Hey guys, im new to the forum, but since i just picked up a new volvo 850 turbo, i think ill be around quite a bit. I picked up a 1996 Volvo 850 turbo 3 days ago, and limped it home(that is a story by itself). i did an oil change and put on a new oil filter, because it blew the on it had on it off on the way home. when i finally got it home i drove it to get the codes ran(the car is barely going 70, and goes 0-60 in about 40 seconds) and i found that i have a misfire on cylinder #1 and #3, and my TPS is not working, it also said gear 4 incorrect ratio? along with a few other things. so i pulled all the plugs and did a compression test, all cylinders have 160 psi except #3 which has 0 psi. i did a leak down test on that cylinder to find that it has either a stuck or a burnt exhaust valve. so today, i decided to pull the cam cover off, and do the timing belt, water pump, timing tensioner etc. As well as take the head off and check the valves. but in order to do this i need to get Cylinder #1 to TDC first correct? but i do not know where i can fit any type of wrench or ratchet on the crank pulley, or any other pulley for that matter, Any solutions and or tips would be extremely helpful.

 

I just found a huge boost/intake leak. The boot that connects right to the intake manifold to the inter-cooler piping had a huge blow out (about a one and a half inch hole). So that's another thing to add to the list.

 

I found an odd wrench that fit on my alternator belt, but i am now having trouble finding TDC, i put an air hook up to my #1 cylinder, and am putting the piston to what looks to be the top of its stroke, and putting 50 PSI into the cylinder, to find that there is air coming out of the intake side of my turbocharger, but there is no boot connected to my intake manifold, so even if it was on the intake stroke i would hear air coming out of my intake manifold...... how in the world is there air coming out of the intake side of my turbo if the intake manifold is not connected to the intercooler ?

 

Hi and welcome to VolvoForums.

Are you using some instructions to do your work? There are some good instructions pined in the DIY sticky thread.

If you have 0 compression in #3, there is a good chance that you do have a burnt exhaust valve.

If you pull the timing belt cover, you will see the cams. The cams have small marks on them that have to be matched to the top cover knotches. (It's actually not TDC, but it is aligned to where they need to be). If you pull the plugs, you can usually turn the crank with a cresent wrench or anything you can get on that bolt.



If you need instructions on getting the head off, you can use these, I just put them together a few days ago.
Head Removal and Installation, Volvo 850 / S70 Turbo B5234T, B5254T, Head gasket replacement, valve replacement.

It's my opinion that these cars burn valves when the valve stem seals leak. I believe they leak because they have been starved of oil from people using oil filters other than Volvo OEM/Mann filters.

 

Hey man, SLOW DOWN, Volvo's are a little different and rushing through this will end up costing you time and money.

These cars have a STRANGE PCV system that has a vacuum hose that goes from the passenger side of the intake manifold to a valve back by the turbo. That may be the sound you hear. There are other vacuum hoses that connect to the turbo valve, etc. that air may be traveling through.

If you got a good deal on the car and it has been neglected, you will likely need a NEW PCV system. Put that on your shopping list of parts to get.

 

Thank you for the help man, i would have never known there were notches that needed to be lined up, in fact i have not even pulled off the cam belt cover. that will be next on my list for tomorrow, and no i have not been using any kind of instructions, but i am going to be using the ones you just linked me. And yes, this engine had an oil filter that did not have a one way valve in it, so i can assume that the engine had quite a few dry starts This has been fixed. And i was forced to run the engine on low oil for a mile, to get it off the highway, starting it, getting to 60, putting it in neutral, and shutting it off and coasting. i drove it 2 hours from where i bought it, and 15 minutes from home the oil filter seal blew off because of a lose filter. so i had to pick up 5 quarts, put them in and rush it off the freeway. But its home now, and it has decent compression. although for 1700$ i would have thought it would have a few less problems. Thanks again.

Alex.

 

That makes sense, i was thinking something along those lines, i will be picking up an oil trap kit (i think that's what Volvo's have right?) and will be installing it also.

 

Good. Take a few minutes to read through the "New 850 Owner" thread and find the timing belt instructions in the "Helpful Information - DIY" thread and you should be on your way to enjoying your 850.

 

Just an update: got the head off, and drove the head to a machine shop, they only charged me 20 bucks to put in a new valve, i supplied the valve. they had to take .020 of an inch off the valve, and the seat, because the burn went into the seat as well. Now i have to fork over another 170 bucks for a gasket kit and head bolts -.-

 

I picked up a HG kit (by Elwis) for $83 off Ebay. Came with everything you need. I also picked up a set of Victor Reinz head bolts for $40 from Ebay. Everything works great. I did not do a valve job on mine since the head seemed to be sealing alright and my valves and stem seals were not leaking.

 

Huh? A valve job? Seals not leaking?

The #1 reason these valves burn are due to leaking valve stem seals. On top of that, if the seals are 12+ years old and the head is off, the seals are a must. I would not install a head with old stem seals in it unless I was just FLAT broke.

What is "a valve job"? Having them lapped? If you have/had one bad valve, there is a good chance that another one was nearing the same fait. Doing all that labor and not doing the job "right" doesn't make sense to me.

 

rspi, I may be new to Volvos, but I am not new to wrenching on vehicles. I do not appreciate your bellicosic response. Yes, I did not fix what was not broken plus I happen to know my vehicle's maintenance history plus other info you are not privy of. So please, stop treating me like I'm an idiot, please.

 

I'm not trying to treat you like an idiot. Your post never said why you pulled the head on your car so I do not know what your situation was. If you pulled the head because of a burnt valve, I think there is a reason to be concerned about the possibility of another valve burning for the reason the first one burnt. If you are sure that the rest of the motor is tight and in good shape, by all means, button it up and keep on trucking. However, it really sounded as if you were encouraging the OP to do the same.

Your post made no mention of you being new to Volvo's or to wrenching, I never said that. Very few people new to wrenching will pull a head and find deals on gaskets, etc. I've been wrenching for 30 years and did my very first head job 5 months ago. I just know that I read a lot about these cars having burnt valves and having a head off and not insuring the head is in good shape can be a costly time wasting mistake.

I did have a question in my post, asking what you considered a "valve job" to be because I'm just not sure what you meant by that.

Thanks for letting me know that I hurt your feelings. I don't come on this site all day long to make people feel bad. It's my intensions to help people. I'll try to remember to be gentle.

 

sounds like you may have had a dodgy last owner just like mine. I too paid $1700 for the car, and within the recent past 2 months have now paid out $650 + $240 + another £200 tomorrow.

Was it worth it I ask? If anything else goes wrong it's going to be sold, and I may be put off buying another volvo. Not willing to lose any more money over this car.

What is a PCV system? I probably got those letters mixed up. Abbreviations don't work well when you have no idea what it is.

Initially I thought I was buying a reliable cost effective car. I have been proven wrong already, not much is cost effective about this.

 

These cars are very old and need a lot of care. The PCV system is: Positive Crankcase Ventilation system. If you have no history on it, I guess it's time to sell it, because it's past due.

The thing about Volvo's is that they will let you run them into the ground, then when they have enough wrong with them, you'll have to start getting things back in shape. If you don't fix things yourself, they will chew you a new one (butt hole). I can just about tell you what any 850 that is for sale needs. Most people bail on them when they have a mechanic tell them that they have $6,000 worth of repairs needed on them.

Some guy tried to get me to puchase the one his son had, which had a burnt Valve. He dash said 116,500 and the computer read 187,500. It needed a lot of work, not to mention the head. From what I figured, it would cost me $1,900 in parts to get car back on it's 4 good wheels. If a shop did the work the cost would be about $6,500. If the dealer here did the work it would cost about $11,000. Needless to say, I did not get the car.

Do what's needed and you can go years with them. So if you don't do your own work, get rid of it ASAP.

 

Thanks, i didn't see that one, its in my cart now, i also have a torque angle gauge, an oil trap, and some OEM volvo head bolts, and a timing belt for, $198, instead of 150, Thank you =D

 

I am flat broke, all the other cylinders have 160+ psi, this one will seal now that it does not have a huge hole in it. So all the other valves are good. How do i go about checking my valve stem seals ? and how would i replace them myself ? since the gasket kit comes with stem seals, if i can do it myself, i will do it, if not... well i guess i will have to wait.

 

If that head has not been rebuilt in the past few years, it's hard to imagine that the seals are not leaking to some degree. The DIY way to test them is to see if the tail pipe smokes for a second or two at start up or after the car has been sitting idle for several minutes and you pump the gas to see smoke.

Head shops pressure test the head to see if the seals are leaking. The head I had recently done was done a few years prior and the seals DID NOT leak. I had them changed anyway because the head had overheated and I figured that likely damaged the seals. I did see a video recently on changing the seals out and read a post on another website, it's a lot of work. You need a special tool to compress the valve springs, release the "keepers", then change the seals. You can likely google it or I can dig them up so you can see. Well, here is a link to the video's.
http://www.matthewsvolvosite.com/for...hp?f=1&t=53115

Man, do what you can, the best you can. That's all you can do. One guy swapped a head, had issues and had to do the job again in 2 days. Cut a lot of corners and has issues but the car runs. All you can do is your best and hopefully that will work for you.

 

Thanks rspi

you are very helpful and I find your feedback very supportive on here I have to say, can't see why anyone would take what you say the wrong way, sensitive maybe.

But then I am at the moment for the volvo draining my funds, grrr, seems the poster above is in the same boat.

Time to wave goodbye to the mistake of a volvo I purchased. Am NOT buying another volvo. Cheap fix they are not. I already decided I wasn't spending a penny more on it, as I can't trust this car in that way, it's going. I passed 2 car traders today (garages), and the 2nd one was better, newer car, 4 yrs old (nissan again, yippee, never had any issues with my last nissan over here and it was a 2003 low mileage less than 50K. This one is 2008, 50K on the clock, manual not automatic (happy with that too, I prefer manual no transmission expense problems that way), so within 2 days it should be mine all being well. Won't kiss this one goodbye, will likely kick it goodbye I think.

Course I will miss your very helpful advice rspi, not that I want any problems with a car again or anything.

 

Man, glad you see a clearer path for you. As you can see from my signature, I have had my share of Volvo's but I do most of my work myself.

I must say, as much as I love my daughter, I almost shiver when I know she's coming because that darn S70 kicks my butt all the time. If it aint one thing it's another with it. I have done a head job on it, cam seals some other time, PCV, door locks, brakes all the way around, struts, shocks, tires, control arms I think and now it has a door stuck closed and the brake lines are cracked. Oh, I do have new CV boots waiting for it to get here in a few weeks so I have to pull both front axles to deal with that. It's a pretty car and I do trust is to get her around (and it's safe of course) but man I work on it all the freeking time. Once I had to go to her college to get the darn thing started (bad cps). So, I don't encourage people to get these unless they like to turn wrenches.

Now let me be clear, I think the FWD Volvo's are high maintenance, not the RWD cars. As for miine, I put about $70 per month into it. That includes everything from oil changes to tires. Mine has been a lot less work but I did have to have a tranny put in it, knew that when I purchased it. Now it's starting to smoke a little and I'll have to learn how to do the valve stem seals. Then I have ball joints to do and I should be good for a while. A Valve stem seal job would likely cost about $1,400 if I took it to the stealer to get done. It will cost me about $180 because of the tool I need to purchase. The ball joints about $90. So there I am again, about $70 per month is that takes me another 3 months. In a year or so, I may be able to get the cost down to about $40 per month unless I upgrade a few things like Angle Eye lights, new front bumper, change rear hatch (I have one in storage), etc. I hope to put about 500,000 on the car before I'm done with it and doing the valve stem seals will likely take me to that.

To me, these cars can go about 500,000 without any major work, like new motor or tranny. But they do have to be cared for. They can go about 150,000 to 180,000 without much care other than the timing belt. But after that, look out!!!

You may see me around another forum, I work on a lot of other cars for people so I do get on other forums to post things.