Getting back into the Volvo way, previously I've owned a pair of black 855 Turbos, one of them I replaced the engine and resealed everything. I'm not new to European cars, I've owned and fixed quite a many, everything from bodywork and rust repair to transmission valve body rebuilds to complete chassis up builds of older cars.
Anyway, ever since I sold off my 855's I've had a part of me that wanted another. Ended up selling an Audi that I had and purchased another pair of Volvo wagons... this time they aren't so similar though.
First one was an 86 245 DL, somewhere in the realm of 300-500 thousand miles, runs well enough and I tackled a few neglected items right off the bat (ball joints, tie rods, U-joints, brakes, fluids, etc) http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7456/14069806086_b1d0efa744_b.jpg...but we're not here to talk about that one.
Second one belonged to a friend of a friend who runs a shop here in Minneapolis. It's a 99 V70R in Laser Blue. He had it out back with a blown head gasket. It was driven occasionally while he collected parts for it, but he never really got time to get the work done. My friend put me in touch with him and somehow I walked away with the car and a bag full of parts including the full head gasket kit with valve seals, timing belt kit with water pump, tensioner and idler, thermostat, coolant temp sensor, and a few odds and ends. I have since picked up most of the bits for the PCV service since I'll be in there.
It needs a serious interior cleaning, and I will need to go through the suspension up front because it rattles like Marty McFly holding a box of maracas, but otherwise it's solid.
Here she is right after being towed home.
In the process of buying it and talking it over, I did learn that the car has a prior salvaged title. I'm capable enough with cars that I decided it was worth the risk and went for it anyway, the body looked clean enough I was fearing that it was flood damage though.
Some research on the internet revealed to me an auction site where I saw the car in it's unrepaired state back in 2011. Also a Carfax told me that the accident happened in the middle of winter here in Minneapolis. The car was purchased here, and has been titled in MN ever since, so I think it's fair to assume there was no submersion. Sure is dirty under the hood though.
After seeing these I was pretty happy, the body work looks great now.
A few weeks went by when I was replacing a rocker panel in my wifes VW and the Volvo just sat patiently. I did preform my first "mod" on it, being an XC grill I snagged at the junk yard for $5. Hah.
Finally last week I was able to get it into the garage to start the teardown.
Thats my 1974 BMW R90/6 motorcycle next to it, in case you're wondering.
Getting ready to pull the head
Plugs are looking a little dark...
This is where I hit my first hickup. The previous owner to the previous owner took it to instant oil change places and one of them managed to replace the oil drain without the washer. And on top of that they really cranked down on it. I couldn't break it loose with all of my might. I've been working on cars for many years, this thing was on there. I used all the methods including heat and a pipe wrench, I was about to weld a nut onto it when I decided to use a hack saw blade and cut off slivers of the shoulder, eventually a gap opened up and I sprayed some penetrating oil into it, then busted out the pipe wrench and it slid out like butter.
Fortunately the pan threads look perfect.
The next day of work went the rest of the way to getting the head off, it all went smoothly with one exception.
One of the head bolts snapped as I was removing it. The tip is stuck down in the block, about 2-3 inches below the top surface. I took it as a sign to be done for the night, filled the hole with penetrating fluid and covered it up. Next step is going to be using a pipe to protect the threads, then drilling into the top of the broken bolt using a left-hand drill bit (if it's long enough) then trying an easy-out. From what I hear, when this happens it's either very easy to remove or incredibly difficult. Here's hoping.
Upon removal of the head I was expecting to see a steam cleaned cylinder, but after a quick first inspection there isn't one. Going to think about what else can cause mixed coolant/oil and white smoke out the tail pipe...
Anyway, I hope this thread entertains some of you and helps others.
Future plans:
-remove dead head bolt
-new valve stem seals, hand lap the valves, and re-assemble the car with new gaskets/o-rings/belts/etc
-control arms, strut bearings, tie rods, and sway bar ends
-deep clean the interior
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Optimusglen's 99 V70R Photo Re-Build Thread
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