[gr82882]

Hi everyone... I just bought a '95 850 Turbo (160k). Whenever I lay into the gas, the turbo does not seem to have all that much affect. It barely gets into the white area of the turbo guage. My friend has a 1.8T Jetta, and you can definately feel it when the turbo kicks in on his car (as well as hear it). I have 5 turns on the wastegate. I am using 89 octane gas. Is this common w/ 850's, or am I doing something wrong? Look forward to hearing your input.

-Greg

 

[Spearzy]

I would say all the turbo lines need to be checked. My roomates 850 T-5 he just bought did the same thing. He gave the car to Volvo and they fixed all the lines and one of the mechanics took it home to give it a good run to check it out. Now the car hauls ass!!! Very strong pull when the turbo kicks in.
Its funny, he got the car from a distributor and the guy told him it was a light pressure model with around 180hp(?). His manual says the car has 222hp and after the turbo lines got fixed all 222hp was back.
I'll ask him what he paid for the fix when he gets back from up north later on today.
Good Luck!

 

[gr82882]

Thanks for the response... I'd be very interested to see how much something like that would cost to have fixed.

 

[towerymt]

At that mileage, it could definitely be a boost leak. Just look around and feel the intercooler hoses and vacuum lines for cracks.

 

[gr82882]

Do you guys know of any good diagrams for the intercooler/vacuum lines? This is the first car that I have actually taken an interest in maintenance in, so I'm still kind of learning the underside of the hood. Any help would be greatly appreciated. -Greg

 

[Spearzy]

An excellent site for the do-it-yourself 850 owners is http://www.volvospeed.com/

I think if you look under maintenance/repair you may find some good photos and written instructions.

 

[gr82882]

Thanks for the tips guys... I was wondering... about how far into the white area does your turbo gauge go? Mine barely goes a quarter of the way into the white area. Is this normal?

 

[Spearzy]

The fix was about $250 cnd. Mostly labor. I think your guage needle should farther in the white when you stomp on it. My guess is a leak somewhere. Not a big fix, but big reward.