didn't realise it was built in. Lacquer Peel and Jim Bell 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jim Bell Posted August 28, 2018 Share Posted August 28, 2018 As people have rightly said previously; Volvos have the best little touches. Richard 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Richard Posted September 4, 2018 Author Share Posted September 4, 2018 My load cover let go just as I was leaving for Cholmondeley. That was a bit annoying as I was just using the black cover as a stop gap until the repair kit for the grey one arrived. I'd spotted a good one in the scrapyard the previous weekend, but what were the chances of it still being there? Quite good as it turned out, and £12 was much better than the £60 that's being asked for them on forums now. I made arrangements to offload the broken one onto Tamworthbay. It'll cost him £25 to make it work (or nothing if he's handy with the tinsnips and welder), but it will last better than a £60 one. The transaction was conducted from the middle of the Forth Road Bridge, the first time I'd been on it since the new one opened. The owner of that car will have a fine in the post, it's now public transport and learner bikes only. The repair kit arrived yesterday so I had a go at fitting it tonight. A bit fiddly but quite simple and it seems to work. All your beige are belong to us loserone, dome, Fumbler and 4 others 7 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Richard Posted September 9, 2018 Author Share Posted September 9, 2018 Two of the declared issues were the rear washer not working and the tailgate not locking or unlocking with the central locking- although the central locking does work from the tailgate. The seller claimed that the washer would be a blocked non-return valve at the jet. I braved removing the tailgate trim, which broke every remaining clip as I expected, and pulled the hose off the non-return valve. No water came out when I tried the washers, so I held them on a bit longer. Still nothing from the hose, but water started coming out from below the fuel filler. I lifted the floor panel and found that the pressure from the blocked valve had forced the rubber hose off the end of the hard plastic pipe. I fitted a longer piece of hose and tried again, this time I got water where I wanted it. I changed the valve and put it all back together, mission accomplished. I'd read that the boot only works with the central locking if you remove the key in the vertical position, which was certainly the case with the saloon. The lock won't move to a vertical position on this car and everything in the mechanism seemed to move as it should, so that's been left for further investigation. There wasn't much I could do with the mounting clips so I ordered a repair kit, which arrived next day! https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/273371973645 Obviously one of the new clips broke on assembly, so I had to reuse the one intact old one. The "to do" list I compiled when I got the car is now complete, although there's still more to do of course. It stands me a shade over a grand now, including £332 delivery, which isn't bad for the spec and condition. My man maths didn't work out so well on the fuel. I was getting two months to a tank in the TDi, so I figured that even half the mpg wouldn't be too painful- except I seem to be driving it more twice as much. Lacquer Peel, dome and Tamworthbay 3 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tamworthbay Posted September 9, 2018 Share Posted September 9, 2018 Two of the declared issues were the rear washer not working and the tailgate not locking or unlocking with the central locking- although the central locking does work from the tailgate. The seller claimed that the washer would be a blocked non-return valve at the jet. I braved removing the tailgate trim, which broke every remaining clip as I expected, and pulled the hose off the non-return valve. No water came out when I tried the washers, so I held them on a bit longer. Still nothing from the hose, but water started coming out from below the fuel filler. I lifted the floor panel and found that the pressure from the blocked valve had forced the rubber hose off the end of the hard plastic pipe. I fitted a longer piece of hose and tried again, this time I got water where I wanted it. I changed the valve and put it all back together, mission accomplished. I'd read that the boot only works with the central locking if you remove the key in the vertical position, which was certainly the case with the saloon. The lock won't move to a vertical position on this car and everything in the mechanism seemed to move as it should, so that's been left for further investigation. There wasn't much I could do with the mounting clips so I ordered a repair kit, which arrived next day! https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/273371973645 Obviously one of the new clips broke on assembly, so I had to reuse the one intact old one. The "to do" list I compiled when I got the car is now complete, although there's still more to do of course. It stands me a shade over a grand now, including £332 delivery, which isn't bad for the spec and condition. My man maths didn't work out so well on the fuel. I was getting two months to a tank in the TDi, so I figured that even half the mpg wouldn't be too painful- except I seem to be driving it more twice as much. Mine had that repair kit fitted when I got it but was still refusing to hold firm. I just used two self tappers through the panel and into the tailgate away from anything vital. The black heads are just visible either side of the release, about 30cm out, in this pic if you zoom in. Richard 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Fumbler Posted September 9, 2018 Share Posted September 9, 2018 Lovely colour lovely car. Our V70's buttons and the like and all the rubberised hardware has gone all sticky and it all degraded, plus the window electrics are brokenated. At least you are taking good care of your machine whereas us... Richard 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Richard Posted September 9, 2018 Author Share Posted September 9, 2018 I see that the release handle is screwed on too. That's another bit that didn't survive the dismantling, I might screw it together instead of trying to find a good one. I'll probably do the same as you with the main panel too, just to give the standard fixings an easier time of it. Tamworthbay and Jim Bell 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Richard Posted September 9, 2018 Author Share Posted September 9, 2018 Lovely colour lovely car. Our V70's buttons and the like and all the rubberised hardware has gone all sticky and it all degraded, plus the window electrics are brokenated. At least you are taking good care of your machine whereas us...Las Vegas Strip.jpg The 850 didn't get any of the rubberised bits, so it cleans up quite nicely. One of the reasons I went for this car is because I could see it had been quite well looked after, so there wasn't going to be too much tidying to do. Jim Bell 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Richard Posted September 15, 2018 Author Share Posted September 15, 2018 The red light on the passenger door has never worked and changing the bulb didn't help. Obviously this is a vital function and had to be fixed. I thought it might be a broken wire in the door shut so I changed the loom. Some slightly worrying evidence of previous owner meddling, including a hole that has been butchered into the inner door skin for some reason. Quite a few loose bolts too. It wasn't that. The other end of that multiplug leads to the light and the door lock assembly. Out it comes. As an alternative to trying to find the fault I just changed the whole lot. Job done, and all the butchery is hidden behind the trim where I can pretend I didn't see it.. mat_the_cat, Jim Bell, Tamworthbay and 1 other 4 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tickman Posted September 15, 2018 Share Posted September 15, 2018 Important jobs like this make all the difference Richard and Tamworthbay 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Richard Posted September 16, 2018 Author Share Posted September 16, 2018 Seats doon. I'd have got the tailgate shut if I'd taken the seat squabs off and tilted the passenger seat forwards but the dump was just around the corner so I didn't bother. Tickman, Tamworthbay, Shep Shepherd and 2 others 5 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Hooli Posted September 16, 2018 Share Posted September 16, 2018 Volvo doing volvo things Richard 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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