Advice on S90 with bad gasket?

[swedishfish]

Hey everybody!

I have a 1998 S90 that I've had almost a year now. Bought it for $3000, and I think I've got about $1500 in it. About 202k on it. Head gasket's blown, and it's just sitting in the driveway. Nobody's looked at it, so I don't know the extent of the damage. Here's my situation:

I'm going back to school, and I'm broke. ALL I have $1500 scraped together. Since I've had the car, I've had the following done:

-Oil leak fixed
-Power steering rack replaced, then filled with Amsoil
-Two new tires
-New pressure cap on coolant reservoir

The timing belt was replaced and a host of other stuff was done by the previous owner in 2007.

Now besides the head gasket, there's a problem with the radiator cooling fan (sounds like a loose part) and I'm gonna need new brake pads.

The S90 has been doing me well. I commute about 35 miles to work everyday. I've considered selling it for parts, maybe for $500? But then I'd be looking at cars at the $2k price point, and they all look full of problems themselves.

Any advice?

[precopster]

Hi there and welcome to MVS.

The B6304 engine is easy to access and head gasket replacement is routine and the hardest part will be lifting the head from the block and placing it back on due to its weight. Allow around 15-18 hrs for the job. If you have a machine shop close by they will advise you if the head is servicable. Was the motor overheated?? Was the car using oil before?? Was there PCV system pressure?? (you would see lots of smoke leaving the dipstick tube with the engine running)

There are plenty of tutorials on the B5254 engine which will be fine for the whole job as there are only minor differences between them. It would be wise to perform a PCV system maintenance when doing a head gasket change and also replace the water pump, thermostat and hydraulic tensioner.

I don't think there's another car on the road with a sweeter engine; the straight six is a pleasure to drive and the transmissions are as bulletproof as any I've owned over the years. I plan to keep my 960 and sell my NA V70 as it's a wagon and I need the cargo space.

It may take you 3 weekends to complete so allow for this.

[swedishfish]

Thank you for the reply!

I wish I could work on it myself, but don't have that capability. Yes, the engine did overheat. There was a ton of smoke, including from the dipstick tube, and oil came into the coolant reservoir.

[precopster]

I was more interested in whether there was smoke from the dipstick tube BEFORE the head gasket problem.

This would indicate a blocked PCV system and it would be best to change this system over while having the head work done. Again was the car using oil before the head gasket problem?

[swedishfish]

No smoke before the gasket blew. And yes, it was using oil.

[precopster]

So if you had a $1,500 budget to repair the car what would you get??

Clearwater Heads have refurbished heads for $400 (they have a current listing on eBay for your car: http://www.ebay.com.au/itm/170355885408 ... 1423.l2649) and many of the Matthews forum members have used them with great success. With one of their heads you will get reseated valves and new valve stem seals (this will help with oil burning if these were worn)

If you could have an experienced w/shop agree to fit this head you would save lots of dollars. Labour for removal & replacement is around 8 hours plus the cost of a VRS set of around $130: http://www.eeuroparts.com/Main/PartDeta ... =1397728HS.

What has led you to believe the head gasket is blown apart from mixing coolant with oil?? The radiator can be a source of mixed fluid if the end-tank is ruptured. The result is tranny fluid in the coolant reservoir. Did an experienced shop perform the diagnosis?? Also what is the mileage of the car/engine??

[swedishfish]

Thank you for the head info!

Yes, it was a very experienced shop. And the car has 202k miles on it.