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Andre’s 1997 850R estate

5K views 47 replies 10 participants last post by  Andre3MC 
#1 · (Edited)
On Sunday 4/7/19 I flew out to NY to buy this 1997 850R estate from Neil (Neil850r) and drove it home to NH. This is my first 850 and the car has been excellent so far. Here is a quick rundown of its current status:

-69,000 miles (no I did not forget a digit)
-Stage 0 service completed aside from transmission flush
- stock aside from Ipd springs and struts
- newer continental tires

Issues:

-Radio works intermittently, sound comes on and off with bumps or cornering but remains powered
- small power steering leak, appears to be from a hose
- dashboard is wavy and a bit loose, should be replaced
- transmission occasionally shifts a bit hard (fluid or mount issue?)
- some clear coat issues with the paint, not too significant currently
-headliner is sagging

Any advice on addressing these?

Aside from that the car drives and looks very good, it has been a pleasure so far.

My plan for the car is to use it as a fair weather daily driver, mostly highway commuting to work. I would like to make modifications to push toward 300-ish hp but focus on keeping it very reliable and comfortable as a daily. My understanding is that is achievable with improved turbo plumbing, catback and a tune but I would like to hear everyone's suggestions. Very interested in a manual swap at some point but I need to learn more about it.

Like I said, I am new to these cars so I would like to hear what you guys think the proper order of operations are for making modifications, where the best shops are in the NE are, and general ownership advice and guidance. I am looking forward to being an active member, thank you in advance for the help!

More, high quality photos to come. The weather in NH has been garbage since I got the car.


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#2 ·
Wow, nice buy! Can't wait to see the progress you make. I have a extra radio, if you're interested PM me.
 
#9 ·
Soo... do I have an amplifier and a disc changer? Where would they be?
Also the single yellow and black wire going into connector on the left looks out of place, should there be more?
All the R's came equipped with the amplifier, and some came with the disc changer in the trunk area. In wagons, it's on the drivers side underneath a tailgate panel.

However, while they all came wired for it, it was a dealer installed option. For example, mine is wired for it, but doesn't have it.

That yellow wire looks correct, I'll check my radio setup later.
 
#8 ·
Hey dude. Congrats on the wagon and welcome!

For what it's worth, my transmission kind of jerks a little too much for my liking when I shift it into reverse or drive, not so much a problem when it is shifting up the gears while driving. I did put a new transmission mount and that did absolutely nothing. Besides that, I replaced two of the motor mounts and it's still the same. So it could be the mounts in your case, but I am mentioning this to you because it can very much not be your case at all and something else instead. Maybe when you get a chance, you can visually inspect the mounts to see any tears. As for the manual swap, there are a bunch of dudes here that will give you a wealth of knowledge but also if you are interested, find my long thread because I am in the process right now of swapping to the manual...

Also, my CD changer is located in the trunk on the left side. I have a sedan, not sure if it is different on the wagon.

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#10 ·
There are only 2 possible factory locations for cd changer - in trunk, under left floor panel or glovebox. You can unplug the amplifier. Take out all harnesses from radio cage and you will see amplifier bypass cable. Unplug it. Plug speakers right in the radio. If problem goes away, it's amplifier that cuts out sound.
 
#11 ·
Thanks everyone for the responses, great info. It must have been the amp, I bypassed it as suggested and the problem went away. It sounds pretty good so I'll keep it as is for the time being. Definitely no disc changer in the glove box and I didn't find anything in the cargo area under the panels so I guess I must not have one. I have a ton of cds so it might be good to pick one up if anyone has any leads.

I am going to do the transmission flush and check the mounts and see if there is any improvement. It isn't a real problem but definitely noticeable. If no improvement then maybe it'll be good motivation to do a manual swap [emoji106]. I look forward to learning more about it.

How hard is it to get a good m59? It sounds like those are the best.

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#12 ·
A recommendation: Get a grom unit instead of a CD changer, it allows you to play music directly from your iOS or Android device. I have one in my regular 850 and hands down it's one of the best things I've done to that car.
 
#13 ·
if your a CD guy get a CD changer. You'll love it. Grom is good but can be annoying. I have Groms and use them but still love the simplicity of CDs and use the changers a lot too.

Swap in a different head unit and see if that fixes it. A SC-901 would be a great upgrade so grab one of those and give it a try.
 
#14 ·
Nice buy, nice wagon!

I'll be in Rye starting mid-June for a few weeks and will likely be pulling apart some things from my brothers 854. You should pop over and take whatever you need before we crush the car. Among potential interesting parts: (wrong color) R bumper, ecode headlight glass, roof racks, interior is tan so no help there but I do have some misc. extra charcoal 850r seats/components sitting around from swapping 850r seats into my T5, tethys, etc.

Stay in touch and good luck with the car, bring it to the beach in a couple months!
 
#18 ·
What do you guys think about the IPD Turbo back exhaust? I am putting an order together and it caught my eye. Is this the standard for turbo back upgrades? I don't mind paying more for something that is higher performance but I don't know what is out there... Also is a tune recommended immediately after swapping from the stock exhaust or will the factory R ecu handle the change in exhaust flow without problems?
 
#19 ·
LOUD AS F*CK. Not in a good way either.

It's probably the worst option there is although OBX might be worse only because it fits horribly.

ECU doesn't need a tune to have an exhaust help performance.

The best performance exhaust would be a swap to an angle flange turbo hotside housing first then get a 3" downpipe made that'll fit the 850 nicely. There's several great aftermarket cat back systems on the market for not much $ about $500 delivered that will sound good at wot, fit perfect and not make your car unbearable to drive on the highway.
 
#23 ·
You can get the same models from VIVA performance. To my knowledge they're literally the Simmons / Jetex / Mototec but already imported.
 
#27 ·
I am scheming upgrades for this summer and have put together a shopping list :

simmons catback exhaust
SKANDIX #1013105 $390 EUR

suspension cross brace kit
SKANDIX #10209 $154.70 EUR

angle flange turbo hotside housing
00+ td04hL

3 inch downpipe
custom? open to suggestions

big bore turbo intake kit
snabb # bb turbo intake $474.95

RIP kit
snabb # RIPK-9398_P_BK $254.96

performance fresh air pipe
snabb #PFA-850 $188.47

do88 performance intercooler
IPD #125087 $499.95

IPD HD drop in high flow panel filter
IPD #125415 $44.95

IPD silicone turbo coolant hose kit
IPD #121333 $19.95

IPD silicone radiator hose kit
IPD #120431 $135.95

IPD silicone expansion tank hose kit
IPD # 125347 $34.95

Clearly I am trying to do some simple bolt on mods, primarily focused on engine performance. What do you guys think? help me poke holes in this so I don't start ordering things and regret/rebuy later.
 
#28 ·
I am scheming upgrades for this summer and have put together a shopping list :

Clearly I am trying to do some simple bolt on mods, primarily focused on engine performance. What do you guys think? help me poke holes in this so I don't start ordering things and regret/rebuy later.
simmons catback exhaust
SKANDIX #1013105 $390 EUR

suspension cross brace kit
SKANDIX #10209 $154.70 EUR
good choices

angle flange turbo hotside housing
00+ td04hL
there are different versions of angle flange; you want the 7cm² one

3 inch downpipe
custom? open to suggestions
currently trying to figure this out on my 850R; tune into that thread. Hopefully that'll be a July problem.

big bore turbo intake kit
snabb # bb turbo intake $474.95
uhhhhh what even is this ??? :confused: is this literally a NA manifold and TB with a 960 throttle plate but for $500 because that's what it looks like :screwy: I built one of these setups for my 850R in the JY for like $55 before I jumped ship on the N intake system and upgraded to the ME7 intake manifold.

RIP kit
snabb # RIPK-9398_P_BK $254.96
Not really great value in terms of performance/$ but it makes a difference so ok

performance fresh air pipe
snabb #PFA-850 $188.47

do88 performance intercooler
IPD #125087 $499.95
yuuuuppp

IPD HD drop in high flow panel filter
IPD #125415 $44.95

IPD silicone turbo coolant hose kit
IPD #121333 $19.95

IPD silicone radiator hose kit
IPD #120431 $135.95

IPD silicone expansion tank hose kit
IPD # 125347 $34.95
Personally not really into the IPD stuff; nothing at all against IPD as a company, I do buy things from them occasionally when it makes sense and have always had excellent experiences when I do deal with them but I'm not really into their aftermarket products for P80 and I have better sources for everything else. I would probably buy more from them if I was on the west coast or had a RWD Volvo but that just doesn't make sense when I have great parts outlets a 150 miles away in CT. I'd have to look at the invoices to say this with 100% certainty, but I think my 850R will end up being built with 0 IPD parts.
 
#30 ·
Let's back up for a minute....what are you doing for brakes/tires/suspension before you make this thing faster
 
#33 ·
So far I am happy with the stock brakes and tires, maybe I just don't know what I am missing but they are fresh and feel nice to me currently. I am aware of the 302mm upgrade, is that the standard move before increasing power? I don't know jack about tires so I am open to whatever people like. The car is lowered on IPD springs and struts and seems decent, definetly interested in making improvements here but admittedly is an area I have little to no experience with.
 
#35 ·
You need to learn about tires and brakes before you make this thing faster and get yourself killed. These were safe cars 20 years ago....they're still not bad but far from the best now. Take a hint from everyone on here running 302s and half of us running Nokians and figure out why. Crashing isn't cool. Making the car fast is the LAST thing you do to it after you get great tires, set up the chassis, and learn how to drive the platform.
 
#36 ·
So to answer my question...302s are good? Tires do not seem to be a hot topic here, what do people like? Also I wasn’t anticipating too much performance (speed) increase from the proposed modifications but maybe I am mistaken? I have always had the full intention of bringing the brakes and suspension up to match power increases that come with other mods down the line but right now that definitely doesn’t seem to be a concern. Again maybe I am wrong, this is my first go at it.


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#37 ·
So to answer my question...302s are good? Tires do not seem to be a hot topic here, what do people like? Also I wasn't anticipating too much performance (speed) increase from the proposed modifications but maybe I am mistaken? I have always had the full intention of bringing the brakes and suspension up to match power increases that come with other mods down the line but right now that definitely doesn't seem to be a concern. Again maybe I am wrong, this is my first go at it.

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Tires are one of the hottest topics on here. They are a serious problem on these cars because the weight distribution is so bad and they are FWD on top of that. The front tires have a lot of work to do. Nokian zLine AS might as well be the official tire of Swedespeed at this point. You are probbaly too far north for the really really sticky warm weather summer only stuff, too cold on cool nights. Hell even near the water where I am I would only be able to run those kind of tires for maybe a month or two a year.

Yes you need 302s. Ever tried to stop a P80 from 80 mph on 280s? How about 100+? 280s are terrifying over about 70....and that's when they're cold. The rotors have about HALF the thermal mass of 302 rotors, so they fade very quickly. I know a guy who took his stock T-5R (complete with 280s) to Limerock and had to get off after a lap or two because the brake fade was so bad. Zimmerman rotors and Hawk pads. Buy yourself a bottle of Sonax wheel cleaner while you're at it. really these cars need 320s but there are no good options available at this time, although there are a couple people working on projects to fix that.

Why would you do all these upgrades if you weren't expecting to see much difference? Because you are going to see a big difference.

Again, don't forget the proper order of operations of building a car:

1) grip
2) stop
3) handle
4) go

plenty of build threads on here and other forums where people got that order wrong. usually they end up crashing.
 
#39 ·
There is no seasonal limitation on zLine AS. They work great as long as there isn't any form of frozen water present. That's why they're so good and so cheap, because they're not even pretending to be useful in winter weather. They suck in snow. I tried that when I had my white 850R just around the block when nobody was out to see what it was like. was pretty bad.

Don't get the FCP 302 kit; way too expensive and comes with tons of shiit you don't need. Just get the parts you need loose.
 
#41 ·
no don't get that, blank rotors only. drilled rotors is just asking for stress cracks. happens all the time.

Volvo/ATE pads are ok. Hawks are better. Not really anything else good out there for pads.
 
#43 ·
So standard Zimmerman 302 rotors with hawk HPS street pads plus Nokian tires should be an adequate setup?

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yeah that's a solid setup
 
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