Can I put the engine from my 91 Volvo 940SE Turbo in my wife's 93 960 wagon? The timing belt broke on hers and we hate to have to get rid of the car as it is in excellent condition!

 

You can but you have to take all the wiring and ecu's and everything related to the 940 and swap it over.

 

Thanks for the quick reply - does it depend at all on the exact engine type? Are there any drawbacks to having a 4 cyl turbo in the wagon? The wagon has 94k on it and would be a shame to dump it. The 91 940SE Turbo has only 115k on it but is not in as good shape as the wagon...

 

Me I prefer the 4 cylinder turbo.
But it comes down to if you want to put the time in to do the swap or the time in to do the head on the 960 6 cylinder motor. IMO it would be alot easier to redo the head on the 960 motor.

If you are handy with tools in like 2 to 3 hours you can have the head off the car.

 

A Volvo specialist in the area quoted us about $3000 to replace the engine, etc. I am a computer tech, not a auto tech, so I don't see myself fixing it or even doing the replacement myself. I wonder approx how much it would cost to put the turbo engine into the 960...I know guys who will do the work for less than quoted above but depends on how much a job like this costs, etc... Any more thoughts? Thanks again for your input - I am new to these forums and am glad I joined now.

 

I think it will cost you more to have the motor swap done.
You should just be able to have the head redone at a shop and drop the cost about 1K from the motor job.

 

Yeah, the mounts and electricals are all different, if you're not doing the work yourself, it would be a lot more for the conversion.

Most mechanics won't do the head only, but will replace the motor. I've done the head on my 960, cost about $800 and many days. I would advise taking the whole motor out if it's your first time, as it would be quicker. Now that I know where everything is, I can braille most of the hidden stuff.

 

You might want to find a 93 wagon and swap other parts like interior, etc. That may be cheaper than the motor. I would think that you can find another '93 wagon for under $1,500 and sell yours for parts.

 

The big question with the broken timing belt is more a question of 'what if'. Personally, I'd take your time pulling the head off the 960. Do it yourself. Take lots of pictures, and bag all of your bolts and label the bags with a sharpie. Once the head is off, look at the pistons to see if the valves have damaged the pistons. If the pistons are ok - take the head to a machineshop and have them go thru it. Installation is reverse of removal There are a few DIY's here for help, and I'm getting mine back together just fine with 0 of the factory special tools. Mine should run this afternoon.