Ok, so I am in the process of replacing the head gasket on a 1997 Volvo 850 GLT.....My question is:

What is the best way to hold the cam cover onto the cylinder head while I install the cam cover bolts?

I noticed when I first removed the cam cover, I saw that the exhaust cam, on the #1 cylinder side pushed the cam cover up off the cylinder head.

 

The best way would be with the special tool. Otherwise, tighten the bolts incrementally. Be careful not to crack the cover. Its machined to the head.

 

Yeah i just did the HG on my S60 and would strongly suggest that you at least fabricate one so the cam cover goes down evenly. i made mine out of some all thread and old spark plugs and it worked great. However i have done it without it too, VERY VERY SLOWLY.

 

I've welded some allthread onto an old spark plug.....so I have the ability to clamp down the cam cover.

Another question I have is:

The new head bolts......they don't have any hardened washers on them. The old ones didn't have washers either. I've never seen headbolts without washers when used with aluminum cylinder heads. Is this correct. The replacement headbolts are identical to the new replacements head bolts. Should I add hardened washers to the new bolts so that the new bolts dont dig into the aluminum cylinder head?

I'm ready to tighten the head onto the engine block, but am wondering if anyone has used bolts without washers.

 

The original bolts didn't have washers.
The new ones don't have washers.
Don't add washers.

Volvo doesn't use washers.

 

Thank you for the reply. I installed the new head bolts without washers.

I first torqued the head bolts to 15 foot pounds.......I then repeated the tightening sequence with the same 15ft/lbs measurement a second and then a third time.......making sure all bolts were the same 15ft/lbs torque. Basically I did three passes with 15 ft/lbs.

I then torqued the bolts to 44 foot pounds and repeated the tightening sequence a second and third time with the same 44ft/lbs torque.

I then used an angle guage and rotated the bolts 130 degrees. I've got a 4 foot breaker bar (yes, 4 feet long), and everything went smoothly.

I must say, the most important part of doing this job was getting the threads in the bolt holes cleaned up. I spoke to a guy that works at a Volvo dealership and he advised me to NOT use oil on the new headbolts. He said too much oil will cause the excess oil to run down into the bottom of the hole and possibly crack the head when the bolts are tightened........and on the other hand, he said not enough oil will cause too much friction between the threads of the block and those of the bolts possibly resulting in snapped head bolts.........he told me to use some type of assembly lube because it is slicker than oil, giving the TTY bolts an easier time reaching thier stretch points and also the assembly lube is too thick to run down off the threads preventing the puddling of the lubricant in the bottom of the hole.

Again, thanks for the replys. YThe only thing left foe me to do is replace the top motor mount (torque arm, I think is a better word for it), and then send the car off to it's owner. I've already fired up the car and it runs fine......I let it idle till it reached normal operating temps and so far, so good. I monitored the OBD system on my laptop and I think this job is a success.