Good news is its not the block. Bad news is the head gasket is leaking at the #3-4 exhaust Port, what am I in for as far as this repair goes? Tom, how long did this project take?
It doesn't look like a bad job as far as heads go, are there any special tools needed? Any in-put will be appreciated.
Rob F 92 965

Ahhh yes.....

Well, it is not good to ask how long it took me, because I am a bit of a mental case and I go through every single part I can get to, during the project and I renew them while the opportunity presents.

If it is your first time.... plan on a full day for takedown. Then however long at the machine shop. This is a good time to at least check out the exposed parts while the head is out.

Then plan on 2 full days for buildup.

Tools. Most are un-necessary. The cam-locks are real nice to have. But the cam carrier squeeze tools, (2 of them) are a must have in my book! Your only option is to sequentially torque each of the 48 cam carrier bolts, a tiny bit at a time. And those threads are so frigging fragile that I stripped 8 of them last time before I ever got near the torque value. Blow one of them and your engine will be puking oil very soon.

Keep in touch. The famous 'nut' under the manifold is truly a bewildering bitch to get to. But after my 5th time it is not too bad. If you can handle some slight contortions, you can do it. The key is to pull the hot air exchanger completely out and get a hand up in front of the rack and pinion.

Do I need to remove the cams if I dont plan on doing any head work?
Are there head bolts under the cam? Also, Should I order new head bolts or is it ok to reuse the old ones?

Yes, you have to pull it all apart. And YES, you must get new head bolts.... 14 of them.

I just answered my own qustion about removing the cams. I looked in my wonderfull Chilton's manual can you tell me a little more about the press tools?

The press tools to squeeze the cam carrier back together come in pairs. They thread into the #2 and 5 spark plug holes. They have a thread starting knob, to seat in the spark plug holes and then there are steel wings you turn to achieve the squeeze. You really must use these. there is no non-dealer option that I am aware of. I have heard of desperate individuals making their own crude copies, without the bearing plates. That may be an option.

How many miles do you have on your '92 965? If you like the car and want to keep it running well, perhaps you should refurbish the head as Steve suggests and even put in new rings. Inspection and refurbishing as needed should give you a like new engine. Parts would be expensive from the dealer but not from www.fcpgroton.com or www.importpartsspec.com

The car has about 110K and runs really nice. I don't want to get into a valve job or re-ring nor do I think it needs it but I will do c compression test before taking down the head just to get an overall sense of the engines condition. I very much like the car but am considering trading it in for something a little newer.

Thanks for the help.

This is a great opportunity to refurbish the head, especially the varnish that builds up on the exhaust valve stems and causes seizure.
Did this car overheat?

No I don't think it ever got hot at least not with me, and yes I will check the valve stems thanks for the advice.

I have done this job for an oil leak. I would get the green volvo book #TP 31714/2. I do not remember how much it is because I bought 2 other books at the time, somewhere around 100.00 total. The only real pains were removing the one nut at the bottom of the intake manifold, cleaning the old gasket material off the top of the head pieces and getting the carbon off the cylinder surfaces. The book is filled with special volvo tools which would make the job much easier and quicker but not needed. Just mark every thing, the timing belt cogs, the slots on the cogs, the cams to the cogs. And when you are done on the assembly, turn the engine several times by hand with a wrench on the crankshaft bolt. I also then disconnected the fuses to the fuel pumps and crank for about 2 minutes to build up some oil pressure.

Think twice about doing a valve job though, Tom and other mechanics sometimes do not recommend doing valves without doing rings.

And there is plenty of help on the board if needed.

Good luck
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DanR