Turns out I have a blown head gasket, and I'm going to attempt the replacement myself. I've done one before on my Mercedes 230 SLK, which was a supercharged 4 cylinder, and it turned out excellent. I got many, many miles out of that car with zero problems.

Has anyone here effected this repair themselves? If so I'd like to know if there are any words of wisdom or advice you may have for me. Is there anything I should watch out for?

Thank you in advance.

 

I did one a month and a half ago. New head bolts are a must...this isn't a highly technical job but not one I would want to repeat in a few months. Make sure your torque wrench is accurate. Follow the values and sequence to the letter. 14 ft lbs 1st then 44 lbs and then 130 degrees to stretch em. Angle indicator gauge was 8 bucks on Amazon. I bought a digital torque adapter and yep my 5 year old HF wrench was waaaay off. Have the head machined no matter how flat it appears to be. The only part I really needed air for were the exhaust manifold nuts. It can be done by hand but your wrist's will be shot. Laying on my back under the motor with an air ratchet made this part a 5 minute breeze. Get yourself one of these and you wont miss the 50 bucks I promise you lol. It would be a shame to do all that work and crack the valve cover. Of course while I had it all apart I changed every belt/hose and the water pump. Working at a leisurely pace and beer breaks it took me 3 weekends but if you slammed it all out at once I would say 15 hours for 1st timer if you had all the parts on hand. Good luck.

 

Wow. Great info. Thanks so much. The amazon part is for securing the cams, correct? What psi rating is your compressor for the air gun? I have a small one that's 120. Do you think I should go ahead and invest in a larger one? Also, where did you source your parts? I've seen some Reinz kits online that contain all the bits including head bolts, manifold and other gaskets, everything, for about $160-170.

Again, thanks for your input.

 

Yes the Amazon part is the cam holder AND valve cover tool. They are on ebay too for around the same price. I have a 21 gal HF compressor so it will handle just about anything I would happen to need. I don't know what size your tank is but air ratchets seem to need a lot of air so I had my regulator wide open around 125 psi. I got everything from here https://www.eeuroparts.com/ and probably spent 225-250 because I got a water pump too. The gasket itself is around 40 bucks and 12 headbolts were around 25 bucks. Don't go cheap on the water pump if you get one. I bought an Aisin brand which I believe is oem.

 

I will definitely check out your place since you had good results with them. Thanks again for your thoughtful responses. I know the job will be easier with all your tips. I'll post back when everything is done.

 

I forgot to mention that the reason for my blown gasket in the first place was that the upper radiator hose failed. This car previously belonged to an inattentive college kid who didn't noticed the slow coolant loss since these cars don't have a coolant level sensor. There is a plastic T connection that gets weak and brittle with age and heat. It will allow a slow leak/drip that migrates around the edge of the transmission cover. It looked fine but when I grabbed the hose that section broke apart in my hand. Of course there are many other reasons but I believe bad hoses cause the majority of the head gasket issues.

 

Same here. That hose, I believe, is the lower radiator hose even though it runs along the top of the engine. In my case I noticed steam wafting up from under the hood on my way home one day. Of course, I immediately looked at the temperature gauge which was in its normal, 12:00 position, where it stayed all the way home. As I was backing into my driveway, the car cut off, which surprised me. Anyway, I ended up having the hose replaced and all seemed fine for a few weeks. Then it started running badly and I noticed the telltale, brownish oil situation. Obviously I have a malfunctioning temperature sensor or sending unit on top of everything else. Absent that, this would have all been avoided.

 

here's a good guide:
Cylinder Head Transplant B4204S Engine - Volvo Owners Club Forum

 

Thanks guys. Yesterday I actually had a change of heart, and decided to have the work done by my local independent shop who specializes in Volvos. I certainly appreciate the guidance and advice offered here. You guys are awesome.

Thanks again.