1996 850 Turbo Is my engine seized..?

[wheelsup]

A head gasket job, done properly, is going to run upwards of $1k and if you have been driving this thing for a year like this, water in the oil doesn't protect bearings/surfaces from friction.

If this were my car, I would put it up on CL locally and hope to get $300 for it. That is scrap value. FWIW.

[MoVolvos]

I found some extremely detailed instructions for changing the head gasket, but I'm not willing to dive into it if I don't have to. Maybe I can fob it off on my brother. My nephew's going to need a car before too long...

Again, thanks a bunch for the advice.

**

I mentioned in another post I have not done a Head Gasket nor Timing Belt in about 25 years. I have however within the last 15 or so years Torqued/Re-torqued the Head Gasket Bolts on 3 car that were leaking a good amount of oil from the Head Gasket with success. I know no one here would recommend this but didn't have time nor resources to fix the older cars so had nothing to lose (sort of) except if you break a bolt. I went ahead and back them out a quarter turn to loosen them first and then use a Torque Wrench to re-tighten them again to spec then slowly another 1/8 to 1/4 quarter turn. All 3 cars had oil stains but no longer oil in the drive way. (DO THIS AT OWN RISK / PERIL !!!!!)

Acura Integra 150K, Mitsubishi Galant 99K, Toyota Camry 225K

Blessings,

BKM

**

[Shawn Stanford]

So, I 'm considering doing the head gasket. Why not? A friend at work said I should be cautious that the block or head hasn't cracked, since they're aluminum. A possibility? How can I check for that without taking the whole thing apart?

[difflock54]

You cannot check anything more without now taking the head off the block to ivestigate.

When you take your head into a Engine Reconditioner (essential) he will check it for warping, cracks, reseating your valves (new or ext'g if sound) and fit new stem seals.They also pressure test the head to confirm all is ok.
You will need to clean up the block's upper mating surface, decarbon pistons,check bore condition etc and also look carefully for any visible evidence of cracks in the blocks exterior which may be indicated by oil seepage or staining caused by coolant leaking through hairline cracks.
You need to purchase new head bolts also especially as you ran around for 12k + with a bad gasket.

Wheelsup's comments above about possible damage to the engines bearings,rings etc should not be simply discounted also as you ran the car so long with a 'sick engine'.

[Shawn Stanford]

Well, there's the 'why not'. Crikey...

[wheelsup]

If you're attached to the car/doing this "for fun" (sounds like it, nothing wrong with that) I would think it'd be a lot simpler to swap in a good engine. Replace the timing components and seals and you'll be good to go for a little while.

A real cheap way to do this is to purchase a car with a bad tranny for cheap and swap everything over, the take all the sensors/relays/parts off the junker that you can think of, and presto a semi-reliable car that will be set up with spares allowing you to quickly and easily (and more importantly, cheaply) troubleshoot problems. You can keep these cars going a long time for not too much money this way.

Alternatively, an easier way would be to buy a decent running turbo just like yours and cannibalize your car. More money out of pocket but a lot of time saved.

[rspi]

Third: Neither of my daughters wants a thing to do with this car. They think it's ugly. (Awww...) My wife is inclined to set aside a few thousand and let them pick their own beaters when the time comes.

My daughter tried that one with me. Her and her mom, with a 960 I had. I gave the car away and she walked another year. Didn't work out to good for her. LOL

[MoVolvos]

**

If the decision becomes one of not doing the Head Gasket you might as well out of curiosity re-torquing the Head Bolts as mentioned early in my Post. If the car come back to life meaning very little water to no water then throw in the Bar stuff and drive it till it dies. As also mentioned by "wheelsup" it is currently about a $300 "AS IS" car regardless of how much more you play with that motor.

Blessings,

BKM

**

[abscate]

The flat part of the depreciation curve is a beautiful thing indeed..especially when you like the car and the ride like mine...

I've seen 5 of the T5 sticks sell in the 4500 USd range now, so I'm glad no one grabbed mine at 2k when I put it up on CL prior to finding this site.....

[rmmagow]

What BKM said earlier, Steel Seal. I have used it with great results on an old Mazda. No leak after more than 50K miles of driving. The 6 cyl kit would do OK in the Volvo motor. Still worth re-torquing the head before installing Steel Seal.