Hey guys,
After several hours of investigation and deliberation I think my head gasket is shot on the second cylinder (the spark plug being submerged in water in the well, overheating and disappearing water, and a cylinder missing). The estimate without any extras nor machine shop work is over $1700. Being a do it yourselfer, a life long learner, and financially challenged, I am taking on the task of replacing the head gasket myself (on a gravel driveway without a garage). Right now I am a head gasket virgin.

It is my wife's car and really is in great shape otherwise. I change the oil, run SeaFoam anually, and do all the maintenance myself. Once fixed she will get another and the car becomes my daily driver. Infact, this leads me to my reason for posting this job: 1) I could use all the help I can get 2) I want to jack up the horsepower with a tight budget so it is more fun for me.

I am pretty handy and technical so I know I can do this job - though it would be the deepest I have been in an engine. That is why I need help.

I understand that maximizing airflow and gas PSI is key to pushing horsepower and have looked at the typical bolt on options (3" downpipe, front mount intercooler with wider stiff pipes, stronger fuel pump, higher capacity injectors, etc). All those are great, but costly. I am thinking of stuff like porting and polishing the manifolds and other mods I do while the engine is open. If anything, I defiantly plan to clean the hell out of the parts.

So begins my (our adventure) and I will have photos along the way.

Photo 1 - intake manifold removed
Photo 2 - homemade cam alignment tool v1 (bent it trying to remove the exhaust cam gear so v2 is reinforced - though still it broke and instead I had to remove the outer toothed ring and some of those stupid looking bolts that blocked the head cover from coming off.) Used vise-grips. Anyone seen a socket for that?
Photo 3: Days end with head cover off !

I have since pulled the head bolts (broke a tooth in the ratchet and a socket) and can't get off the actual head. Banged it a few time with wood and rubber hammer so it barely wiggles. I sure don't want to mess it up. Any thoughts? I read about putting a dowel in the exhaust port and hammering it from below. Not sure though.

This whole thing may take a few weeks and I will post frequently. I haven't ordered any parts except a set of volvo tools for this job.

 

Good luck with the project! If you haven't done so already, read up on the posts regarding cam shaft alignment markings, crank alignment marking, some home made tools on how to align the head and to press to fit (probably more for the 5 cyl but worth looking at the posts and related YouTube vids. Best to test the head for warpage and possible cracks - a proper machine shop can do this for you.

In terms of adding power, the good news is being a turbo engine there are direct ways to add "bolt on" power: 1) recurvered ECU. The ECU determines max boost, so getting the car "chipped" is the most direct way to add 30-40 HP. 2) add a larger turbo. This may take some planning but the way these cars work is the turbo "shell" has a flange that varies by model - and the rotor/impellers are interchangeable. The "US" low pressure turbo S40s have a TD04-12T and the Euro high pressure turbo S40s have a TD04-14T. The Euro turbos come by occasionally on EBay for a direct bolt on, but more common is to take a 14T off a newer S60 and retrofit to work on the S40 (some posts can be found that describe - or you can do a turbo rebuild kit using the 14T guts with the 12T housing. Even if you stay with the 12T, adding a 3 inch downpipe/free flow cat will get your car up to about 200 HP... pretty sporty considering my VW CC has 200 HP and goes 0-60 in 6.4 sec per R+T... I'd expect a stage 1 tuned S40 to be sub 7... Adding the 14T will add 10-15 more HP. If you do that, I'd also invest in bigger wheels (I have 16 inch OEMs from a 2003 on my 2000 S40)and a rear sway bar and you'll have a very driveable ride. First things first though, get the head sorted out correctly, figure out why it overheated in the first place (water pump? thermostat? temp sensor? radiator or coolant loss?) then you can add the bits later...

 

Thanks for the information, mt6127. I have been reading about / costing the upgrades and will hold out till I get the car back in order. The 14T, downpipe + free flow cat, and ECU flash looks doable, though.
Not sure why the head gasket blew, though I took it to a shop earlier this year and the VVT solenoid was replaced and the PCV oil trap and tubes were cleaned out. Just prior I replaced the heater coil under the dash.

At the moment with the head cover off, I am fighting removing the head itself. The bolts are out and I see 1 pry location. Any others? In the back? Other options anyone?

 

Just spent some time pulling and tugging on the motor trying to remove the head. How high up on one side can you pry? I am thinking if I pry to much then a stud or something might break. thoughts anyone?

 

You're sure all the bolts are out? Did you unbolt the exhaust manifold or are you pulling the head with it attached? I've never had much issue just pulling the head off, be it on a 4 cylinder, 5 cylinder or 6 cylinder.

 

Damn, if I didn't leave a head bolt half in, ES6T. It cam off pretty easy without the last bolt.
Once opened I looked at the cylinder tops and there are valve kiss marks on each one (see photo).

http://s5.postimg.org/5trs2iu1z/20150902_133125.jpg

http://s5.postimg.org/7ggznr63r/Cyli...alve_marks.jpg

http://s5.postimg.org/438r11civ/20150902_133443.jpg

See anything else that should be addressed?

I am going to to a water / air bubble test to check for bent valves. Also will use straight edge to check for head and motor warpage.

 

Let me repost those 3 photos from above. Using this site's 'album' feature.

cylinders just after opening and rag wipe off:


valve kiss marks - actually on all cylinders:


Head just after removing:


New photo: Valves in water / bubble test. I blew compressed air into the backside of each submerged valve. Yeah, no bubbles!!! Thought I would have to have buy new valves. Can lap instead of radius cut and 3 angle on valves, right?

 

If I'm seeing it correctly those are more than kiss marks. They look like divots.

Do you know when the last timing belt was installed, how many miles ago?

The reason I ask is this may tell you if you're running a risk by not replacing the valves. The valve stem can be slightly tweaked even though the valve seals properly. The risk is that the valve stem fatigues and eventually the valve disc breaks off.

If your car has been running like this for 30,000 or 40,000 miles you're probably OK.

 

To check for bent valves, I have seen tests online to test seating / leaks, but haven't seen other tests. Prior to this happening, I wasn't even aware of what bent valves really meant. I thought it would bend on the stem section, not near the cups. I will be taking out the valves to decarb and lap so if there is something to check, I will.

I did a little test carving to the exhaust manifold and iron side of the turbo to see what effort it takes to port and polish them. It seems doable with the tools I have but slow. I did find 2 cracks in an inner wall of the exhaust intake side, but I think it will still hold up. Maybe it can be welded and filed. Not sure.

[IMG][/IMG]

 

Ground out lots more from the exhaust manifold, exhaust side of turbo, and aluminum side. I used a carbide bit in the shape of a pine cone, some sanding flapper wheels, and a quick smooth out with jeweler's rouge. I would have like to gone deeper into the hollows, but didn't have the time or tools. I might pick up a honing tool and ream the manifolds. Though the aluminum was much easier, I ground less than I thought I would. Just didn't seem like it would give that much of a return on time investment. Between all the grinding all the pieces I created over a cupped handful of grindings.

Next step - clean up the turbo center assembly and blades. Any thoughts on that? I take it it doesn't have ball bearings and doesn't use any grease, but uses engine oil. Any real reason to open up the assembly beyond taking out the axle and blades to clean?

Tomorrow I'll to take out the valves - trip to autozone to rent their tool. Looked into making my own but the tops of the springs are in wells and I think the tool will be easier.


[IMG][/IMG][IMG][/IMG]

 

there are some posts on the 850 board (or V70?) regarding cleaning the turbine blades. Also if you open up the turbo, there are rebuild kits on eBay which can renew the seals and clips etc which should eliminate any play. Then again while you are doing that, how about throwing in the turbine from a 14T :-)

 

I didn't find one about cleaning turbine blades, but read a good one in this site about rebuilding the turbo. I opened mine all the way up and deep cleaned it but didn't use a rebuild kit. Everything seemed in good shape.
This weekend I made a tool from a cut pipe section and 8" C-Clamp and removed the springs, valves, et al. Cleaned everything up with naptha and a brass wire wheel (going light where I can to not remove any plating from the valve stems). I also cleaned the head with a pressure washer and elbow grease. Cleaned well enough to start lapping in the valves and measure flatness with a feeler gauge (which demonstrated plenty of warpage). After lapping then to the machinist.

I will clean off the block to real well today and check flatness. My big question is: What if the top of the block is not flat? Must I remove the engine and send that to the machinist as well?

Before and after exhaust valve:
[IMG][/IMG]

Valves wired brushed clean (and straight!!!) :


Cleaned pieces as to date:

 

Time to order the head gasket replacement kit. I'll get one that has valve stem seals. I wonder if I should have waited to grind out the manifolds to match the new gaskets rather than the marks of the old. Even though I spent a few hours and thought I removed a good amount of material, I doubt I did enough grinding to make a much of a difference. It is going to be hard to tell since any performance improvement will part of the net result due to cleaning and the valve job.

Any preference among gasket kits? Basically I only see the Elwis, Victor Rienz, and Beck /Arnley kits.

 

I hope you marked which lifters came from where.

 

Nope, the only thing I marked was the valves themselves. Does the rest matter? Does replacing the valves back in original slots mean anything if I am lapping the valves and seats?

Turns out that lapping is no fun. I just did the intake valves and started with a lapping tool (suction cups on wood handle). , though it was mighty frustrating to keep the suction strong enough to twist the valves. After fighting it for a while I used the drill and rubber hose method -much faster and I can't see any drawbacks.

 

The lifters are different sizes to adjust valve clearance.

 

I used to own specialized sandblaster and 250 CFM mobile compressor. I could shoot any blast media including baking soda, walnut shell, corn cob, and other materials. I could take a customer's stripped down car and turn it all to white metal in a long weekend using 3 different blast media. That blaster would have made short work of cleaning this engine head.

 

About the lifters, should I grind a bit on the piston tops where the valves made their marks? make room so the valves can't hit?

 

No, you shouldn't have to. If there are any sharp edges, I would grind those down though.

 

I did. Just a little. It's amazing to me Volvo couldn't have taken just a hair off the piston tops to keep this from happening.

Here is my (8) exhaust valve to piston damage.