My '85 240 appears to need a new head gasket. I have not done a compression check, but it has the classic symtoms such as blowing white smoke with a nasty smell, losing coolant (sometimes fast, somtimes slow), rust spots on the oil dipstick, and I also found some white colored fluid in the flame trap. The oil does not look milky yet, but I think the head gasket is slowly deteriorating.

I have both the Bently and Haynes manuals and was going to attempt replacing the gasket myself but two things are holding me back. First thing is, I've never been that deep into this engine before and I'm afraid I could get stuck once I get into the job. Second problem is lack of time to do the job.

I called a few shops to get price quotes. A local Volvo shop wants $1200-$1400 which is too much. But the Volvo dealer quoted me a price of $800-$850 and said they can usually have it done in one day if they don't have to send the head out to the machine shop. This sounds like a bargain to me.

So my questions are:

1) Does the dealer price sound like the "deal of the decade"?
2) For those of you who have done this job before, how hard is it for a person with average mechanical skills and a few tools to do this job and how much time would it take for a novice mechanic?

I have replaced an intake manifold on a GM engine before, but I've never had to pull the head off of an engine until now.

Thanks in advance for any opinions or advice...!

DeWayne

I ended up buying new front calipers from Groton along with new front/rear brake hoses and a new distribution block. The brake pedal isn't as high as it used to be but the brakes work fine now. I still think the front calipers that I got from Carquest had an internal problem of some sort. The new brakes have been installed for a year this month without any more problems.

I was recently thinking of selling the 240, but I just can't part with it because I've had it for so long. It needs some work, but with the gas prices so high, I think it's worth fixing up the car to save some money on gas instead of driving my big truck to work every day.

The 240 is due for inspection in June and I'm not sure it will pass emmissions if it blows white smoke. I don't see a window of time between now and then that I will be able to replace the head gasket myself. My to-do list is long, so something has to give unless I work 24/7!! 8~)

DeWayne

Pulling the head off of a 240 is just one of those things. If I can do it, you can too.

Admittedly I completely understand what the lack of time can do to a project. I've spent maybe four or five days across three months fixing the sedan. When I finally find a bit of time here and there to work on it, I keep slapping my forehead and wondering why I didn't do this earlier.

Anyways. Pulling the head is extremely straight forward, and the most difficult part is by far wrestling the valve cover off :-D

Just make sure you clean the block nicely. I spent a little over $300 to get the head cleaned, pressure tested, milled, and the valves ground (a breakdown of the costs was posted earlier) and about $150 for the parts (Elring gasket set, Volvo fasteners). You could probably go cheaper, but I would highly recommend that you get the head to a machine shop. If anything, the hot tank will help you remove any nasty gasket crap that's stuck to it.

Yes, if you have a turbo there are a number of things that just work against you.. but it's still quite simple.

Basically you'll want:

P'Blaster
14mm, 1/2" drive, six point socket for the head bolts (preferrably with a lifetime warranty :)))
13mm, 1/2" or 3/8" drive, six point socket for the exhaust manifold nuts and timing belt cover
13mm 1/4" drive + lots of u-joints and 13mm open ended wrench to fasten the EM nuts (if you've got a turbo)
10mm socket for the other timing belt cover bolts
17mm, 6 point socket for the cam sprocket and t-belt tensioner
A foot long breaker bar
Carb cleaner (for the carbon deposits on the pistons and to clean out the intake)
Plastic scouring pads and razor blades to clean the crap off of the block
A torque wrench for the head bolts (a cheap beam type works great here -- $15 at Sears)
A 22mm (B21/23) or 24mm (B230) socket to turn the crank

I think the stupidest thing I tried to do was to install the head without the exhaust manifold studs. If you have someone take out the exhaust manifold studs, put them in the head BEFORE you install the head. It will save you lots of greif.

You don't need to completely detach the intake manifold from everything, and you can save lots of guesswork later by just zip tying it to the strut tower or something.

How did your brakes turn out?

- alex

'85 244 Turbo
'84 245 Turbo

I agree with the others.

I think $800 sounds like an ok price.

The job is not bad to do yourself, esp if your car is not a turbo. Figure one day to take apart, a few days for machinist to check it out, and one day to put back together. Try to borrow or rent a car or make other arrangements for a few days. But if you really are crunched for time, then it sounds like you don't have many options.

Maybe the dealer will give you a loaner car while they fix yours. I'm actually kind of surprised that the dealer price is that low. I guess they know what they are doing and can do it quickly.

Greg
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http://home.earthlink.net/~greg.wong/

If the head has no problems (it's not uncommon to find them slightly warped), an eight hour day should be plenty of time for a knowledgeable wrench. However, it's getting to the head that you expose other potential problems like timing belt and tensioner, front seals, leaky waterpump and hoses or thermostat, bad belts, leaky radiator, Just to name a few. So...when you ask for a firm quote, keep in mind that other problems may become more visable as you gain access to the head for removal.

Doing the project yourself isn't that tough. Only real special tools you will need are a torque wrench. Also, after all the effort you have put into removing the head, it's a good idea to have a machine shop true it. Sometimes, a few of the head bolts can get pretty rusted up. So get some P blaster or equivalent and plan on letting them soak overnight before reefing on them.

The dealer price sounds OK. Below $1000 anyway. It would take you a weekend, some planning, and maybe a spell at the cylinder head shop for warp test and valve job. Your cost should only be $300-400 at the worst (head rebuild), you have a chance to do it up right (timing belt, seals, repair any studs, put in that oil pressure gauge sender and VX3 cam, etc) and it is not hard, especially on a non-turbo. I have had great success with my cars and have never had a problem. I would go for it myself and keep the $700-1000 (if the dealer has to add the cylinder head work) for better things.