I have a 1984 244 turbo that just turned 240,000 miles. It was my first brand new car.

I live a couple of miles from where I work and so I ride my bike to and from the job. As a result I drive just 8,500 miles a year, give or take. The Volvo has been my only car for the past 27 1/2 years.

The Volvo has been a good car, and extremely reliable, but I am at a cross roads and I need advice from my BB brethren. A few months ago, I noticed that every couple of weeks the coolant level in the expansion tank would drop inexplicably. I would refill it and all would be fine. Check the level again 2-3 weeks later and find the tank almost dry.

I had my suspcions about this and finally took the car to my mechanic the Friday before Christmas. He called yesterday and said that the headgasket, which is original...in fact, I've never done anything to the engine aside from oil changes and tune-ups....is leaking internally and needs to be replaced lest I trash the engine.

I also have a small but steady leak from the steering rack (never been replaced), and the clutch is just about ready to go. I had a new clutch put in at 135K miles, this one only lasted about 105K. Must be all of the stop and go city driving.

Total cost for the head gasket, a new (remanufactured) rack and outer tie rods, and a clutch job, is around $2800.

My brain tells me this is too much money to sink into the car. On the other hand, so far, it has cost me very little. I've replaced the turbo, exhaust, radiator, wiring harness, one fuel pump, the TAB bushings, and the clutch. Those have been my only "major" repairs to date.

The body is also still in really nice condition. I've kept the car garaged and wash/wax it regularly. The silver paint still looks great. The interior is also clean and doesn't show much wear. Non-Volvo people don't believe the age/mileage of the car.

What would you do? I figure a decent used car would set me back at least $10K. That would pay for a lot of repairs to the Volvo. On the other hand, I don't know how much life is left in the engine or transmission. I could sink $2800 into it and have more problems six months, a year, two years from now.

Decisions, decisions...