My girlfriend’s 960 has engine problems. It was sold to us because it had a blown head gasket. I’ve been pouring money into the car and I’ve found some concerning things. For example, the head seems to have a lot of casting issues. I have counted 7 small holes by the 4 ends of where the camshafts sit (i.e. the CPS and the cam gears). When I took the head off, I also inspected the head gasket and did not find a failure point. I have concerns that the engine is cracked somewhere (the machinist did not see anything on the head but I don’t think he was checking to be honest) or that the holes in the engine actually developed later on in its life and led to its failure.

I’m about to finish the head gasket job and I don’t see why the car should not turn on but I’m concerned about its longevity. I’m also concerned because (long story) I’m pretty sure there is an inconsistency in the amount of angle I applied on the head bolts. I got paranoid about it and went back around. I regret doing that as one of the corner bolts probably got an extra 20 degrees on top of the required 130. I’ve done a head gasket job only once before on my Toyota and it does not require applying angle so I’m uneasy with applying angle.

Worst case scenario is the engine fails again, and we will have to review our options. There doesnt seem to be a lot of parts available for this car, the only other 960 I’ve seen was at a junkyard and I don’t know if it would be a good idea to use its engine. In that event, what other engine could work? Ideally without having to extensively modify the car. I’m not looking to increase the power of the car, just a reliable engine. Thank you in advance

 

the shop should also check the head for flatness and they can magnaflux to check for cracks but if you want to source a replacement engine or head, you can search yards nationally using car-part.com. I don't think going used is asking for trouble - provided you get one that is reasonably low miles and appears to be well maintained. Take a look to see if you can find the engine code - should be either B6304F or B6304S before starting your seach. Look for a sticker on the timing cover or on a placard or you can also use a VIN decoder tool. I did a quick check and the going rate is about $500 which if you've already gone to the trouble of pulling the head, you're half way home to replacing the engine.