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Oh, I just read your original post and let me add to the number of people who think your mechanic is full of shit.
My sedan had about 140k miles on it (an even 130psi across all cylinders.. low even for a B21FT.. but still), the wagon had about 260k miles on it (never did a compression check, but it made plenty o power), the two 760s as well.. even compression with about 210-220k miles on them. I R&R'd the head on the sedan because of a stripped spark plug, the wagon never gave me an ounce of trouble WRT the engine, the one 760 blew a head gasket (it was driven at least 20 miles with coolant gushing out of the side), the other one seems fine for now (but a blown head gasket may explain the coolant loss).
Oh what's my point? A blown head gasket, or even a trashed head is hardly terminal. It would take some serious overheating to damage the block. It takes much less effort to damage the head because it's aluminum. Altho core shift has been somewhat of a problem with the 2.3L engines (B23, B230) that's not so much heat related. I spent about $400-$500 on the head gasket job for my car (which included an OEM gasket set, and a set of pricey exh. manifold nuts and head bolts from the dealer). If you do it yourself you'd save a bundle on labor.
Oh, but more to the other point, your mechanic is full of SHIT. If he can't find a good head from a turbo (which I find hard to believe given the supply of junked Volvos), he could just as easily take a head from a non-turbo. They're the same dang heads. The only differences are the exhaust valves and the camshaft. Ideally the head would already be apart anyways as with such a 'worn' motor you'd want to adjust the valves, replace the valve dampers, maybe grind the valves, etc.
And that he's telling you it would be cheaper to replace the motor.. that's just *lazy* (and/or greedy). Pulling the head is pretty simple on a B230FT. Seven hours of labor isn't obscene, but really.. what kind of motor is he getting for so cheap that it would make up for the price difference of a gasket set and a whole motor (not to mention the extra three hours of labor).
But hey, if you want to junk your car with its blown motor.. um. yeah. my driveway's still empty.
And if you think blowing a head gasket at nearly 200k miles is bad (hah), check out what some other people (mid-80s Toyota V6 owners, Ford 3.8L V6 owners) have to put up with.
- alex
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