OK, great pics of your misfortune. And nice car, by the way... So here is what I think. This is just for the benefit of everyone, I guess, since I'm sure Mullah already knows.

That is one thing, and perhaps some satellite contribution from other problems such as oil use or fuel additives, or whatever.

That's short trips under high load. Not what that engine really likes, and that's the reason for the Italian tune ups. The stuff never gets burnt off (despite "normal" temp readings halfway into the drive) and then really bakes onto the head during heat soak.

On the way home, it doesn't often get blown out, unless there's a longer drive involved.

John Shatzer posted in reply to me that HIS car gets to normal operating temperature within his three mile drive to work. Why doesn't he have that problem? He's not grinding for a mile or so to get on the highway, with an engine that is cold. That will leave all sorts of stuff in the combustion chamber--stuff that needs to be eliminated, and usually is. Also, as an aside, the coolant up to temp isn't quite the same as combustion temp, which is really what I should've said, to avoid too narrow a scope of interpretation.

Ideally, an exhaust temp gauge would give you more insight into what is going on inside a particular engine, but that's pretty much impractical.

Other people drive the same conditions, but the 960 is known for building up crap on the valve stems. Mullah probably hit on the perfect mix. But ANY car driven under those conditions is likely to be poorer running. The fact that the 960 has small valves doesn't help when a chunk of that stuff breaks loose. All the air is channeled ONE way to the exhaust valve in a 2v per cylinder engine, but it's split in a 4v, increasing the chance of busting something.

Also, the oil consumption either contributed to that problem FIRST, or was a result OF the problem, and therefore made the problem worse in the later days.

The worse it gets, the worse it gets.

I have to wonder if fuel selection plays any part in that, but there isn't much way of telling.

Also, I'd replace the fuel pressure regulator unless you can verify the line pressure. Just in case you're running rich. With a newer converter, you might not know or smell it for thousands and thousands of miles. That's why the highway mile converters last so long--because the engines are running clean anyway.

I should've saved pics of the gummed up head on the Volvo, just to verify what I was saying about the gas fouling the combustion chamber. It is the same EFFECT, but a different product left behind. I think the Mullahmobile is a BAD deposit case, but not so much a bad gas case.
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Chris Herbst, near Chicago, IL. 93 940, 91 240, 90 240, 88 740, 87 240