Volvo S60

[black86glhs]

A friend of mine asked me to do a head gasket on his S60. I have never done one so I had him bring it by and it looked ok. Wow.....this was pretty damn easy to work on. Kind of surprised. The turbo setup was a piece of cake to get apart, not like our cars....lol. Plus, I'm making money on it and saving him a wad of cash.

[cordes]

That's really good to hear. I wouldn't mind having a Volvo wagon. The Vet we go to has a V70R. She really likes it.

[black86glhs]

Stay away from the 1999-roughly 2002 models though. They have some issues. The 2001 S60 has major auto trans issues. Mainly the trans programming is the issue, but that plus some hard part issues make it least desirable.

[cordes]

Thanks for the tip. It'll be a long while before I need one, but if I find a screaming deal on a wagon it may be worth it.

[tryingbe]

Stay away from the 1999-roughly 2002 models though. They have some issues. The 2001 S60 has major auto trans issues. Mainly the trans programming is the issue, but that plus some hard part issues make it least desirable.

There is a software update for the transmission fix.

[Pat]

My brother has had a few turbo Volvos over the years...an 850R, a V70r wagon (he drag raced that at SDAC last year) and currently a V70 XC. He does most of the repairs himself and says the same thing, that they are easy to on, parts are easily available and not nearly as expensive as some assume. He loves them.

I'd love to see a 300 hp V70R wagon with a 6 speed manual in my driveway someday.

[WickedShelby88]

The wagons sell quickly. I was looking to get one to replace our ailing van. Audi makes a good car too, but repairs can be challenging. I did a head gasket on an 840 GL with the 5 cylinder similar to the one in the turbo model and I agree they are pretty easy for sure. They get respectable fuel mileage too which is a big seller in my book.

[black86glhs]

Got word back that the head is not cracked and was flat......because it had been milled before.....I wondered. The HG was fine when I tore it apart. Figures.
There was nothing wrong with it. Just some extra mist out of the pipe. This ought to be good.

[RoadWarrior222]

Heh, maybe it got a gallon sitting in the muffler over the winter (drain hole plugged? installed upside down?) and it's all blowing out now.

They get respectable fuel mileage too which is a big seller in my book.

Do they? EPA figures never looked that great.... and since I can get 24 average out of my van, I haven't considered them.

[black86glhs]

23/28 for the 2.4T and T5.....not bad for how heavy they are.

[cordes]

Got word back that the head is not cracked and was flat......because it had been milled before.....I wondered. The HG was fine when I tore it apart. Figures.
There was nothing wrong with it. Just some extra mist out of the pipe. This ought to be good.

He didn't do any actual compression or leak down tests to confirm that the head gasket was indeed blown?

[black86glhs]

The place he took it to said it was.

[RoadWarrior222]

Oh, that was a "I know you're not going to spend $1500 here so F--- off" diagnosis then.

[black86glhs]

More than likely...lol. The head bolts weren't very tight though. 20ft-lb, 44ft-lb, then 130* is pretty tight. What they were at really did not feel like that. #1 and #5 pistons were pretty clean. Thinking it was lifting on the ends the most.

[cordes]

Wow, I would be really upset with that shop.

[black86glhs]

Thankfully he likes the car...a lot. He would rather me do it and find nothing wrong than a shop that is going to lift and slide a gasket under there. I had to make a gasket for it for one of the coolant pipes and he said that is one reason he likes me working on it. Not just going to slather some rtv on it and hope the old seals. Made a new one for it.

[RoadWarrior222]

Actually, my Escort head did that, there was a stain that seemed to indicate that it had been seeping slightly, but when it "went" the whole head lifted I guess, coolant in 2 cylinders...

Anyway. THAT also had been messed with before. I could only assume that the TTY bolts were reused, or the proper torque sequence was not followed... they were barely more than finger tight.

[black86glhs]

Used the mopar gasket sealant spray on the HG so it should help to seal along with the new head bolts...lol. Had to put it on hold, though. Need new o-rings for the spark plug holes. Hope Volvo has them.
Not to mention the wifes car's battery was dead and the Malibu broke another PS pump pulley. I think the pump is locking up and releasing a few times and it is beating the hell out of the pulley until it snaps. This too, shall be interesting.

[black86glhs]

Got it done and it runs great. But....one of the copper washer on a banjo bolt grew legs. Tomorrow i'll go get some and finish it. I swear i bought a copper washer assortment and of course, can't find it.....damnit.
One a side note, the owner told me the shop said he need to replace the TB(drive by wire). When I took it apart, the pipe from the compressor outlet and the intake pipe at the TB were not tight. The clamps were loose. I haven't driven it, but I would suspect it will drive fine now.....LOL.

[Mopar318]

Yep Volvos are super easy to work on. Everybody that has never had one says..."ohhhhh a volvo...you know those are really hard to work on." BS. I can do brakes on my 850 in a matter of minutes. Slide pins out, slide out pads. Reverse procedure. The engine bays are huge too, and everything is easy to get too.

Another plus is that Genuine Volvo parts are very reasonably prices. $80 for struts each, $90 for front and rear pads, $150 for coil air filter, cap, rotor, wires, and plugs...All Bosch and bougicord original equipment