Buying 850 5sp - general questions

Replacing the timing belt is scheduled maintenance and very important. The rear seal leaked on some 850s when they were new. Also, if the car doesn't receive scheduled maintenance, the flame trap cloggs up and builds up crankcase pressure blowing oil out the seals.

The best place besides the dealer to buy accessories is at IPD in Portland, Oregon. They are at:

The '96 850 is a good car.

Opposite in the UK, finding 850's with manual is a non-problem. Best car we've bought is our 850.

I bought it a couple of Saab 9000's to keep it company. :)

David.

Check the clutch carefully, they have a tendency to drag, making gear selection from standstill difficult at times, clutch replacement is a big bill on these.

Timing belt should have been changed at 70k.

Regarding the sound system, I know what you mean, most of the new designs look awful in the sombre 850 cabin. Check out the Panasonic C1300AN it is a

2004 model CD/MP3 player and looks ok in the 850 (with green illumination) it is mainly black and it has a rotary volume control, which I like.

The aftermarket wood kits look good, mainly because the dash is designed to take one, the rear spoiler also adds greatly to the look of the car and is easily fitted.

Thanks for the reply!

Much to my dispay...it appears that all the aftermarket wood kits have a cut out on the piece that goes around the gear selector for the "shift mode" button that automatic 850s' have (where you select "econ, sport, winter" modes).

Since I have a manual, I do not have this switch, so the wood overlay would have this random square cut out with the original black plastic showing through :(

It is an interesting cultural difference between automatic vs. standard preferences in the U.S. vs. Europe.

It is not nice to make others jealous! :)

-Atif

Yes and one of the things that a visitor from the US commented to me on was that all the cars sounded different on his first visit to us in England. Because they're predominantly manual, the whole car background noise is different. :)

They go cheap over here. :)

Actually I was visiting my British relatives last summer and noticed that whenever they were stopped at a red light, they would shift to neutral, and then pull up on the hand/parking/emergency brake.

One Uncle even did this with his AUTOMATIC transmission car.

This struck me as rather odd because I have *never* seen anyone do anything like this in America.

Is this really a common British/Euro practice? If so WHY?

I don't know what the latest driving test requirements are, but thirty odd years ago I was taught to put it in neutral and apply the handbrake at traffic lights.

These days, driving an automatic, at night time, I usually pull the handbrake on out of courtesy to the driver behind - sitting behind some bright brakelights in the dark can be quite unpleasant.

I've not been to England, but was in France for bicycling vacations in 2002 and 2003. I was struck by how much quieter the cars and trucks (lorries) are in France than in the US. The mufflers in use seem to be much more effective than is the case here in America, where we much prefer the "sound of power" to quietude. I was also struck by how much more considerate and competent French drivers were at dealing with cyclists (while being quite rude and liberal with the horn towards each other).

I can't get hung up about using the hand brake, I prefer the footbrake, it's more powerful should I get hit from somewhere but the handbrake is more handy on a clutch or for hill start.

Better to sit in neutral for a long time when the lights are against you as it doesn't put any wear on the clutch thrust release bearing although again, if it's only a short wait, sometimes I'll wait.

David.

Try driving round Cambridge or Oxford in England and see how cyclists treat car drivers! Courtesy and consideration are not words you would use. I guess they feel they give as good as they get but I've seen some really stupid things done by people who are incredibly vulnerable.

David.

Simple really, British drivers are taught not to leave the car in gear when stationary, in case a foot or two should slip off the pedals (brake and/or clutch) which is all that stops the car from moving (especially when using an auto gearbox). This means that your British family members were taught how to drive correctly. Most Americans I have known or know are rather lazy when it comes to this safety point.

Cheers, Peter.

: > Yes and one of the things that a visitor from the US commented to me on : > was that all the cars sounded different on his first visit to us in : > England. Because they're predominantly manual, the whole car background : > noise is different. :) : : Actually I was visiting my British relatives last summer and noticed : that whenever they were stopped at a red light, they would shift to : neutral, and then pull up on the hand/parking/emergency brake. : : One Uncle even did this with his AUTOMATIC transmission car. : : This struck me as rather odd because I have *never* seen anyone do : anything like this in America. : : Is this really a common British/Euro practice? If so WHY? : : : >

: > > > I bought it a couple of Saab 9000's to keep it company. :) : > > >

: > >

: > > It is not nice to make others jealous! : >

: > They go cheap over here. :) : >

Indeed, many cyclists seem to fail to realize that traffic laws apply to them just as to cars. At least that's how it seems here in the US. Add that to the general obliviousness of the driver, who is preoccuppied with the cell phone, air conditioning, stereo, eating, drinking and talking to the passenger- often all at once- and the fact that US roads make little if any provision for bicycles, and the situation can be quite appalling. US drivers also tend to be quite militant about bikes being on "their" roads, failing to understand that (1) much of road funding comes from the general fund and not from earmarked taxes on cars and fuel, (2) most bicyclists also own and drive cars and (3) bicycles are vehicles under the law (this last part also seems to be forgotten by bicyclists).

I drive about 20,000 miles a year in a metropolitan area and I ride my bike about 6,000 to 7,000 miles a year in the same area. I would say that other drivers behave towards me only slightly better when I'm in my 240 than they do when I'm on my bike. Hopefully I am well-behaved in both circumstances, but I'm the wrong person to ask- since we all tend to think we're the ones in the right!

Sharing the road requires the effort of both parties. Here in the US, we tend to think "sharing" means "the other guy gives in." Hmmm. Perhaps that explains our frequent foreign policy peccadilloes.

Leaving it in gear also wears down the syncros faster.

Quite the opposite. But it may affect the clutch bearing.

Hold on, you're forgetting Newton's Laws of motion here, remember a body at rest will remain at rest unless another force acts upon it! :)

So, it's ok to not use either brake when stationary as long as you're not on a hill and not smacked up the arse by some low life. One you can plan for, the other can be a little harder. ;)

David.

That is what I've always thought. Unless you are on a hill, why would you need either brake to be on? Even if you are no a hill, you should be able to use your clutch and the gas to keep the car stationary without the brake.

We seem to have lost sight, in this exchange, of Atif's comment that an Uncle was applying questionable manual shift practice to an automatic. There is certainly no good reason for shifting an automatic into neutral when at rest. Aside from exposing the 1st gear clutch to unnecessary wear, I just can't see where the practice is of any practical value - unless you're regularly driving both types and need a "reminder."

In a manual car, one definitely does *not* want to sit any longer than really needed with the clutch disengaged. It's the throwout bearing that suffers unnecessary wear in this scenario. The only excuse for using the parking brake would be to ease your re-start on a significant grade. I've had manual cars (synchro on all gears) that were clearly happier with selecting another gear (usually 3rd or higher) prior to the engagement of 1st. In a car without synchro on reverse, you definitely want to select a forward gear prior to engagement of reverse to avoid any "crunch."

bob noble Reno, NV, USA

Oh bollox, you don't even need that. I have a block of wood on a piece of string that I chuck out of the window so that it goes under the wheel. When I need to move again, I just tug on the string.

I also save petrol by turning the engine off when I'm going down hill, but this makes steering and braking rather hard, but who cares, eh?

What I'm working on now is a way to jack either end of the car up, so that it points downhill, and thus runs without petrol at all. Obviously you jack the front up to to stop, or to go backwards.

Who started this garbage? I thought Merkins had no sense of irony.