New engine or give it up?

TheDrake · Post by **TheDrake** » 23 Apr 2006, 20:31

Glad to be a newbie here.

My wife has a '96 850 wagon with 125k miles. It's been sucking oil for 8 months now and diagnosed with a very slow leaking main seal and also burning a significant amount of oil. Went through 2+ quarts on a 6 hour trip over 2 days. Smoke visible. Been looked at by Volvo specialist mech several times and the conclusion is a repair is out of the question: replace the engine or grin and bear it for as long as we can hold on...just keep putting oil in. Various suggestions on here regarding sludge, plugged tubes, o-rings, etc have been check out.

She loves the car and the interior is in superb condition and we recently replaced the AC. Is it ever worth replacing the entire engine rather than just giving up on it? What kind of problems can be anticipated? Advice is appreciated.

White850Turbo · Post by **White850Turbo** » 24 Apr 2006, 06:49

Was the reason for it burning oil diagnosed? Were a wet and dry compression test done?

saltydog · Post by **saltydog** » 24 Apr 2006, 18:10

well, speaking from experience I'll ask you one simple question - what do you replace it with? That was the question I asked myself. As much as I personally DETEST with every fibre of my soul our 2001 V70 XC, my wife loves it.....she made me buy it (as I constantly remind her), but with a newborn at home what do you need to spend to get side impact airbags, high speed cruising, all around comfort & utility plus the solidity of a Bradley armoured vehicle for 4K (CDN) That's what it cost me to replace the engine in our car last month...& I certainly couldn't purchase a comperable vehicle for that kind of dough. Even if I add that to the 8K I was offered to trade it in, & I still couldn't buy much with 12 grand....& as much as I would greatly enjoy kicking this thing over the lip of a gotge & watch it die a painful death, common sense has to tell you that better the devil you know.......I hope I don't live to regret it, but I'm already fighting the ETM war now. - but 1996 - now that's when they knew how to build cars in Belgium! Check out www.erievovo.com for a motor - hear nothing but good about them.

saltydog · Post by **saltydog** » 24 Apr 2006, 18:13

that's GOURGE y'know, like in canyon? Over a cliff? KABOOM! You get the idea.........

TheDrake · Post by **TheDrake** » 24 Apr 2006, 20:18

The cause was not precisely identified. Not sure if the wet/dry compression test was done. Wife handled most of that with the repair shop over the last 6-8 months. But it's been checked out 3 times now for the same thing, by two different shops. Neither can pinpoint the issue and it's getting much worse. Checking the oil only 30 min after turning the engine off, the car consumed 3 quarts of oil this week!! White/silver smoke from exhaust, not condensation. Is this a fire hazzard? I will take it to another Volvo specialist across town. What would you suggest I ask him to check to ID the issue and if the engine has to be replaced what factors should I consider to decide if it's worth it or not? Thanks for your suggestions. Much appreciated.

White850Turbo · Post by **White850Turbo** » 25 Apr 2006, 06:37

Shouldn't be a fire hazard. Ask the shop to do a dry and wet compression test and to give you the numbers they get. Report them back here and we should be able to pinpoint which part of the engine the problem is in and the best solution.

TheDrake · Post by **TheDrake** » 26 Apr 2006, 19:05

Appt Thursday with a volvo-only repair shop. Thanks for the input.

john850 · Post by **john850** » 28 May 2007, 18:57

Same boat but not as bad....what were the results of your test?

Baker · Post by **Baker** » 29 May 2007, 19:34

My thoughts:

An installed rebuilt engine will exceed the probable value of your car. What will likely fail next? Do you think it is worth it. A car failing continously is not a safe car for your wife.