First off let me state which brick I am honored to have. It's a 1983 242GLTi (b21ft).

I'm having a few problems which are baffling to me so lets hope someone can explain and suggest what to do. First off. The brake pads on my car, I can find no real indication of what brake pads are the correct to purchase for my car as there are quite a few different choices. ATE, Girling and ATE(except IRS)? Anyone know which of these I would buy for my brick? Or at least have some pointers on how to identify which braking system my car has?

Second off. Suspension parts - struts and shocks mainly, perhaps coil springs once I can rake up the cash. Would I be better off to purchase the parts myself and then have a 3rd party shop install them? Or better off just to take the car itself and pay for the parts + labor there? I'd say I could change the parts myself, but for some reason the fear of having the coil spring tensioner break and having a 7 1/2 pound spring shoot off into the air(or my face) scares me. And with my luck that would happen.

Finally. I have a coolant leak, from the pass. side of the engine between the block and head. I'll assume it's a blown gasket. However I have NO oil in my coolant or coolant in my oil. The car is burning (something). When it's cold and I start the car, I will commonly get large plumes of white/grey smoke. Once the car is heated up properly the problem goes away, however turning the car off and restarting it can cause a puff or two til you get going.

However when warm, there is no smoke to be found. Which I think is odd. The car is using coolant, but it really could all be from the leak in the head. Is it normal for an older car to smoke alot when it's cold?

Finally, I've found small amounts of oil at the tailpipe of my car. Compression on all cylinders is pretty high, and they were all even, so I would not think the rings. But who knows. Or is that normal too?

Other than that I think my brick is in good health. I decided to check the intercooler as I was getting a bit of oil through the intake system. After (at least two years) there was little more than a half teaspoon of oil I could get out of the intercooler. (let it sit outside of the car for a few days.). So I'll assume my turbo is in good running order?

And last I'd like to say! For those having trouble with a bad idling brick, check/clean the TPS and the throttle body. It did wonders for my brick.

Thats it for now

Jeff

breakyourpostsintologicalchunksandi'llanswer

brakes - you girling front ate rear - use pbr,Volvostock,ferodo or otherpads

ifyoucan't do it yourself hire it done, but you gotta do that shopping yourself

you have a blown head gasket - yet your car is in good health? sorry I can't help you.

"use...ferodo"

Where?!?! I thought they were NLA. I went with KVR semi-metallic/carbon fiber pads, which I'm sure will work great, but I recall the Ferodo pads being very good.
--
Michael -- 1987 244 GT | Volvo 240

Ferodo - you are correct NLA - the set I have in the garage is for race day (yeah right, when will that be) - I used a set for a few years, they stop really well, hot and cold but the dust is worse than Volvo OEM.

I was just rattling off some brand names, because it sounded like he was looking for Girling and/or Ate pads.

Haven't heard much about KVR's. I am otally happy with my PBR, despite the BB grumbling about fade etc. I have not experienced this fade, plus if the pedal pressure is higher, I hadn't noticed.

Well that is why it baffles me, the head gasket thing. It's obviously blown (At least along the water jacket to the outside of the head) and due to the fact that the car only smokes when it's below 40F here, it's not burning any water at all.

I dont know yet, I have not removed the head.

Oh well, guess I'll let everyone know when I figure it out.

Well, for the headgasket prob, are you actually losing coolant? How often do you have to top up your expansion tank?

There are a few checks you can do. Pull your plugs and check them for signs of coolant in your engine. You can have a garage do a cooling system pressure test, or rig it up yourself. Then you can see exactly where your leaks are. This is fairly cheap to do. You can also have a garage check your coolant for HC (I think), this would indicate that exhaust is getting into your coolant. Also a cheap check.

I had symptoms similar to yours, but with no external leaking. It started puffing a little on startup. A little later, I started getting oil in the coolant, but I was halfway through a 500 mile trip, so I continued on home. When all was said and done, the coolant had contaminated the oil and took out the turbo as well. I replaced the headgasket and the turbo.

My advice: Get your coolant problem sorted out asap.
So what were the numbers from your compression test?
Greg

Well I waited to long. Happened to be on the way back from the auto parts store with the head gasket in tow. Got a block from my house and the car started missing really bad. I pulled into my driveway and drove the car up onto the ramps. Quickly I drained the oil to find it full of coolant now. So the head gasket is no doubt gone now. I pulled the oil filter as well, should I yank the oil feed/return lines for the turbo?

I'd rather not have to replace that too.

Anyways I'll start taking the engine apart on my days off, I'll assume it would be wise to take the head down to a machine shop and have the valves cleaned/head checked correct? I figure it's pointless just to slap it back on.

Final question before I start my planning. What is the best way to remove the turbo/exaust manifold? Should I disconnect the header downpipe and then just pull the manifold of the head? Do I need to take anything special off of the turbo to get it out?

Sorry for the stupid questions. I've only remove the head from an' old 80s mazda pickup. And that was as simple as removing the intake and exaust manifolds and then yanking the head off.

Jeff

It's really not a bad job. The worst part IMO, is fiddling with the oil feed and return lines when reinstalling the turbo. Oh, if you run into problems with exhaust studs, that would be a real PITA, too.

You probably don't need new oil lines, but you will need new gaskets and crush washers for them. Just clean them out when you take them off the car. If you ever have to replace your turbo, then it is a good idea to use a new oil feed pipe.

Yeah, you should take the head to be checked out. Like you say, it's not worth doing the job without having the head looked at. (Actually, when I did my HG, I did just slap the head back on, because I didn't really know it was that critical. It has been ok so far, but I think I have been lucky. It's been going maybe 10k miles since then.)

Yeah, you got the order right, first take off the downpipe from the turbo. Then I think I unbolted the oil return and feed lines, and then removed the exhaust manifold from the head. I left the turbo+manifold in the engine bay. The intake side is pretty easy, just make sure you label everything so it goes back the right way.

When reassembling, don't forget to hook up the thermal time switch! It makes starting a little difficult if you do. DAMHIK :)

Probably you will also want to use a new thermostat, and flush out the cooling system afterwards with some kind of flush. I think when my headgasket went, it contributed to the radiator clogging up, which I ended up replacing.

I think it took me about a day to get the head out, and a day to put it back.

Good luck!
Greg