A shop that won't warrant a head gasket job is not a shop I would go to. If he has the warranty displayed publicly on advertising, you might be able to get him. You can never go wrong buying genuine Volvo parts in the blue box. Most users here only recommend using Volvo seals and gaskets. Be careful...

Sounds like the head wasn’t resurfaced correctly, or your mechanic needs a new torque wrench.

Take a compression test and identify the offending cylinder(s) The only way to immunize yourself from another rant is to take this on yourself. I would have the cylinder head off, and carefully inspected for cracks and unusual stuff that might be blowing these head gaskets. You are setting your self...

Yippie! Head gasket jobs, my favorite. I'd like to start off by saying that you should never open the coolant reservoir with the engine hot/warm, it will cause coolant to back up into it. Also, you want to take a close look at the coolant reservoir cap to make sure it doesn't have any micro cracks i...

If the head is coming back off, you should consider new Volvo valve stem seals. But that's another expense too, not sure what your long term plans are.

If the coolant smells like exhaust, test it for exhaust gas contamination. You can get a test kit at any auto parts store, including the "rental" programs (you will have to buy the indicator fluid).

PSA for those who get the ABMs: they are projectors, but there are NOT HID projectors. Don't put HID bulbs in there. Agreed. I tried HIDs in mine at first. They were bright, but had bad flickering and tended to get hot in the housing. I run LEDs now and modified the dust boots to accommodate the he...

On taking off the valve cover - plenty of write ups - search head gasket and then look here: https://www.matthewsvolvosite.com/forums/viewtopic.php?f=9&t=85853 You will need to fashion the special tools to do this job or order/borrow them. You are basically doing a timing belt change and cam sea...

You could probably use the older thermostat cover without issue. The thermostat itself is the same PN for all P80s 1993-2001, so unless clearance is a problem, it should probably work.

Clean up the radiator, dry off, and JB weld in a brass nipple for that overflow. Much faster than replacing the radiator and 1/100 the cost. I drove a JB welded draincock for about 3 years on mine