Blown head gasket, any advice on DIY repair?

In order to determine whether the head needs to be machined (likely) or if the deck needs to be machined (unlikely), you need a straight edge and a 'feeler guage'. I have forgotten the tolerance allowable across four cylinders, but it is only a few thousandths of an inch.

A head gasket that goes between an iron block and an iron head will likely last the life of the engine and it won't matter whether you use sealant. A gasket that goes between an iron block and an aluminum head has much tougher duty, and will only last few thousand cycles (expect 10-15 years). Follow the instructions that come with the gasket with regard to sealants. When I used a sealant, I used spray-on Copper-Coat (or was it Kopper-Kote?) it has been many years since I did a head gasket.

So since my car is 22 years of age i should replace the head casket just to be sure? Compression is fine, no oil or water in water and oil.

244 DL 105K

>>Compression is fine, no oil or water in water and oil. <<

What are the symptoms that indicate you should remove the head? Good Comp and no oil-water mixing sounds like head is OK, to me.

>>So since my car is 22 years of age I should replace the head casket just to be sure? <<

This is one of theose places where the old gasket is junk. ALWAYS use a new head basket.

Good Luck,

Bob

:>)

Yes, a satisfying job to do, but try and find out why it happened or you may end up repeating it. Watch for excessive corrosion having reduced the metal between adjacent cylinders, or warping of the head caused by overheating. This really needs checking by engineers unless you simply clean it up and take a chance.If exhaust has been blowing for any time it may have eroded the head surface.
Tighten the bolts in the correct sequence, of course, but it is worth doing it in stages, say 20,40,60 or whatever the torque figures are. Run it for a few miles and recheck the torque. Then recheck again after say 500 miles. Gaskets squash with time and heat and pressure.
Whatever they say I have always used a sealant.

Assumes of course that you can get it off. Sometimes it can be 'welded' on so tight that you are reduced to doing all the things you shouldn't, like driving in a screwdriver!
Try putting the plugs back in and turning it over on the starter.
Make a note of where all the bits go, and put nuts etc in tins.
Good luck.

Not too difficult, provided you have got the necessary tools and a manual of some sort, you need at least to know proper torques and sequences as well as a few other useful hints. You also would need a decent place to do the job, as it inevitably will take a day.

The job consists of course in lifting of the top including dismantling of all the stuff above, then it's an inspection which will show if it's just a qusestion of cleaning and fitting of new gasket or if the top will have to be machined at some workshop. On the older Volvo engines where everything was steel this was rarely necessary, but with aluminium one should expect that the top may require machining.

In brief; get the manual and a gasket kit, tools (torque wrench), read carefully before you start, install your self and you'll have an interesting job before you.