Hi all...

I'm a newbie when it comes to volvos newer than the 240s...

Am interested in buying a 1996 850R in my area. Car has 158km (99k miles) and a 5sp. Is there anything to be wary of in this model?

Also...what are the differences between an 850R and a T5R?

Thanks in advance!

Great list, keep it up.

Andrew Young
Ontario

In terms of common problems with the 850R, take a look at BAY 13 maintenance section of www.volvospeed.com Most of the repairs listed has happened to my 96R, so take a good look before you buy to prevent paying for those repairs yourself... here is a short list of problems I've had:

1- Trac & ABS controller replaced
2- Turbo oil return line leakage
3- Rubber bumper fell off of the rear spring
4- Squeeky dashboard
5- Lose driver's seat (common problem)
6- Lose wiper arm (driver side)

Yes, as they have all said - those 5 speed manual 850 R's don't exist here in the US. If thats all stock, thats certainly a rare find - even though its got alot of miles, it's the Volvo enthusiast collector's dream find.
As far as I know, there is little to no difference between an 850R, and a T-5R, except for the year it was made. In 95, they made 850 Base model, 850 GLT's, 850 T-5's (Turbo 5 cylinder) and 850 T-5R's - Turbo 5 cyl Racing I think. However in 96, they changed their naming a bit and made the Base, the GLT, the 850 Turbo (instead of T-5) and then an 850 R. I am pretty sure thats they way it all went down, so I think a T-5R is more or less the same as an 850R - there may be some dif's, but HP and all that are the same. Any 850 with an R on it is essentially the same from what I understand.

But yeah, if you found a stock manual tranny in ANY 850 R, that is extremely rare because all of the R's in the US are Automatics - stupid I know, who wants a 240hp Automatic Volvo? Duh! Sell us manuals.

David
--
WA State - 850

If it IS one of the true 5-spd R models buy it- IIRC they only imported 3 5-spd R models to North America- all of them to Canada- none in the US. IIRC Ontario was where at least one of them was known to be at- If its in great condition GET IT!! (run a carfax or other vehicle history report and make sure the 5-spd is original)
--
1983 240 Diesel - looking at a converse kit

oh...u have found a manual 5sp 850r...that may be a better buy than the t5r in terms of performance...very rare too...and non-existent in the u.s. the 5sp 850r has a bigger turbo as well as a limited slip differential...while the 850t5r does not...

Oops..

Sorry, I see someone already asked and answered the R vs T5R question today... I just discovered the search.

Thanks