so, for my 16th birthday my grandpa gave my his old 1980 244dl. it needed alot of work, since it had been sitting on the side of the his house for about 7 years. we had successfully got it up and running! my first taste of freedom! the hunter green volvo brought me to and from school, work, and my friends houses! it was great. but then it decided to not start anymore. we were quite certain we could fix it by soldering the cylenoid. that didnt work so i dropped 80 dollars on a new started. then the leaks came. i was fine with it becasue we could always patch them later. but the heater and A/C dont work, the spedometer is screwed up. my lightswitch is 'custom' ( from a autozone at a truckstop while my grandpa was going to california about 20 years ago.) SO now my car started mixing oil and coolent. (the day before my birthday, noless) and after stripping it out pulling the head out and examining everything. we decided that it needed to be milled or replaced. it will cost 500 to mill the head. ( and another 500+ to mill the block) and replacing it is about the same price. so, i guess i just am asking if anyone knows anything else i could do, or if i should just hit Cars.com and see if i get lucky.

Thanks!

 

I had to replace the head on my 86 240 DL. It cost me 60 bucks at the local junk yard. Gasket was 38 bucks. Replacing it took me 8 hours because I was working late at night with little lighting ( needed to get to work ) I would save it but you will invest a bit. Send pics...

 

I just had a recent issue with coolant in all four cylinders. I pulled the head and had it surfaced and a complete valve job for $490. If you have the head surfaced and put in a quality gasket you will probably be fine. My came back after a severe overheat. PM me if you have questions. I can send you some links.

 

how long ago did you go to a junk yard? all of them out here have toasted the 1980 models.

 

Looks like you have found some good advise here.While you are at it,make sure the radiator is flowing well and thermostat is working properly.A radiator shop can clean it out along with the fins if you have problems.Good luck and welcome aboard!

 

I live in Orange,CA and we have the Stanton & Anaheim Pick ur Part. I found a turbo quite a bit of upgrades.....it lasted a day till the vultures picked it clean....haven't been to them for two weeks....a nice one to go is over in corona....GIGANTIC YARD.....! cheaper too....kind of out in the boons

 

i live in surprise Arizona and it's pretty hard to get to corona CA from here. haha especially because my car is broken. but, is there a website/ if so what would it be?

 

Ya know, even after a bad overheat, these heads are seldom really damaged and just a new head gasket will fix it.

Also, all the later heads will fit.

I did once run across a car with a twisted head, but no cracks, so I put it back together with two head gaskets. It was a really worn out car and not worth of any real $. It worked for two years until totaled by a cadillac.

 

Awesome- I'd try Larrys 2 gasket idea and see what happens... just my 2c Dave

 

thanks for all the help. but, my grandfather and i have gotten it checked out a couple times and the guy said that there is far too much of a chip in the side piston head. also the gasket was completely fine. it looked new. so that led us to believe that it was a chip in the head rather then a gasket fail. so, we ar planning on getting rid of it. unless another option comes up. if anyone happens to have a head lying around....

 

You can try this.....I braze copper pipe for a living and the filler metal is extremely well. It will withstand the temps since brazing can take you in the 1200 degrees F. I had a giant gash on the back side of the plugs....the car ran perfect with a JB Welld on it...the owner decides to just smear it with a ton of JB WELLD on the chip. If your chip is inside and not on the outsides you can try melting the brazing rod. melt the brazing rod were the chip or gash is and file to surface levels. Cheap fix....won't hurt....

you need a Acetylene tank (B tank a small one) or oxy/acetylene if you have it....all you want is to melt a bunch of it in the hole or crack and file to surface level.

EVEN CHEAPER FIX......TRY SOFT SOLDER....PLUMBER KIND NOT FOR ELECTRICAL USE. SAME PROCEDURE....

SOLDER WILL WITHSTAND THE BEATING UNTIL YOU FIND A HEAD....