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Hi, I have heard that the Volvo 850 is prone to a "groaning clutch", mine is no exception!  A very slight groan when its cold and when reversing.  I can sometimes be very careful and get away without a groan!  However, I am considering towing shortly, is this groan likely to prevent me from doing so?  Anyone else had a volvo 850 or give advice on their towability?

Thanks in advance

I have towed with an 850 saloon, cant comment about clutch groan as it was auto but it towed very well, 2.5 20v pulled an Award Tristar very nicely.

G...

I know a chap who used to have a Volvo 20 valve estate, I'm almost certain it was an 850. He loved it. It had covered a lot of miles when he sold it & never once did it break down on him.

BB     

Quote: Originally posted by bertuk69 on 06/10/2006

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exellent towing cars are the volvo 850s costly when the clutch needs replacing anything from £200-£350 depending on where you go, autos are more suitable for towing engine wise, 2.5 10 valve are far superior for power and pull 20 valve 2 litre wouldn,t pull you off a greasy plate, t-5 even better

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You seem pretty well up on the Volvo BertUk, which of the V70 estates is the best? I'm about to ditch an old Peugeot 405 Estate that I use to get to & from work & I fancy either a Volvo V70 estate or a Land Cruiser Amazon, to be honest, I think the latter would be extravagant just for work & second line family/tow car so the Volvo will probably be the one. However, I see there's a lot to chose from & I want to get the right one first hit for a change.

BB   

Hi BB, we have had only Volvos since 1971, and the bigger ones (140, 240, 740, 940,850, 70, 80, 90) all are excellent towcars.   We have a 940 (1994) at present but hoping to upgrade to a xc90 next march.

We have only had automatics and they are great!

We have both a 940 se Turbo and 850 se, both estates and both 2.0 with manual box.

We bought the 850 to pull an Award Globestar, which it does very well, although it is quite a light van compared to some available. I find the manual box no trouble, although I have to admit I think the 940 would do a better job of pulling..it just seems to have more "grunt"(must be the turbo).

Also worth noting is that the 850 was one of the first larger modern Volvos to be front wheel drive, as opposed to the usual rear wheel..

Good cars on the whole and will do ridiculous milage!!! 197000 on the 940 and 182000 on the 850!!

I have to admit once you've had a Volvo you do get hooked!!

Mark

The 850 does seem a great car, just seems to keep going.  The only problem I face now is the caravan we are looking at (Sterling Europa 500) is about 1160kg unladen, giving a proportion of 95% according to What Towcar.  From my limited experience, this didn't seem too heavy but obviously too heavy for my car.

I don't understand if all the Sterling are made by Swift, why is there such a huge difference in the weight?  Is a heavier van stronger and better built or cheaper because towing is limited to larger cars?

anyone?

We have a Sterling Eccles Emerald 1998 model, ours is 1300kg MTPLM.  So we are towing at close to 100%, but having towed for 35 years OH is fine with it.  The 940 is rear wheel drive, which we think is better,but they are all FWD these days.  We had the self levelling suspension fitted when we got the van, it is really good, no problems with a saggy rear end!

The Sterlings are good solid vans, the newer ones are even heavier than the older ones.  What is the MTPLM of the Europa 500, that is the weight you need to work with.  And what is your kerbweight?