Hello,

So I did a lot of searching for things such as "Volvo XC90 Head Removal" and such and couldn't find very much information so I muddled through it and thought I would share my experience for whoever needed the info.

So far I only have the head out, so I will update with my reinstall experience when the time comes.

Basically the question was how to get the head out of a T6, in particular how to get it separated from the manifolds. I will tell you how I did, but this might not be the only way or the easiest way. It seemed to be the easiest way for me, but if I missed something I would love to hear it. I will probably also have a couple of questions.

The big question was if I should take off the exhaust manifolds with the head, leave them in place, separate them from the turbos, etc. What I ended up doing was leaving the manifolds in place. The studs stayed in the head mostly. It was not a pleasant job, that head kind of "ledges" over the manifolds making those studs very hard to get to. I removed the heat shields, O2 sensors, air tubes for the intake side, and that pesky flange on the back left of the block for coolant which took forever to get out. There are 6 (I think) studs for each manifolds. They were a pain. Not quite sure how I will get them in.

The intake wasn't too hard to get off. I did have to remove the little water pump that is on the side of the head to finesse the head out around the plastic housing.

Anyways, hope this isn't a ton of info but in case you are wondering, yes you can leave the manifolds in place and I think this is the easiest way to do it. Will update when I try to put it all back in.

BTW, I have a burnt valve which is why I took it all apart. The head is at the machine shop right now. Anything else I should do while I'm in there?

 

Just wanted to give an update to this.

When removing the head on my 2003 Volvo XC90 T6 I found it easiest to separate the manifolds from the head, and leave the turbos and manifolds in place while pulling the head out. Getting those bolts off is a pain in the rear. Most of the studs stayed in the head, but some came out. Soak the bolts in your favorite lube before trying to take them off to make it easier. Get used to kneeling on top of the engine. Since you have to pull the valve cover off anyways I would suggest doing that sooner than later, before removing the exhaust manifold bolts

There is also a a turbo oil line that connects to the left side of the engine (as your looking at it from the front of the car) near the top of the head. It is a pain to get to. I suggest removing the plastic cover that is behind all of the timing components to get to it. Then you can access the flange from the sides from the side of the engine.

Hard to say how long I have spent removing and installing the head. A couple solid days. Hope this info helps, feel free to PM me if this thread gets old and you have specific questions. I will try to answer but no promises.