gdog - funny you said that. I was thinking the same thing but I figured it would be an expense that would be difficult for a student to pick up. In the original writing that I deleted I said something about dropping the pan and replacing the rod bearings and rings. Then I looked at my own son and his S70 and went NAH. LOL


Corry, 250K is a lot of miles and wear is the enemy of all engines. If your dad is a mechanic, has a good quality straight edge and a feeler gauge he can check out the head for warping. If it has any warpage, it will have to be planed or it will never seal. But you HAVE to know how to check that and there are lots of threads on how the heads warp. I have tools, so I check stuff like that. The seals are easy and cheap if you want to go there. It's really up to you, your finances and your capabilities. No one here can help you with that aspect of it.

But we all have opinions

 

I don't think 250,000 is a lot of miles if the car/motor has been cared for. My car has 246,000 on it and all of my compression numbers are all over 173 last check. I believe these are 500,000 mile motors.

If people would take 10 minutes and check their compression every 30,000 miles when they changed their plugs, they would know at least where their piston wear is in the event they were faced with something like a head gasket issue, etc. I have seen these cars with over 500,000 on them with the same motor. Heck, I think they all have about 250,000 on them.