Everything you need to know about a Volvo 850 AWD
Specs:
Engine: 2.435 L B5254T LPT 13G Turbo 5 Cylinder(0-62MPH in 8.5 seconds)
Weight: around 3700 LBS.
Transmission: Five speed manual (m58)
Warranty: Two years, unlimited km
Country of Manufacture: Sweden
MSRP: $82,950
Horsepower: 193 hp (141 kW)@5100 rpm
Successor: Volvo V70 in 1998
Numbers Produced: There were supposedly 214 brought to Canada.
I am writing this as I believe it to be. It may not be completely accurate.
The Volvo 850 AWD was available only in Canada and Europe. The Europe cars were made in turbo 5-speed formats as well, Europe may have had turbo automatic AWD's although this is unconfirmed. In Europe they had 2.5L LPT 13G turbo engines instead of Canadas 2.4L. I'm pretty sure they all came with TRACS + ABS, 4 wheel disc brakes + a rear LSD diff. As far as I know all the CA AWD’s came with fog lights + mudflaps+ higher suspension. Everything else I would imagine would have been chosen in options, although many seem to have dog cage + quick release hitch. Also I believe that they all came with 16” Persus rims.
Modding: The 13G turbo is a straight flange therefore a 16T turbo will bolt right on. When modding ECU it is recommended to not chip your stock ECU because these cars are quite rare and will not find another ECU if you wanted to return to stock, so buy one, (97 850 GLT is the closest match) and have that chipped. EST also has a rear dual exhaust setup which is also quite pricey but a nice upgrade.. The 2.4 L has a higher compression that the 2.3L HPT blocks, therefore with the same mods and tune a 2.4L LPT car should be faster than a 2.3 L car. Downpipe is a must for these cars, although quite pricey..
Transmission: From what i understand this car has basically a m56 in which the power can be sent to a bevel gear (transfer case)
The front suspension and drive train is the same as on FWD, with the addition of an m58 tranny and drive shaft leading to the rear-end, the rear end was all-new for 1997. This system is said to be prone to failure and expensive to repair although this may be true if you ask any of us AWD guys we'll stand by our cars!

This is how the 850 AWD is supposed to sit: (14mm higher)

Quick Release Hitch:

Dog Cage

And the 850 AWD front struts + springs vs. the 850 R struts and springs:

The AWD came with a more restricting downpipe to compensate for the driveshaft. A crazy S turn. (pictured underneath)

Thankyou “lookforjoe” for the picture.
Downpipe: As for a downpipe upgrade EST has one, but it costs like 800$, I thought that i could have one made for cheaper, and it turned out i was almost right, i had this one made for 790$ canadian dollars + tax which came to a total of 923$ installed!
This is the custom 3" Stainless Downpipe i had made for my 850 AWD. Better than the EST kit?




Rear Suspension: The 850 has an identical AWD system as the first generation V70’s and included nivomats + fully independent rear suspension which is said to be better than the FWD Delta-Link. It has a LSD diff. Ive had the rear subfame and gas tank off in my lap before so if anyone has any questions... This is the gas tank after I remade some of the rotted gas lines. I also changed the fuel sending unit that wasnt working.

I have recently redone this, with compression fittings and such.
This is a picture of the rear nivomats.

Therefore the 850 AWD is a slip then grip system because the rear wheels engage when the front wheels slip. Even with clutch drops the front wheels spin for a second before the rears engage. With the 13G turbo you can boost up the the fuel cutoff of approx 15.5 PSI but you don’t see much improvement after 12psi IMO, the biggest difference is from the stock 7 up to 10PSI.
Photos of the rear end under panels into portholes: pictured is the fuel filter.

You cannot access your fuel sending unit through these holes such as in the FWD model, you must drop the tank.
My crossmember rotted out letting the drive shaft flail around, a real PITA.

The exhaust system is on these AWD’s are very restricted but the size of the pipe is not bad at 2.75 ( or approximate) it includes 2 mufflers which most people cut out and remove the bumper cap and put to performance exhaust out the back.
Original:



In the picture below the owner has decided to use to aftermarket (magnaflow?) mufflers instead of the EST kit. This is a cheaper route but requires some customization.
Aftermarket exhaust:


Thats it for now, when i do more research or find out more information ill definitely update, or if you have something to add or if you think im wrong, just shoot me a PM, ill gladly add it.

 

Sticky?
Colors:
My cars black stone - 019

This cars Dark Olive it appears:

this car is Nautic Blue: (look sagging nivomats)

Regent Red:

Im missing Autumn Gold + possibly other unconfirmed colors such as silver:

when modding the suspension on the car you can use any 850/v70 P1 springs on the front, in the back if you swap nivomats you must swap springs also as they are too soft, if you do not swap springs you will get a nice drop back there but it will bounce also. I have not yet found out if any FWD wagon springs will fit in the rear if you swap out your nivomats.
I found a Euro Spec 850 AWD with a leather/cloth interior, very rare.

I had modified my rear sway bar links because they kept breaking, a common problem on AWD volvos.

My 850 AWD Lowered on Pegs.

 

Very Comprehensive writeup about the drive train and how things work on these cars:
http://www.volvoclub.org.uk/tech/850AWD.pdf

 

matt01, fix the pictures...none are coming through.

 

you looked to early, they should be all good now!

 

There were only 214 1997 855t awd ever made worldwide. Not all of them made it to Canada. There is probably no more than 30 or so left in North America that are in good running condition, this makes them quite rare.

Just curious. Mine came with the factory dog cage and a quick release hitch including two ball hitches and all the wiring. Did all of them come with this?

 

nope, i would imagine that the dog cage and hitch would be options, mine does not have it inless it was ripped out before i owned it, however it does have a hitch, does your hitch look like mine (ninth picture)?
Im sure of the hitch as i know someone with an 850 AWD and it does not have hitch at all.

 

Nope
Ill take pictures 2moro

 

http://volvospeed.com/vs_forum/index...-855-awd-5spd/

 

thanks! ill add it.

 

i live in waterloo and i have TWO of these rare beautys! a burgundry one and a black one

where did you get the MSRP Price of $82000 everywhere i look says $45000

 

Hey is that a 68 69 or 70 charger in the garage? Hemi orange? Nice 850 AWD too

 

$ 45,000 Canadian right? I would guess that in 1997 that was about $ 35,000 USD.

Is any of the two for sale?

Is the AWD working? Has the bevel gear been replaced?

 

i'll see if i can dig up the link, i think its was the price somewhere in europe.
that's my dad's.. he doesnt screw around. 1970 Charger 383, not quite hemi orange, a bit brighter.
thanks
im not sure if its always the bevel gear that fails, it is a weakspot but i feel that the vicious coupling is more likely to slip.

 

First of all my AWD's are not for sale. sorry (neither are my alfa romeos)

the back in black one is currently a parts car( i just got it and it needs a bit of work) but i'm going to fix it hopefully at the end of this coming summer and it will be my winter car. i'm going to do all my cosmetic mods to this one (no body kit!) but i will put a black mesh grill, black headlights, black taillights, and a BOV, i'm not 100% on what i'm doing for rims yet.. may use my black steelies or may use some duplicolour black chrome on the stock AWD 16's other than that it will have a kickass stereo ( two alphasonic 15" subs) and blacked out tints and that's it.

i'm not making the black car fast because it's not a car that i'll be able to go fast in.. it's going to be too flashy. i'll flash up the engine bay a little bit with some carbon fiber and polished aluminum but no money will be spent on performance


the burgundy wagon on the other hand..

this car is the car I've wanted for quite some time. maybe 4 years or so. a close friend bought a silver 1997 AWD 855 in march of 2010 and i really started to want the car more and more, finally i found one for sale in niagra falls at the beginning of august i had just bought a 1994 automatic non-turbo 854.. blah not even a sunroof! so i got this car from "james_caza" and he told me the car needed tires and a wheel bearing and i got it home and find out the bevel gear is pooched! needless to say i over paid for the car not to mention he took performance parts off right before i picked it up! including a chipped ECU! but honestly i wanted the car so badly i wasn't even that mad. **** HAPPENS but anyways the plan for the burgundy wagon is simple..

"Look like the innocent flower, but be the serpent under 't"
the exterior of the car will have subtle changes made to it. but, nothing will be done that would make the car appear as if it had not come that way from the factory. T5-R bumper, 17" Volan rims from the 1996 850R, Stock Spoiler, maybe HID's, lowered about an inch, tinted windows. Even under the hood everything will be low-key, just in case somebody with a badge gets a peek under my bonet i'm going to keep everything "stock" so the intake will be disguised by a stock airbox, the car already has a 16T turbo, The Reverse Intercooler Piping and the larger aftermarket intercooler and all of it's piping and even the silicone hoses and clamps will all be black, everything will appear to be stock, but i'm going to squeeze every ounce of reliable power i can out of the engine in any invisible way that i can, any suspension mods will be painted black aswell, strut bars and possibly coilovers, all black, my brake calipers will be black, everything will look "stock" but mint also this car will not have a blow off valve, it will have tints but not as dark as the black car and it will have a bombass audio setup

she's know as project radio flyer

 

both of the cars are currently sitting as in the pictures accept the burgundy one has an R bumper, i have not even driven the black wagon yet, i've driven the burgundy wagon once.

http://volvospeed.com/vs_forum/galle...1997-awd-855s/

i'm currently still driving the FWD non-turbo 1994 854 i bought to get me through the summer(i've put 17,000KM on the car and it hasn't given me a single problem) i started working on the body to repaint the car and the canadian winter set in before i could finish it so it's still 5 tone primer right now haha i'm in school right now so it's getting me from a-b and it's reliable i have lots of people that tell me they want to buy the car but i just haven't finished it i don't care how long i have to drive it as long as i'm driving my burgundy car before summer, if i can even get my 164S to run this summer (not even drive.. just run) then i don't care whether or not i get around to the black car, it needs brakes, tires, a tie rod end and a few little bits here and there if the car sits for 6 months or 3 years its no big deal nothing else is going to go wrong with it, i'm taking out the bevel gear for the burgundy car and i'll either get another bevel gear or get the shredded one rebuilt for when i finish the black car

 

i almost forgot!
my friend is selling his silver 1997 855 AWD, (380 000km) i think it needs a viscous coupling only thing is he lives in edmonton.
ALSO
there is a blue 1997 855 AWD for sale in guelph ontario (299 000KM) for $2900 as-is or $3500 certified and e-tested

 

DO NOT part out the black one, its a twin of my car except the interior, ive never seen another black one. id mod the black one ( but no HID's) you can get good money for that car, but a v70 AWD auto if you need the bevel gear or vicious coupling... srsly

 

the black car is going to be my winter car i'm just borrowing parts off it for now. i'm going to finish it one day. i put it on kijijiji for $5000 just to see what kind of responses i'd get and i had tons of people call me not tire kickers either they just said when and where can i see this car!?

neither of these cars will be neglected don't worry but they each have a purpose and they are perfect for what i want. the black wagon will be the one i use to tow my bikes to the track and the one i fill with snowboards and buddies for a roadtrip across the country

 

I wonder if you got the rare-option heated rear seats on that euro-specs.????