Hi all,
Thanks for all you responses to my prior posts. My lack of turbo was indeed due to vacuum hoses being routed incorrectly. I could not find a vacuum diagram, and the dealer couldn't either. They ended up pulling up another turbo next to it and copying the routing by sight. My 850 flies now, I just have to watch for the 'torque steer.' Does anyone know if opening up the throttle now and then can negatively affect the transmission? After doing this a few times, the trans seemed to shift a little abruptly during relaxed acceleration.

My mechanic tells me that my upper U-joint is worn, which is pretty obvious when you hit a bump while turning to any degree. They want $695 plus tax for this. From the Haynes manual, it does not look that bad so I plan to try it myself.

Much of my front suspension seems to be worn. I hear and feel a variety of clunks, thunks, and squeaks when hitting potholes or on uneven roads. I'm thinking that at 153K, much of these components may have reached the end of their useful life. I also have some play in at least one strut mount. So I'm thinking of replacing the shocks, struts, and mounts. Does anyone know what suspension the 850R came with stock? There is a replacement kit on ebay right now for a decent price, but I've heard that the 'R' came with stiffer suspension and I don't want to downgrade if that is the case. Has anyone had experience replacing with Bilstein (economy-black?), Bilstein HD (yellow, regular), Boge, or Koni?

Thanks in advance,

Jeff