Cam cover question

TAJavelin · Post by **TAJavelin** » 27 Jul 2012, 13:49

Hello all,
Tho I am a 700-900 guy and have been through those cars entirely, my future son in law (22) wanted a volvo. Picked up a nice 1996 Volvo 850R. It is leaking from the firewall side of the cam cover. I had planned on doing the full preventive maintenance thing so was going to change the t-belt. My question is how far do I have to remove things to get the cover off? I read through the Head replacement that is linked. But I see the t-belt coming off and then the throttle side and such. It doesn't seem necessary to take the intake, the radiator out or anything connected to the lower head itself. Am I correct in assuming this? Now if the kid would have bought a nice 940T like I suggested..

Tho it is nice to see him enthusiastic to work on "his" car.
Any tips would be greatly appreciated,

Bob

byeboy · Post by **byeboy** » 27 Jul 2012, 15:13

You will go 1/2 way to a head gasket job. Te upper cam cover is going to be stuck to the lower(the cylinder head) like with super gorilla glue...but resist temptation. and only pry at the lugs Volvo provided for that.

You will remove the turbo hard hose that crosses over the head, the spark plug cover, the 20 (??) bolts, but remove them in the recommended sequence, not all at once (see posts on step-by-step Head Gasket), the Cam position sensor, and the distributor. Maybe You can do the camshaft seals without lifting them out of the head, but the timing belt is coming off to get to the front seals...so figure on doing that. (when did it get its last belt...and pulley...and water pump...and tensioner??).

DO NOT lift the cams up from the rear, or you will snap...or at least crack the thrust flanges cast into the head (I learned the hard way!). I suspect that with the seals, the O Rings, the gasket goo...it may be just as cheap to buy a head gasket kit. My Fel Pro was $89.00 from Rock Auto. Most forum members use the Victor Reinz.

The upper camshaft cover has no gasket, but rather uses an anaerobic sealant between the upper cover and the head. It also requires the "O" Ring seals be replaced around the spark plug holes. You will find the Volvo Cam Cover pull-down tool and the camshaft position-holding tool (or home made equivalent) essential..I'm sure there are hardy souls who got by without them.

I was fortunate enough to borrow the Volvo versions, and was so impressed by their rock-solid function I am going to purchase my own set.(You can ignore the cam timing marks, because the tool holds them in correct position...the Crank does have to be positioned correctly (with its tiny little notch...like an insider secret only dealers were supposed to know!). There is going to be a lot of gasket cleaning , and it has to be done correctly (don't let Uncle Hank in there with his Scotch Brite Roll-Locs!!!!

All in all, a pretty straight forward operation, just be clean, careful, follow the step-by-steps, use a Torque Wrench, and modestly accept all the accolades that will no doubt flow your way from all in the family...who will now come to you with..."Do you think you could take a look at..."

Post by **rspi** » 27 Jul 2012, 18:48

I'd like to start off by saying... are you sure it's leaking from the cover to head seal? I don't think I have ever heard that before. I guess if someone had it off recently and didn't put it back on correctly, it could be leaking. Maybe it had a head or lifter job that wasn't done right. Yikes!!!

Here are some instructions that I have been working on for people to remove that cover to do the lifters. I need to tweek them but all in all they are pretty good.

http://www.atthetipwebs.com/technologyi ... ifters.htm

When I removed the head, I did not use any special tools other than the torque angle gauge which has nothing to do with the cam cover coming off.

I didn't realize that people can chip or knock chunks out of the head or cover if the cams are not lifted out properly. The cams sit into the head and cover in some groves that can break I guess, if you don't lift the cams straight up.

I'll try to go through my instructions and finish them by tomorrow.

Post by **erikv11** » 28 Jul 2012, 01:11

rspi wrote: ...
I didn't realize that people can chip or knock chunks out of the head or cover if the cams are not lifted out properly. The cams sit into the head and cover in some groves that can break I guess, if you don't lift the cams straight up.
...

Absolutely, this is the whole point of the reams of advice about lifting the cover up evenly so the cams can come straight out. It is very easy to crack the grooves where the cams sit in the head if that is not done either carefully or with the special tools (or both!).

TAJavelin · Post by **TAJavelin** » 28 Jul 2012, 01:50

Okie doke thanks. I am going to order the $179 kit Cam clamp and rods to squeeze the head back on off of eBay. When you say don't lift the cam cover with the cams attached from the rear do you mean I should lift it from the front rotating the whole cover and cams towards the rear (firewall) ? I cleaned the heck out of it today the seam. I felt bad for the kid as it's his first car. I whipped out some glyptal and applied it the seam with a brush and into the corner behind the exhaust cam gear. let the bugger dry and told him to go for a spin. 45minutes of driving and no leak. (So far) He was smiling ear to ear. I don't have the heart to tell him I will still have to fix it. So I'll wait. I did notice some previous work, the belt and water pump are new. but unless volvo used a dark brown gasket sealant between the cover and head it was worked on. Weird that a one owner car that the guy went that way with it. The day that glyptal fails I'll have him park it and hopefully do it in a weekend.
Thanks for the prompt replies! Collective knowledge is the best thing =)
Bob

Post by **rspi** » 28 Jul 2012, 07:54

The concern with pulling the cover off with the cams attached is that you can't lift one end out with the other end still in or you can chip the head or cover as explained above. Also, if the cams fall they can chip or break. A write up or two that I saw had the rear (distributor end) and the front (timing belt end) secured to the cover so the cams couldn't bind or fall.

As for the sealant between the cover and head, the Volvo stuff is dark read when old, other than that I believe all of it is red.

Post by **erikv11** » 28 Jul 2012, 12:00

Nooooo, don't lift from the front, don't lift from the rear, there should be no rotation: lift it straight up.

When the cam sprockets are on the timing marks, as you loosen the cam cover the gap in the rear will tend to open up wider than in the front, because of where the cam lobes are positioned on the lifters. This puts uneven pressure on the guide slots at the front of the head. So you have to correct it by holding the cams to the cover as it comes up, and/or by carefully opening up the gap manually as you gradually remove the bolts. It isn't hard and I've always just done it by hand without any special tool, but you must pay attention to it because it is really easy to crack the head.

If you read through this tutorial you should completely understand it, it has been the gold standard for DIY top end work a few years now:
Volvo 5-cylinder: How to Replace the Head Gasket