Just got back to the Volvo after a long hiatus with a Ford Ranger Pickup (given to me FREE but FREE and FORD are an Oxymoron LOL)

Last fall the Volvo's Radiator upper inlet decided to separate from the rest of the radiator and time, money and the cold had me driving the pickup.

But now the horrible gas mileage of the truck, coupled with the joys of parenting a teenage daughter have pushed to me dust off and "spruce up" the 850. (Will make a nice first car for her in a couple years) and save me $$ in gas until then.

A while back I acquired a 98/99 vintage <80Kmiles C70 engine B5234T3 long block cheap off ebay. Was told it had a "ticking noise" and assumed it to be lifters or leaking block o-rings. Well that turned out to NOT be the case. The TICKING was most likely a "KNOCKING" since I found 3 of 5 rods were bent into an "S" shape. The worst of which had the rod actually hitting the crank counter weight at BDC! Best guess is water ingestion since the pistons were perfect along with the valves.

I have the engine completely disassembled and have started my list of parts to acquire. Unfortunately last year we had a hurricane which laid a 60' tall tree onto my garage and all of the nicely organized hardware was put into disarray and rusted. So now I am forced to remove the motor in the car and work with parts from there into the "new motor"

So here are my technical questions.

A: Top Dead Center - Volvo has a tool to insert thru the block to set the crank to Top Dead Center? It does not appear to me that this tool puts the #1 cylinder at ACTUAL TDC? I am only guesstimating but it looks off by more than 20 degrees. So HOW do I reference TDC for re-indexing the crank pulley to Oil Pump mark and the cams?

B: Crank Main Bearings - The crank DOES NOT need to be turned and is NOT bent (checked with a surface plate and V-blocks) So are "colored" Dealer bearings the BEST way to go or have people used standard Glyco, King etc. with good results? I have a crank that's BBBBCC and Block BCBBCB. I attached the color code matrix not sure if its on here somewhere but maybe it can go in a sticky?

C: Piston Rings - I found sets from a few suppliers but what appears to be the best deal out there is a set of Plasma Moly rings for VW from Perfect Circle. They are like $65 for 4 sets. So I figure I would buy two sets and have extra so I can practice setting end gaps (LOL) Also they have a much better design oil control ring than the crappy Volvo design.
Anyone use "non volvo" rings before?

D: Oil Return from Turbo to Block. - Having had trouble with the stock setup I have devised a much improved and hopefully more robust design. I opened the boss on the block and tapped it M22. I got an AN oil cooler fitting (ESAB oil Coolers) with an o-ring M22 side and a -10AN flare on the other. The Turbo has a -8AN adapter with Nitrile O-Ring added and I will use Teflon Lined Stainless Hose between the two. I figure the failure point of the stock setup is the fact that all the separate parts can move with heat and cause the gaskets and o-rings to leak. Any thoughts on this Idea?

E: Stock Rods - Can anyone attest to a REAL WORLD rule of thumb as to the HP level the stock rods are good for?? Since this thing is apart and I have a little leeway I am thinking of upping the HP a bit.

Next Couple of questions relate to the answer to above.

I have a couple of options/questions related to the turbo.

The cars has in it a 13G with Conical flange (it's a 94' my username indicates 96' but it's a mistake)

I have an 18T with Angle flange that I got for $50 (was a "CASH for CLUNKERS trade-in that required special cleaning that I had access to at the time)

I plan to have whatever unit I use balanced and I have a Genuine MHI kit to rebuild whatever I end up with.

My questions are this.

Assuming NO TUNE to the ECU, BUT a healthy motor and Perfect STAGE Zero is an 18T feasible? ie; increase in lag or decrease in lag. Waste of a turbo? I have a real hard time with Compressor Maps LOL

Anyone know the stock waste gate setting on an 18T from a 98-99 V70R?

Obviously the Angle flange Exhaust Housing is advantageous so I could do 3 things from my point of view.
1 - Rebuild the stock 13G onto the Angle Housing
2 - Rebuild the 18T with the 13G Waste Gate Actuator
3 - Rebuild and run the 18T as it came of the V70R

Thoughts on those options please.

 

A: Top Dead Center - Volvo has a tool to insert thru the block to set the crank to Top Dead Center? It does not appear to me that this tool puts the #1 cylinder at ACTUAL TDC? I am only guesstimating but it looks off by more than 20 degrees. So HOW do I reference TDC for re-indexing the crank pulley to Oil Pump mark and the cams?
**You don’t need the tool. There is a notch in the timing belt gear on the crank that lines up with a casting on the oil pump. That’s your TDC and you are correct, it is not TDC but a few degrees before but is the position you need the crank to be in when you time the cams.

B: Crank Main Bearings - The crank DOES NOT need to be turned and is NOT bent (checked with a surface plate and V-blocks) So are "colored" Dealer bearings the BEST way to go or have people used standard Glyco, King etc. with good results? I have a crank that's BBBBCC and Block BCBBCB. I attached the color code matrix not sure if its on here somewhere but maybe it can go in a sticky?
**You can go with the color coded Volvo bearings but will be spending a great deal of $. The bearing manufacturers you have mentioned are just fine. I am glad to see you are digging into the details enough to find out about the bearing stamps. I personally used Toga race bearings.

C: Piston Rings - I found sets from a few suppliers but what appears to be the best deal out there is a set of Plasma Moly rings for VW from Perfect Circle. They are like $65 for 4 sets. So I figure I would buy two sets and have extra so I can practice setting end gaps (LOL) Also they have a much better design oil control ring than the crappy Volvo design.
Anyone use "non volvo" rings before?
**I went with Volvo OEMs, no experience with going aftermarket on rings.

D: Oil Return from Turbo to Block. - Having had trouble with the stock setup I have devised a much improved and hopefully more robust design. I opened the boss on the block and tapped it M22. I got an AN oil cooler fitting (ESAB oil Coolers) with an o-ring M22 side and a -10AN flare on the other. The Turbo has a -8AN adapter with Nitrile O-Ring added and I will use Teflon Lined Stainless Hose between the two. I figure the failure point of the stock setup is the fact that all the separate parts can move with heat and cause the gaskets and o-rings to leak. Any thoughts on this Idea?
**Several users have done similar setups, should work great.

E: Stock Rods - Can anyone attest to a REAL WORLD rule of thumb as to the HP level the stock rods are good for?? Since this thing is apart and I have a little leeway I am thinking of upping the HP a bit.
**Detonation is your enemy. There have been users who have bent rods on stock boost levels and some who have made it to almost 400hp. You really cannot say Real World rule of thumb because its conditions that bend the rods. General rule of thumb…if your going over 300+ it should be on your mind.

Next Couple of questions relate to the answer to above.

I have a couple of options/questions related to the turbo.

The cars has in it a 13G with Conical flange (it's a 94' my username indicates 96' but it's a mistake)

I have an 18T with Angle flange that I got for $50 (was a "CASH for CLUNKERS trade-in that required special cleaning that I had access to at the time)

I plan to have whatever unit I use balanced and I have a Genuine MHI kit to rebuild whatever I end up with.

My questions are this.

Assuming NO TUNE to the ECU, BUT a healthy motor and Perfect STAGE Zero is an 18T feasible? ie; increase in lag or decrease in lag. Waste of a turbo? I have a real hard time with Compressor Maps LOL
**You wont notice much of a difference unless you get your ECU remapped. The 18t is a great daily driver/fun turbo but it needs to be able to boost higher than stock limits.

Anyone know the stock waste gate setting on an 18T from a 98-99 V70R?
**Are you asking how to set it or what is the factory LBS?

Obviously the Angle flange Exhaust Housing is advantageous so I could do 3 things from my point of view.
1 - Rebuild the stock 13G onto the Angle Housing
2 - Rebuild the 18T with the 13G Waste Gate Actuator
3 - Rebuild and run the 18T as it came of the V70R
**Option 3

 

Boxpin pretty much said it all.

My vote is 3 - Rebuild and run the 18T with the angled housing.
You'd be using a better downpipe too.

You may not need it. You may not use it all but it's there if you want to. Could also be a selling point, bigger better turbo installed xxxxx.

If you're going through all that to rebuild it I'd give serious consideration going with an ARD basic tune. If you keep your foot out of it it's been reported the engines run smoother and more efficiently (MPG) and if your foot slips into it ,,, way more fun.
The ARD "White" is the basic one. ARD White

Since Volvo ran these engines with a 19T stock you might be able to safely run the stock rods with that White tune since it would better protect the engine than the stock sloppy ECM's programming. I'd ask Lucky about that point since he's the guy doing the tune and he'd be the go to guy.
I'd ask him even if you're not getting the tune since he'd still have a better resource from his tuning work to know what you may or may not be able to do with stock rods.

 

Guys thanks for the replies.
Still a couple of point for clarification

1: It appears that the Crank Pulley is NOT keyed in anyway. That means I could put it back on ANYWHERE which will make the Timing Marks USELESS. My question is half answered. If the Volvo tool is used to follow Volvo's instructions. I assume the BTDC is to make up for the rotation of the crank as the slack is taken up by the tensioner during initial install? So then by using a degree wheel and piston stop or a dial indicator on the piston I can set PHYSICAL TDC to align the crank pulley with the oil Pump casting and then set the cams from there?

As far as the bearings go I am leaning towards getting factory color coded bearings since the ones I removed showed almost no wear AT ALL with 60K on them I think I will go that way. (Too Bad I didn't know how much $$$ they were when I took them out! LOL I tossed them)

Funny thing though, I have no reservations about using Rings that aren't Volvo's. The crap I had to remove from the oil ring grooves and state of sludge built up even though the rest of the internals were pretty clean indicates to me that they are of a poor design.

On to the next issue.

Turbocharger - Waste Gate Actuator - Tune - Rods.

My question about the 18T was related to what the stock Waste Gate actuator would open at 18T versus the 13G. They are the same overall type of unit so I could use either. The 18T was removed directly from a V70R.
My thinking was if for instance the 18T pressure for full opening was say ~14 lbs and the stock 13G say ~9 lbs would I be safer to limit the overboost potential by using the lower rated actuator?

Since I found the bent rods in the replacement engine I have been contemplating whether to wait to use matching rods from the motor I am removing or buy aftermarket rods. With these CXracing rods so cheap on ebay I am looking to go that way. Does anyone know the proper length 3/8" rod bolts they use? I have access to real high end, high quality hardware, (low mileage NASCAR, Aerospace, etc) CHEAP.

 

Every crankshaft drive gear is somehow indexed to the crankshaft. I haven't pulled the one off my Volvo yet but from the looks of the snout and the fact that it is splined, I'm sure one of the splines is double thick so the gear can only slide on in one position.

I've done a belt and have no clue why you think you might need a physical piston stop and degree wheel. Once you have the crank back in the block just set the crank and cam gears at their timing marks and you should be golden. Just make sure that you crank it over by hand a couple times and recheck the marks before you actually fire it up.

The computer controls your boost so I'm not sure about the 14-9 PSI your asking about. I think the spring pressure inside the actuator is different but that's not an area I'm well versed on.
If you go with the the 18, I'd stick with the 18s actuator and adjust it to the 18s specs.

I was going to say something about the 3/8 inch rod bolt as it should be metric but the guys at Cxr did indeed show these to be in inches. Maybe Boxpin has a spare he can measure

 

Kiss is correct, the 'snout' (love it) does indeed line up with double thick splines and as you see in the picture below there is a notch that lines up with....wait for it....the cast mark on the oil pump.



The wastegate actuators are different per turbo. Do not put the 13G actuator on the 18T but you could put the 18T actuator on the 13G but I hope you would put the 18T actuator on the 18T.

My rods came with bolts so I did not have to investigate replacements. If you do replace them go with ARP. I have seen the correct model number you need floating around on Volvospeed.

 

Thanks guys!!

The easily available help on this forum is one of the reasons I have held onto a 20 year old car with 160K miles!

"SNOUT" is the proper term, (or at least the one I have called it for almost 30 years)

The "snout" or "nose" of the crank is pretty dirty so I am sure I just couldn't see a different spline on it.

I think rebuilding the 18T is the way to go. As far as Boost being controlled by the ECU how can it do that with no way to measure the boost pressure? The TCV is just a solenoid that can bleed off or direct pressure to the wastegate? I realize there is a timing circuit that bleeds the pressure off for a period of time allowing the turbo to spool up fully but ultimately the top boost pressure is regulated by the actuator spring?

I came across the ARD tunes a little while ago but was concerned about how inexpensive they were?

I guess once I have the final "build sheet" put together I will contact them. Is there any real advantage to upgrading from 4.3 to 4.4?

Boxpin,

Did you do all the engine mods in your sig at one time?
Or can you offer opinions on any that made the most "bang for the buck", I am curious as to whether the lighter crank pulley takes away some of the "laziness"

Also, is there any "mods" for the Automatic tranny? I plan to clean it out and put in a new (rebuilt) torque converter filter etc but is there anything else, Fluid? Additive? I am looking to do an external tranny cooler, should I put it inline with the radiator cooler or bypass the radiator altogether?

 

**The trans should be able to hold up to around 350hp. Recommendations are keep it cool and clean. So change the fluid and add an external cooler. When I was an Automatic I added the cooler to the system, meaning I did not bypass the factory system, just added to it.