oh, and whats the recommended way to clean it?

 

just checked my oil.....oh goody....foam....i got water in the oil....head gasket time....

 

if i sold it, what do you guys think a good price would be?...with the bad gasket, im taking a loss i know...

 

I'm not sure how Volvo's sell down there but around here, a Volvo with a bad head gasket would likely sell for $800 or less. If it's real clean, my guess would be around $800, if not lower.

 

thats what i was thinking....no to decide if its worth fixing...

 

Don't rush to judgment. Sometimes chocolate milk in oil is condensation.

Do a leakdown test first. Check the exhaust fumes for color, etc. Head Gasket is a serious job on this motor.

 

considering the pressurization of the cooling system, the rough idle, and the froth on the dipstick....most of the way up when i checked it the 1st time Sat., i think thats pretty clear...i just checked it again...and its still like that....not that it was going to change...just making sure im not nuts i guess....

plus at 105xxx miles....its all about due, gasket, timing belt....ect.....

 

Timing Belt at 70k k miles is a maintenance item. Very easy and cheap to do.

Head Gasket is a anomaly at this mileage and very labor-intensive. These are not GM cast-iron block / aluminum-head engines, that HG is as frequent as oil changes. These are all alloy engines, and blown HGs are not common, unless over-heated severely.

The problem with HG is that these are very time-consuming. I am told that there are more shop-hours to pull the engine than to do HG.

Only a leak-down test will tell you.

"Coolant overpressurization" -- do you know what the specified range is? Have you measured the actual Over-pressure? Do you have the correct bottle (green) cap? Do you have coolant splashed all over the engine from the coolant reservoir?

Froth: maybe, maybe not. You might have defective oil cooler (sandwich) which would mix coolant and oil too. Do you have blue smoke from the tailpipe?

It would be a shame if you sold this for peanuts, and some dude figures out you have a busted $ 20 oil cooler sandwich. He adds another $ 80 for the timing belt and tensioners..

Unless, you don't like the car of course and want to get rid of it...

 

well i do like it, and was planning on doing the gasket myself....but i wil look into all these this beforehand....ive never had a car with condensation in the oil....im also in Florida.....so that wasnt really an option...where is the oil cooler??

 

This..

 

nevermind.....i see it...how can i tell if its bad?...

 

Drain oil, drain coolant. Disconnect the 2 rubber hoses. Unscrew the oil filter.

Get a Dodge Ram axle socket (43mm). Unscrew 1 bolt at the bottom of the cooler. Take cooler out.

Block one side of coolant port (where rubber hoses connect to). Pump air. If it does not hold -- there is a leak inside. Or pump water instead of air, it water comes from the oil ports -- it is bad. 20-25 psi pressure.

To put it back in -- buy the 2 o-rings plus 1 gasket (about $ 10 total from the dealer or Tasca).

 

another question, does the valve cover just pop off like a regular car?...ive got the bolts out, as i have decided to do the gasket....and besides the fact that there are 4 million bolts holding it down, that are 3 diff. sizes....its stuck to the head, and i dont want to pry it off and ruin anything.....

WHY CANT I FIND A HOW-to on this!!!!????

 

Here

 

you are a gentleman and a scholar!......just a tower of knowledge...thank you so much!!!

 

LOL. I ain't doing nothing -- you are the one in the trench. I can't even believe you started taking it apart. LOL

 

well just the top head cover bolts and such......i have a good one, how do i get the rear cam seals in if the motor is in the car?...lol


other than that i think i can sort it out.....

 

getting it all apart seems to be alright...but lining up the cams in the cover, and putting in the seals looks to be a bear..

 

Patience and a lot of cussing....

 

Someone on here did a head gasket replacement, can't remember who but I think he may have done a write up. Also, most people rig the cams so that they come out and don't move. You can probably learn a lot from the 850 section sticky that talks about the head gasket. These motors are very simular.

If you start a new thread calling it "head gasket replacement 960" you will likely get some experience people pop in within a day or two. The problem is, you work and move so fast that you will be done before most people reboot their computers.

One thing, I believe they warned people against that copper gasket sealer stuff. I could be wrong though. Search and read.