Hello,

I needed head work on my B230F (94 940 Base Wagon). While the engine was on the stand, I decided to pull the head because I did not trust the work that had been done before I purchased the car. I was right, the head was .006" out of flat. The camshaft saddles were out of alignment to to the point that the cam "Rocked when laid in the saddles sans spring buckets, and would not turn when the saddle caps were installed w/finger tightened nuts. To top it off, there was enough erosion to require repair by welding, epoxy or aluminum brazing would not work. Since I could not find a machine shop in my area who would straighten the head or even align hone the saddles, I decided on a replacement. I found a place 1 hour drive away that would send me a replacement "Ready to Install" with free shipping both ways. Save driving a borrowed vehicle and have it shipped sounded like a good idea. The head arrived yesterday, and there were some surprises and some problems.:

1) 531 casting, not 530
2) "A" cam profile, not "T"
..( sounds good so far)
3) Has a ring insert repair on #4 exhaust (sounds like marine head...)
4) Does NOT have the drilled hole for the ECU Temp sensor (GRRR, definitely a marine head...)
and the most annoying thing...
5) Chock full o' Junk! Lots of Aluminum chips and blasting medium everywhere. (another example of "Ready!, Fire!,...aim?")

I was offered a $50 refund if I was willing to do the disassembly and clean it myself, I paid $400+tax free S&H. I have no problem with the cleaning, I probably would have disassembled it anyway for verification, but I cannot find any shop who will drill the temp sensor, it is not a pipe thread, it needs to drilled and the mounting surface need to be cut flat for a sealing washer. It would require a special cutting bit (similar to cutting for a new valve seat). Is the 531 head with the "A" Camshaft worth the hassle of machining the hole myself? I was not building a mod, this is my only car and I need reliability. I drive more than 25K a year, so fuel mileage is a big concern, not to mention California Emissions Inspection. Everything else on the head looks good, I don;t know if I should consider myself lucky to get this head, or wait for them to find another casting. Any & all opinions are welcome, and I thank you for your time.

 

I would prefer a T cam for the performance aspect, but I have an A cam and its fine. That being said, see if you can swap them before sending anything back if you want. It will change the characteristics about the car quite a bit, particularly at the bottom and top ends of the spectrum.

That being said, I would not care about the Ring Repair, those are normally pretty good, and reliable.

Finally, you are already taking it down and cleaning it up, drilling and tapping a hole is really simple to do yourself. This kind of thing I would totally do because the 531 is actually quite a bit better than the 530.


Now, if all that time and effort worth it? well thats up to you.


If you go with the 531 I would use valves specifically for a turbo motor as if I recall they have more sodium in them, allowing them to cool more efficiently. they are the same size and have the same valve seat angle. Lastly remember that the 531 head uses larger valve springs than the 530.

 

Hello Nichals,

Thank you for your reply to this post. I have been forced to learn many nuances about the Red Block this past week. I fully understand the benefits of the 531. Yes, drilling for the sensor will be annoying, but not daunting (worst case scenario I could use a forstner bit in a drill press). It is not the performance of the "A" cam that I am worried about, it is the effect on the emissions, and the fuel milage. When I first learned that this particular head cam from a boat motor, I suspected that the cam would be vastly different. One of the first threads regarding the "A" cam made me back away as is it were a western states sidewinder...

(the poster discussing the overlap)
Going to put A grind cam into B230f

I have asked about this situation on a number of Volvo forum websites, and I have received many replies, but only one from someone in California, who has ran the "A" cam, that had a definite opinion regarding emissions. The car currently has (rather HAD, since the head is off of the engine) a "T", although it is a non-turbo. The previous owner did the head before I purchased the car. It was the quality of the work I have seen on this car that made me question the head gasket repair he had done. I suspect he just grabbed a JY head.

I have looked at the grind profiles of the various Volvo Camshafts, and the overlap on the "A" is very substantial. The "T" I have been running is weezy, but I drive gently. I only have trouble driving up steep highway grades. The gas milage was terrific, I was hitting close to 30mpg highway / 20 city (car usually is loaded heavy when city driving). It all comes down to the emissions, and that one thread scared me. I cannot afford to buy a new CAT every 2 years.

 

the T cam is much more mild than the A cam in a non turbo engine. the T cam is built for turbo motors.

the A cam is I almost the same as the B cam and these are the most common

check out this page
TurboBricks | High Performance Volvo Club

Typically, if you have this setup with the T cam you will have less power, better mileage and lower emissions

the A cam will give you better power but bring you to more of a standard configuration, nothing crazy here.
If you find that you have too much or too little, you can also way an adjustable cam gear and change the timing to compensate.
https://www.ipdusa.com/products/6445...t-b21-b23-b230

 

Thank you, I did see that chart. It was there that I saw the overlap. Since this is not the only forum where I have posted this problem I have typed this over and over, but you have been the only person to reply on this forum. My main concern is whether I should listen to my "Inner Klingon" or my "Inner Vulcan"?
More power or better emissions and mileage. If the drop in fuel economy is slight (single digit %) and it wont skunk up my emissions, it is a no brainer.

Even at .050" lift the overlap goes from -6.6 degrees to +9.4 degrees.
These figure were taken from here:
B21 and B23 Cams | K-Jet.org

That would produce very effective scavenging of the combustion chamber, but what will it do to the fuel curve set by the ECM? Unburned fuel to the O2 sensor, ECM sees rich mixture, sets to run lean, CAT heats up, yada, yada. It may have been all "Doom and Gloom", theoretical extrapolations. Or it could have been proven facts. That poster was the one who scared me, but he has since been banned from that forum. So I cannot ask him directly, and I wonder why he was banned. I have had one reply on a different forum, who was from CA, and has had an "A" cam in a CA car. He said that emissions don't take so much of a hit. There was one other person who mentioned in a earlier post that he ran an "A" cam in a CA car, and he got a slight bump in mileage, I hope he answers my pm. I just want to gather as much information before I decide to "Take it, or Leave it"

Again, thank you for your input. It is greatly appreciated.