From Escort to Volvo driving pleasure is higher class and in city cruising quick automatic gearbox is like miracle. No need make soup with gear stick and that five cyl engine sounding like baby lambo is honey for ears. I give though for the Ford better headlights and heating during winter. Ford though cheats in warming up due it has super small 4 degrees ignition advance for cold engine which makes engine heat effiecently.

This is small blog of what i done or what happened during years. And later will try add some part codes.

Year 2015 started when my earlier donkey did not pass yearly MOT so so i ended up with this one by just pure chances... as it was front of me before it was going forward from one local company. This car has been in accident if look closely and if compare tires placement each side. This i dont care.

First jobs included drivebelt... and yes those are zip ties holding camshafts in place! For this 10V engine with A/C takes 144 teeth drivebelt. Always replace waterpump and check hydraulic tensioner is it leaking. There is rumours if its bad shape and car is going up hill it may end up jumping teeth off. For locking the tensioner with pin needs be hard 2mm pin. Some nails are too soft so you can not pull them off when done. If you fail putting belt back you need then take tensioner back off and push it together again in vice press slowly and try again..


Fuel pump was first let me down. For the memory its easy access fuel pum on state wagons as its back right under floor panels and if this happens you might try as first aid hit/knock it with something as for me after removing and putting back in it worked whole week no problem while waiting replacement. Most likely carbon brushes went and got stuck. Maybe i remember next time. For the note too another fail point due age is fuel pump relay as possibility.


Had to replace brake discs and pads when on motorway noticed during heavy rain car wont do anything for the first five meters after pressing brake pedal.

Over next years i learned next weakness and they are front control arms. Specially if you don't install them correctly car will eat them during year easily. I chose finally Meyle HD which been working now multiple years.
After that i did replace gearbox blood which were burned. Volvo does guide gearbox full service but i am not for that.. with mine budgets.

Clear differences. Put a hose in to bucket which gearbox filled 1l at time i started and stopped engine. Then poured new 1l back in until i saw only clear new gearbox blood. Some professionals does not suggest this "flushing" process but.. i don't have better judgment against this process why.. specially after talking with my wallet.

During year 2016 i faced next famous engine feature. Breather box and its guts to be replaced from under intake... yes.. my 850 runs only the best (cheapest) Golden oil!

Failures includes handbrake (some says emergency brake but here we use it at while parking keeping car.. you know.. still). On these cars its weakness is to hold rolling backwards so need look after that when you tweaking brakes that it will hold still on hill (or light reverse attempts). One side got round zero as the thing which pushes brake pads inside drum (expander?) was completely rusted and handbrake line wasnt attached to it at all anymore.

Rivet nuts are good friends!

At the front bleeding nuts are larger (M10x1) but at rear they are smaller (M8x1.25 - 1359532) which over year age and corrosion can make things difficult so i suggest get new ones if need first time ever open them. They might get damaged easily.

To do bleeding yourself easily use bottle with special valve which prevents flow in other direction.

This got unusual attention in Volvo forums so this can be useful for many as cheap adapter to kick rear control arm link out and back in. I saw online some crazy like pulling with another vehicle this thing out. And official tool getting broken too.. Well i was alone so i came up with this. And along tip online where you drill through the rounding rubber so its breaks. It helps!

.. and in action. Hey this nerd gets it out with dead blow hammer and with very determined mind! In one way it pulls the link out and when turned 180 degress it will push link back in. Attention! If you try hit directly the link it will bounce but with adapter pushing the rubber directly you get much better force to push link back in.

From mechanical problems to Volvo SC-805 Radio and CD Changer emulator so can get AUX input open in right way. Dummy casette is too not so great way and if your audio device does not detect AUX plug physically via switch but eletronically (capacitance) you are screwed.

Remember give attention your result may vary if you choose to use cheap AUX to Bluetooth adapter which example local store sold me at first. When opened device after i got disappointed to sound i noticed chip manufacturer being actually honest:

Entry level? am i joke to you? I want all in Pro industrial heavy duty HQ hologram sticker quality!

SC- radios has Mbus and newer HU- has Melbus. Here focus on first one.

Nicely detailed info of Mbus is here: http://www.hohensohn.info/mbus/index.htm
Arduino code: https://github.com/Olstyle/MBus

Which from i modified slightly (less connection droppings and pin configurations etc) after i noticed it was pretty complete for my usage even as i got my code working one level i may finish it later as i looking perfection and i want do it different style as there was things i disliked.. if have free time more:

First biggest problem was reading the port signal as if you do incorrectly like i did first due not so completely documented pin out of CD changer input port.. you will end up random messages (glitching) which does not make sense at all (there is mixed or extra - pulses).

To fix noises connect DATA.G to GND so you don't waste time hunting for wrong messages.

Volvo SC- CD changer full pin out


I wanted use my bluetooth module board play, next, back buttons as way to control my phone music player via Radio next, back etc buttons so those are included in build and schematics.


Audiophile quality right here. Signal cables and gold coated pins!


Done and working!


More typical ..'features' are windscreen wiper arms getting tired with poor metal. Easy solution is replace them with newer and better V70 series arms. Plus make life easier to not find correct wipers youst replace filament of original wiper frames. Cheap too!

These pictures shows that glue version of CV axle boots are working very well. Not even by CV axle breaking inside broke it! First glue in clean environment with giving time to glue cure and only then add all grease.. but to prevent last picture happening get good fitting clamp to keep boot in place securely and even maybe some glue for help keep it on. Unlike after snow melting in last picture and summer's first dust particles got inside boot CV joint breaking it. The whole CV axle does come off pretty easily after small work and CV joint comes off with help of YouTube videos and getting it apart there is clip you need push wide open so outer joint comes off and you can then replace that joint. I went with Meyle once again with cost of under 30EUR.

What might happen when you drive to speed bumps? Right! Spring can jump out of position and start eating that top holder and top bearing.

For me happened such nicely that one local friend happened to have extra set of springs which i ended up then installing here. Well my thought process did not process all information full as after all the front end being now lifted as these are from XC90.

For fun facts after aging process your stock springs might become lowered by itself so if you happen install new ones (or even lowering kits) it might rise the level and you might get disappointed!

Rear shock absorders got attention as due MOT pass failure. I noticed though they were not enough alone as those up holder cups were busted too. During changing them though i noticed this possibility that square nuts which Volvo did spot weld in frame can dissappear.

Rivet nuts to the rescue!

We got then live silence until car started have slight stuttering low speeds. It got worse and worse. It continued so that feeling like first gear and reverse and specially when starting moving so i even started blaming my gearbox... finally when car shut down during driving and blocking road lanes.. and getting still started forcefully out of despair and moved to near parking spot i remember check what i havent yet ever. My spark distributor.. and bingo!

..yes it did ran!

While being totally lost i checked compressions. I had heard rumours first cylinder (from belt) having less compression i had too. But all around had okay readings.

In same speed i checked spark plugs and number two was very well oiled! maybe rest needed too? Just joking.