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g,
Volvo claims that over 1,000 changes were made to make the 850 the 1998 870 (S/V/C 70).
They must have been counting every fastener, washer, etc.
It is basically the same car with a more rounded front, a bit more rake to the windshield and rear glass and a redesigned interior.
The suspension is a bit softer--tooth chattering rather than tooth chipping.
It's fair to regard the S/V 70 as the 850 after getting the full spa treatment. The 850 was a revolutionary car and marked a turnaround for Volvo's fortunes.
OBDII--On Board Diagnostics II may still be in use. '97 was the final year that you could read and reset some codes without connecting a reader via the OBDII interface.
AC evaporator failure was common for many makes and models in the mid to late '90s. This was a consequence of choice of coil material, no automatic drying cycle, no intake air filtration to protect the evaporator and possibly some incompatibility with new refrigerants.
Don't know of a sure fix. I've not replaced mine and the car has 100+K on the clock. I do have to add a minor amount of refrigerant every two years (@$20USD) so there are some pinhole leaks.
Make sure the optional filter is installed, change it regularly and let the blower run a couple of minutes with the AC off at the end of a drive to improve your odds.
Spend some quality time in the Brickboard Archives to get a feel for the particular problem areas for each MY 93-2000.
If you believe that owning a car is a hands-on time consuming endeavor, and you understand that some cars know when you've got extra money and believe they are entitled to a portion of it for putting up with you, then the Volvo 850/870 is a great choice.
Otherwise, look elsewhere.
Have fun,
Bryan
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