Hi all. Brace for a sad story.
Been researching 850 turbos for a while now & finally got one this past Sat. Car was in amazing shape, looked wonderfully maintained, etc. I absolutely loved it. Was running great & everything. Monday comes & in the middle of a road trip from FL to NY, she started getting hot out of nowhere. I pulled over & it was a coolant leak, in the lower hose towards the back, about 1/2" in diameter. Was squirting right out. Tried adding water & coolant & it just wouldn't hold. So I called my roadside assist, they towed me to a local shop. Had to stay the night at a hotel and we tackled it the next morning. Managed to replace the hose & stop the leak. At this point I was very happy. However, the car was still running really hot once we went on a test drive. It kept pushing coolant back into the resevoir. So we tried the thermostat, and it was still getting very hot. So the local guy said it was above his abilities and advised I take it to the dealer. I was stranded in the middle of nowhere in southern VA, so the nearest one was in Richmond. Had to pay to have it towed the 80 miles to them. They were great there (Mooers Volvo) and willing to try as many minor options first, to hopefully get me on the road. But their gut feeling was it was a head gasket. So we tried: a new Volvo Thermostat (first one was from AutoZone), a new resevoir & cap, checked all hoses, flushed the system in case it was clogged, and nothing was working. So at this point, since I was already a day past when I was supposed to be back at work in NY, I just needed to get home. Left the car with them & rented a car to drive home....

End result, its not only the head gasket, but the head is warped. Beyond mill possibility. They called me today to tell me the diagnosis & the $3500 or so price that will go along with it. Well there is no way I can do that after just buying the car itself & all those additional expenses incurred along the way (about $900+ between hotel, volvo parts, the guy who fixed the hose, the tow, and renting a car to go home.)... So on that note, HELP!! I need some alternatives!!!! I love the car & can't accept all the money spent for only 3 days use.

I was thinking of finding a used engine, or even used head, and just having it milled (either thru volvo or from local place) and sending it to them. Then only out the gasket & labor costs above that.

Really need some help & advice boys.. Please!

Thanks in advance.
Nick

 

Oh, and if I search for a motor, what years & models will be a direct fit?

And as far as a cylinder head, was the head the same on other engines (like the base or glt) or just the T5?

Thanks again

 

Dealer is not only alternative.
German made head gasket complete set is around $100. There are used heads, check www.car-parts.com. And labor not at the dealer should cost few hundred dollars.
I have similar problem. My 1997 850 didn’t pass smog check. So dealer quote to fix it was $3500 !!!
So I start doing item from the list with my mechanic and buying from the internet.
So exhaust manifold I could replace for $500 instead of dealer quote of $1000.
Fuel injector and throttle body cleaning cost me $40 instead of $400 dealer quote.
Smog pre-inspection $20 instead of $130 dealer quote.
But now I still have to replace catalytic converter and in California only original can be put. So I still have to pay $1000 just for part without labor. But putting it on the car will cost me $50 instead of $300 quoted by dealer.
my 2 cents.
Sarkis.

 

Well the dealer its at is reasonable, labor wise, for a dealer.. $75 an hour.. But they say 14 hour job!!

Thats what scares me. I am pretty good with cars, but a 14 hour job scares the hell out of me. Plus I have been reading online all day and it says some things have to be aligned very carefully, with special tools & stuff.. Might be over my head (no pun intended)... And since I have only been a Volvo owner for a few days, unfortunately I don't know any local mechanics I would trust with a project like that. But hopefully I can find one. Only thing, is I live in NY, and am there now. Car is still in Richmond VA.

As far as the head, I did look online & found a few rebuilt ones for around $700. Thats not bad. Even if you add like $150 for the gasket, from Volvo, and the 14hr labor, we're down to like $1900 plus incedentals already. By that, I am sure other things like gaskets will get added on. But WAY better than the $3500+ we started at.

So is a head worth trying myself? Or is it too intricate? And should I get a rebuilt? Or would a used one be better, and just have it machined if need be? I need cheaper options.,.,

Thanks so much guys.

 

If you can find a used head yes it will work. BUT make sure it also includes the Cam cover. They are machined together from factory and only use a light chemical gasket to seal.

If you are pretty good with cars I think you could do it.
If you don't remove the sprockets on the cams it will be easy to retime.
It will just take you some time to do it.

If we don't know something off the top of our Heads as far as Info on doing it we could find out in a day for you.

 

Well, as i gradually start thinking with a clearer head (the shock from the $3500 price, plus about 10 hours sleep spread across three nights) I think I have my solution, and also, I realize this-

The dealer in VA has the head off already. Thats how they know its warped. They'll charge me for the labor thus far no matter what. Then I would have to ship or tow the car home to NY. More expense, and just ending up with a broken car in my NY driveway instead of a broken car in VA. The labor on the head gasket job was about $1,000 (13hr x $75/hr) and I would easily get close to that in transporting it alone. Plus the current labor bill. I can't imagine a head job being too many more hours than a head gasket job, so I have to convince them to do the labor on a rebuilt head that I supply. I have found them between $500 & $700. So that would put my total closer to $2,000 instead of $3500...

Just hope they'll install the one I supply...

What do you guys think?

 

A couple of random thoughts...

1) Unlike other make of cars, the valve cover (tech called it cam cover) has the cam towers/caps. It is very important that you use the valve cover with its corresponding head.

2) Another source for used cylinder head -- http://www.erievovo.com

3) Check your vin. You have a vin "57" engine. Our 850 T5's have turbo-charged 2.3L engine. The GLT's have 2.4L engine. You could also use head from vin "58" engine -- maybe 1998 Vin "53" (which are also turbo-charged 2.3L engines).

4) Browse thru JimW cylinder head posts from last December.

 

You browse that thread, and it will scare the heck out of you! If I had it to do over again, I would do the labor myself with my son in-law of course, but buy the head from the dealer at a cost of $1500 rather than having mine machined. I am still having trouble with my car since have the head done at a machine shop. I would have a warranty if I had bought it from the dealer.

Since your car is in Richmond, VA with the head off you would be really spending some big bucks to get it back to NY. Like you said you are going to have to pay them for the work they have already done on the car no matter what. You will find the gaskets from the dealer to be around $500 if I remember correctly. You will probably want to use new head bolts. Especially if the car got hot. Doing the work myself and having my own head machined still ran me close somewhere between $1500 and $1800.

Try and bargain with the dealer a little. The dealer I use here in Columbus gives me a 15% discount on parts because I joined the VCOA (Volvo Club of America). That $30 membership has paid for itself 10 times over. Ask the dealer if they give a AAA or VCOA discount.

Just some thoughts.

 

I agree w/ JimKW.
On the other hand, did you asked the dealer in VA how much they would charge you for the diagnostics only?
It is possible that they never pulled the head out, and told you that it was warped from experience w/ volvos.

I would call and ask how much I (you) would have to pay if I (you) decide to take the car home. I can recommend a knowlegeble volvo machanic in Ny (staten Island). however it would be much easier to have the job done there, because no good mechanic will tell you how much the job will cost you until they see the car.

 

I think in the least you could borrow a car/truck/van, rent a two wheel car dollie and iget t back to NY where you have more options. Its a bad deal either way you look at it. It almost sounds better and easier to replace the engine than fool with the head. Be strong and remember, its only money.

 

Send it to tech and let him fix it.

 

He is to far away now!! LOL

If it Broke down here in Fla. where he got it then it would have been easy.