I picked up a lower mileage replacement for my 94' 850 T5. ONLY $400 delivered BTW!!
Here is the description off Ebay and the questions I asked and the answer.

Engine removed (and still at),a Goodyear shop,Running long block 2.3 High Pressure Turbo engine removed from 1998 Volvo C-70. Car had 85,000 miles on when engine was removed. Engine developed a "tic" noise, but motor ran as smooth as glass, did not ged louder or quieter when engine was reved up and down, and did not effect driveability, our tec's did not feel it was anything big, but customer decided he would rather replace engine with a rebuilt long block. SO, we now have this engine in a crate, and would like it out of the shop! If somebody knows volvo engines they may know what causing the tic already.

Q: Would it ship as shown in pics? What freight company would you use for shipping? Was it "ticking" or "Knocking" sound probably like a collapsed lifter?
A: Yes, it will be shipped in the crate the new motor was shipped in. And it was a tic...not a knock, we thought a valve spring, but it ran great, no miss at all, 170+ compression on all 5 ???

So with the good compression and lower mileage I am thinking it is probably the "o-rings" in the sump? Or a bad lifter?

Here are my questions.

I know it is the same basic block, head, etc. since it is the HPT 2.3 but are there any "quirks" as far as fitting on all my accessories etc from the 94'?

The engine currently in the car runs fine just has excessive blow-by, oil consumption and poor compression, so I have time to really "freshen" this new longblock up before swapping it in. So I am wondering about things to do and check before getting to the swap.

1: Any way to "bench test" the lifters?

2: If I were to replace the lifters for safety's sake is there a "lightweight" or "performance" lifter or which manufacturer or source to use for stock?

3: Should I check bearing clearances on the bottom end? Or replace main/rod bearings? Any suggestions as to bearing sources?

4: Any things that have been changed from 94 production to 98 production that might want to be carried forward from the 94' motor (Example early model VW 8V engines had "oil squirters" for the bottom of the pistons that were removed on later production but can be retrofitted to later blocks easily)

5: I see FCP has KEVLAR timing belts out I assume it would be a pretty good idea to go with one of them?

6: Cam timing - any "mods" as far as advancing or retarding camshafts?

7: Exhaust manifolds? I know the later model "R" manifolds are an improvement is there a more common "junkyard" manifold with similar design?

8: Any "mods" for the PCV system? The stock 94 system seems way to arcane to me?

9: Front Mount intercooler vs. Reverse Piping vs. stock? any REAL advantages to mods?

I know I am asking a lot of questions but since this car is rust free and I have invested money in suspension etc over the past 2 or 3 years and I love it I want to do this engine swap correctly to maximize the time and fun I have with it.

 

Hey there. The engine is the same engine that is in your car and you should be able to swap them easily. The only real difference is that your car has EGR and the C70 has the SAS system. Not really a problem for you as long as you swap the EGR over to the C70 engine.

As for the Tic, could be something as dumb as the wrong oil and oil filter being used. I would take it either way because no matter what it is, it is an easy fix.

 

Thanks,

Be expecting a nice size order soon.

I am picking the engine up this afternoon in Middletown, CT at the freight terminal (they wanted $140 for liftgate delivery!) I am renting a small uhaul and using my heavy duty dollie for $50 LOL!

Yeah I was surprised nobody else bid on it? Maybe they were concerned about the "tic"?

I have been driving this car with a "tic" for 4 years!! LOL

Once I get it onto my engine stand I will start pulling it apart. I am thinking since I have time I will pull the rod ends off and slip out the pistons one at a time checking the bores and rings. Probably just use some "plasti gauge" to check bearing clearances.

FCP,

I have ordered quite a bit from you because over $600+)
A: Your in CT and so am I (like to keep business local)
B: Your prices are good
C: Shipping is fair (usually free) and gets to me the next day!
D: You website layout is good.

That being said, I plan to place a decent size order for parts for this swap in early August. I have a few other places online that I order from since they also offer free shipping on orders over $150 and some things are cheaper.

Maybe I could be persuaded to not "shop" around with a little discount?
ordered under Michael Trupp account = m-trupp@comcast.net

 

hey someone else in CT. thats nice to see.
Where abouts?

I personally used to 10% discount code that Andrew has in his signature the other day on a set of bilsteins and mounts for my t5-r. Ben (i believe) at their brick and mortor store in groton had no problem putting the discount on my order.

That can add up to a nice bit of change on a large order that you may be putting together for a rebuild...

 

Michael,

Send Scott an email at scottd@fcpgroton.com. I think he will be able to hook you up with a nice discount if you are going to be placing a big order. He is a good guy.

 

I am in West Haven, my car is actually a 94' (I messed up the year when I registered the screenname).

Did you get the T5R from long island? I had seen one for sale on Craigslist a little while back.

I did not realize they had a store front in Groton.

I have thought about getting together a "Volvo" car club in CT any ideas?

 

Oh that’s not too far; I'm over in New London.
The T5-R I got was from a friend at my church. As soon as she got it i told her it was awesome. She knew how rare it was, but just wasn’t into cars that much. She ended up with a new Cobalt (yeah I know what your thinking too)
So anyways she wanted to get rid of it cheap, and I was more then happy to give it a good home.

I'd love to get a meet together in CT, but i have no idea how much participation I would get. There doesn’t seem to be much going on, on this site in for east coast stuff, since there hasn’t been a post in that forum for over a month now...

I know Volvo Club of America has a Boston chapter, and a Southern New England Chapter... but 45 dollars a year for 6 magazines and to be able to say I’m part of a club... doesn’t excite me too much. I see that some of the dealers also give discounts to the members, but I never end up at a dealership unless FCP or IPD can’t get something for me... and that’s pretty rare.

But if you want to get something together, or know of anyone else from the area, I'm sure I could be talked into going =)

 

wow man i just got my engine shipped to me from CT. - 140 k for 249 with trans and 150 SHIP TO FLA- i got it for the short block(mines got cyl #5 cracked top to bottom) gotta do a swap of block and pistons i think itll take about 2 weeks to do the job if the rain ever stops

 

Got the thing home last week and just yesterday got it up on the engine stand (needed to put the Chevy 327 away for a while)

This this was WAY CLEAN, marked in grease pencil were compression readings on all 5 cylinders of 170 (sounds pretty good???)

Coolant passages were pristine shiny aluminum no pitting, corrosion or crap in there.

A few things I noticed straight off.

It appears it has a different timing belt tensioner. This one seems spring loaded?
Can I retrofit the old style or is the new style an improvement?

Pulled the valve cover off and pulled out the lifters, seems about 12 of the twenty are "OK".
What I mean by "OK" is they have a little "give" to them spring loaded like with no oil in them. The others seem like they are "locked up" or could be "locked down" not sure how to describe it other than they have no "give" to them.

I assume the "give" is the good thing right? They "suck in" some oil and "pump up" reducing the valve lash to zero. If they are locked in a compressed position then there would be excessive lash and the "click" or "tic" (like an old chevy with a mechanical cam)?

Questions:

1: Is there a "bench test" or some other rule of thumb to determine lifter condition?

2: Can I soak them in something like seafoam or marvel mystery to possibly "bring them back from the dead?

3: Anyone have the specs on the stock head bolts? Ie, Diameter, thread pitch, effective lenght etc? I would like to cross reference to ARP or Other high quality studs.

4: Anyone interested in a DIY "Mod" to eliminate the crappy designed turbo oil return and replace it with AN fittings and braided hose? I am looking at "tapping" the block and putting an AN line from the block to the turbo to help eliminate the common "oil drip"

5: RINGS, I figure since I am pulling the head off I might as well hone the bores and either clean up the rings and pistons or go all the way and put in new rings? any suppliers of just rings at a good price?


BTW: to clean up a used block I used the following method.

1: Tape off intake,exhaust ports and coolant ports (aluminum tape works best)
Plug dipstick hole, turbo oil return and PCV ports

2: In the sun use GUNK Foamy engine brite liberally and a brush (cheap toilet bowl brushes from WalMart work well) rinse thoroughly and allow to dry completely (leaf blower speeds up the drying process)

3: Spray liberally with EASY OFF Oven cleaner (original heavy duty) wear gloves and old clothes and don't breath or touch the stuff with bare skin.

4: After about 15 minutes brush and rinsed thoroughly with water.

5: Allow to dry (It will leave behind a lot of white aluminum oxide)

6: With a STAINLESS STEEL BRUSH spray on CLR (Calcium, Lime, Rust remover) and brush well. Rinse with plenty of water and dry.

7: ELBOW GREASE, STAINLESS STEEL WOOL or Scotch Brite and WD-40.

 

I am in the process of putting a '96 850 engine in my sons '94 (we bought with blown head gasket and warped block). I have learned the hard way that what I will call the "pilot bearing" (on engine side - middle of flex plate/flywheel mount) is smaller on later models than with ours. Many hours of frustration trying to mate engine to transmission. The "****" on the torque converter simply won't fit. Don't know if this applies to your engine/transmission but thought i'd throw this in the mix just in case.

 

Is it a manual or an auto?

OOPS sorry Torque Converter means AUTO DUH!!

anyone else know for sure?

 

According to VADIS the cranks are the same? Is the replacement engine from a manual car? If so then the pilot bearing may need to be removed. The easiest way to get it out of the crank is to find a sturdy bolt that is a tight fit to the inside diameter of the bushing. Pack wheel bearing grease into the hole and then place the bolt inside. A few heavy "whacks" with a mallet and the compressed grease should force the bushing out.

I am pretty sure this is the issue.

 

Well,

I had stripped the thing down to the bare block and was contemplating where to go next. I have quite a few issues in mind to "solve" upon putting this thing together and back in the car.

After disassembly I was cleaning up parts and putting them in plastic bags and boxes with labels and decided that the rings (especially the oil rings) looked pretty crappy so I planned to replace them all. I figured I would clean up the pistons...so I removed the rings and threw them out and then started to remove one from the rod...WTF!!! The rod looked a little "crooked"?? So I looked closer and at the small end I noticed a slight "shiny spot" like it had rubbed something? How could that be? Well, if the rod is BENT then it bumps up against the crank counter weight near and @ BDC!!! This friggin motor with a "tick" turned out to have at least 2 BENT rods. Two are VISIBLY bent (#5 & #2 on same "stroke" WATER INGESTION MAYBE??) and show signs of coming in contact with the crank! So now I do not trust ANY of the rods.

Now I am not really that upset because the crank has acceptable runout so it is not bent and the pistons show no signs of anything HARD having been in there and the valves and springs all check out also.

The funny thing is the rods are damn near still parallel just bent like a "lightning bolt" ??


So, I plan to start a new thread soon. My goal is to writeup a "mild" performance rebuild that can be done on a $2000 - $2500 budget that:

A: Increases Performance
B: Uses readily available, affordable parts
C: Solves some common issues (leaky turbo drains, crappy PCV setup, turbo oil consumption, etc.)
D: Can be done without a MACHINE SHOP at home.

Requirements to perform:

Rebuildable Long/Short Block (read = good condition bores and pistons)
Basic mechanical knowledge (if you can't get the engine out w/o tech support don't try)
TIME
$2,500 (the hardest to come by)

Basic plan:

Hone bores
New rings
Stock Pistons (cleaned and polished)
Stock wrist pins (new pin locks)

H-Beam Rods (3 options I am looking at here)
RSI (Portland OR) ~ $550/set
Pauter Custom no price yet but expect to be $800-$1,000
Used set of NASCAR rods (Ebay) machined locally to work (Honda Big ends 5.50 long)
I am leaning towards the RSI rods, waiting to confirm if they have forced pin oiling available, price and availability

Newer MLS head gasket (needs minor mods)

N/A (GLT) cam/cams?

Hard plumbing the turbo oil return into the block by tapping the hole (M22 x 1.5) and using Metric to AN adapter

Improve turbo oil & water plumbing with AN fittings and braided stainless lines (will also look at other coolant improvements, (possibly add pre-turbo oil cooler)

19T turbo with blocked off CBV and "plumb back" BOV

S60R exhaust manifold

reduced spool time (lag) with mods to wastegate plumbing (more on that later)

etc etc etc

Next Reply will have questions and requests for members

 

So...

Questions / Requests

1: Anyone think I am NUTS yet?

2: What type of ECU tune?

3: Anyone out there have "mods" they wanted to try but have not had an engine out to do them to? Speak up if they make sense to me and are affordable I will be the "guinea pig"

4: Anyone know of any other sources for these parts?

5: Does anyone have EXACT, ACCURATE dimensions for the following:
B5234T "whiteblock"

Deck Height from center of crank to cylinder head mounting surface
(I got somewhere that it was 5.2" makes no sense since the RODS alone are 5.5" long!!)
Piston Compression Height (center of pin bore to crown)
Exact Rod length (C to C)

6: Any information that might seem even "trivial" regarding these motors is appreciated

 

give me a couple of days to get back to this - i reaaly must finish what im doing on my volvo850 - im rebuilding my replacement engine at the moment and will respond after i get the piston rings on and pistons in place
ok??

 

cool..

I figure I can try to gather all the "pearls of wisdom" I have found on the net and do a "writeup" on a budget performance motor.

This might take me some time to due because of the budget and the fact I am working 7 days a week right now. But, I think it might be helpful to get a reference on these motors for everyone that brings together all the info I have found.