Hey, long time Volvo fan, first time buyer, and as such poster, I had a couple of questions to ask.

Backstory - Purchased a 2000 C70 2.3t for 500 bucks (with intent to flip and sell to a buddy) from a guy who had it sit for 2 years after overheating and no longer running. They had installed a plastic grocery bag underneath the coolant reservoir cap "to keep it from leaking" and it looks like they removed the thermostat altogether. I didn't anticipate getting this deep into repairs with respect to bottom end but I neglected to take into account that the current trend with the locals here is to keep driving the cooked car till it either loses all compression or sets fire - personally I've parked an overheated Mk1 golf for years at a time but had enough sense to park it before any major damage ensues until I have the time and resources to remedy the problem.

Anyways. The good news was the platform looked good, ~60k miles on the odo and title, power top works flawlessly with no tears and the car smells watertight for the most part, key works, have code for immaculate SC-901, leather in reasonable shape.

The bad news is, theres practically zero compression. about 30psi dry, 120 wet across all 5 cylinders. The head gasket was clearly blown around cylinder 3, the top of the piston all the way up into the intake manifold and fuel injector are caked in white. I plan to start with getting compression back and updating the water pump - my understanding is stock WPs are somewhat of a POI with these. That's about as far as my know-how reaches with diagnostics this invasive. I've read write-ups and how to's regarding building 5-800whp Audi AANs, but translating that into determining if this block can be reconditioned isn't working out so hot for me. I'll admit, I'm an idiot. I'm somewhat at peace with it.
Oh, and repainting/reinstalling the front bumper - the tow truck driver accidentally took it off upon delivery.

Heres what I'm trying to figure out - I know machine shops get tushy troubled when you call and ask these kinds of questions, I'm hoping somebody can help me out here,
1a. What steps do I need to take to determine if this block can be reconditioned, by means of specific services to ask for at a machine shop, or tools to start with for a DIY inspection, and associated resources for tolerances/specs/etc. Today I learned it doesn't feel nice to call a machine shop only to realize you don't have the slightest clue what you're trying to ask.
1b. Anybody know of any side by side image comparisons I can use to identify faults that could easily pass unnoticed to the untrained eye? Or some sort of Poor Richards-esque guide I can apply here?

2a. I figured if anybody was going to have a Bentley for this vehicle (for the sake of covering any further hiccups that may and will likely arise elsewhere,) FCPEuro would certainly have one, but it doesn't appear so. Google seems to be returning a bunch of hits to github links that redirect to some shady websites. Does anybody know where to obtain literature for the vehicle? If I need to set up a WinXP machine be it physical or virtual to run a digital version, so be it - the only C4 Audi literature available anywhere is digital and I need to get that going anyways. If anyone has an ISBN# for anything reputable, that'd be fantastic.
2b. Speaking of FCP, I haven't dealt with them since it was still "Groton," my understanding is they overhauled their entire business, looks like for the better. Can anybody confirm or deny whether overall service/satisfaction is improved? Is this still the hands down go-to place?

3. Is there a better place/subforum to ask these questions?

Regards, Brian

 

Pull the oil pan to check for any metal inside. Look at crank for bad pots while off. Zero tolerance engine hope not over heated and overhead cams not ruined, need to check. Replace timing belt and water pump same time, complete kit from IPDUSA real good, used it on my 98 coupe.

 

the good news is the T5 engine is common to the S70 and V70s (and 850s for parts other than the VVT set up in the head) so parts and documentation is easy to find. There may be a bit of chicken/egg problem here - car may have overheated warping the head thus blowing by the gasket or the gasket may be bad. The T5 compression should be in the 150 range so the wet number could be off if the engine was cold when doing the compression test so right now you don't know if the bottom half is good or not. Dropping the oil pan is a good idea if you can't warm the engine fully for a retest. Most likely you will need a machine shop to test the head for flatness.

Regarding FCP, I have used them regularly and find their support to be excellent - plus being on the east coast they do fast deliveries and now offer local pick up (good for us in CT). I even stopped by and toured their shop.