i know a hunderd people that have already posted similar messages to this but i gotta ask..i'm a worry worm.. i have 88k on my 95 850 turbo, and i'm about to have the t'belt and tensioner replaced and every mechanic says i should do the water pump too? thanks and sorry to be a pain in the a$$

I WOULD DEFINATELY REPLACE YOUR WATER PUMP ALONG WITH THE TIMING BELT WORK.
WE LEARNED THE HARD WAY THAT WHEN THE WATER PUMP GOES IT TAKES OUT THE TIMING BELT. WE HAD A NEW TIMING BELT AND THE ENGINE WAS DESTROYED WHEN THE WATER PUMP WENT. AND ABOUT $ 3000.00 LATER IT WAS FIXED. WE HAD ABOUT 130000 MILES ON OUR 850 WAGON.

At 88K (if these are miles) you should replace your timing belt quickly (70K is the recommended interval).
At the first change I would only go for the belt and leave water pump and tensioner alone (this is what I did).

At 140K I was changing the belt and saw some traces of dried coolant on the bottom of the timing belt cover. So I changes the water pump too. It is really not 'a couple of bolts away", it is a substantial job. Messy, coolant has to be drained, 7 (I think) bolts, not that easy to access.
I would recommend changing the pump only when you see signs of leaks.

Water pump does not fail rapidly, it starts very slowly and it may take 10-20-30K miles to develop a serious leak.

As far as the tensioner, I changed mine at 140K. $120 is not that much to have piece of mind for the next 70K. I do beleive, though, that the old one was perfectly ok.
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Volvo 850 GTL, 136K, all stock (almost)

just about 3 weeks to go before i hit 400000 miles. had my wp changed at 230000. still going strong.

Congratulations on 400K very very impressive !!

Despite the feeling that some say "replace" at these miles, realize too that there are now many 850s with over 200K miles and still have their original water pumps.
Volvo water pump problems were more common many years ago with 4 cyl RWD cars (80s). Back then, Volvo seemingly couldn't make a water pump that didn't leak.

Changing Volvo genuine coolant is also important to lubricate water pump and thermostat seals, etc. I'd like to change Volvo coolant every two year (about 30k to 34k miles). It's not that expensive to put genuine Volvo coolant (about $19), and just need one gallon of coolant. Thanks.

Only a hundred?

The whole point of the recommendation to replace the water pump is the fact that while you're doing the timing belt, you're only a couple bolts away from doing the water pump.

Most Volvophiles recommend doing the water pump every other timing belt change.

But, as MadeInJapan pretty much said, it's not a bad idea. He knows. Trust him.

Good luck

Marty
'96 855T

usually not the first time, but if you're really worried, go ahead.
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1998 S70 T5 Emarald Green Metallic, 2004 V70 2.5T Ruby Red, Previous Owner of Black '94 850 Turbo Wagon