I explained the problem on a previous thread, I'm hoping here I'll get more of a response.

1) Bought car, needed fixing, smoked like a crop duster on the freeway.

2) Turbo was bad, Volvo guy checked a few things, found oil in some hoses, determined it was turbo.

3) Removed turbo, confirmed the problem, replaced turbo.

4) Car still smokes, and a week later is getting worse.

I've talked to my mechanic friend (who's not a Volvo specialist) and he recommends doing an oil change with full synthetic and pouring in some additive to fix the seals. I'm told this is the cheap solution....and if it doesn't work, replacing the seals runs in the thousands.

There are 3 drips of oil under the muffler, and nothing anywhere else. It's burning up oil, with a very noticeable smell, yet the car drives just fine. Further, it does not seem to be consuming oil, nor is the engine temp too hot. Checking oil dipstick shows it's exactly where it should be.

I'm told the problem could be in the "rear main seals." Is there any other possibilities that have been overlooked? There was a bit of improvement initially after replacing turbo, but now there isn't much of a difference and it's smoking as bad as it was before. I have no oil leakage under the engine or anywhere except near the muffler. What's going on here? What should I be doing?

 

Blown head gasket. F--k me.

 

That was going to be my guess. Sorry to hear especially after repairing the turbo $$$. Now you have to pull the head off which is probably not that bad on that car. Look for another engine in the meantime ($700-1000). Also there is a liquid sealant to fix such problems when the damage is light but I think you are past that point: Bar's Leaks Head Gasket Repair

 

Ouch, sorry to hear that.

 

Can always try. Apparently there's a plethora of these products...

Is the engine next, or do you think the engine is already ruined when you say that? Mechanic doesn't want to and hasn't touched it yet, I don't know how bad it is yet...

If that gasket fluid works, what should I be looking for as the cause of this mayhem? Anything I can do here?

As a sidenote, not sure how related this is, but my brakes are getting hard. Noiced this the day after the smoke got worse when I had to move it... Normally after a few seconds they're fine, not now-brake light is on now too........

Never ending. :-/

 

I'm being quoted $2,500 from a Volvo specialist and $3,000 from another mechanic I know for this job. This seems insanely overpriced. I understand the labor and the machining, but hell is it really that bad? I've never heard anything near this for a head gasket repair. Going to try Bar's gasket repair stuff, see how it works. Any help, explanations, or recommendations welcome....

 

I replaced my head gasket when I had to replace 8 bent valves. It's not that difficult if you have the right tools. It's time consuming if you've never done it before. It took me 3 days of working in my garage.

The actual head gasket kit was $95. The head bolts were 23.50 for set of 10. You will need a couple of small gaskets and seals and that's it. The rest is labor and (I assume) machining the head?