98 V70R Sudden Loss of Power & Now Barely Runs

BigRed · Post by **BigRed** » 11 Apr 2014, 13:42

Back at this finally. I've used credit cards, and a razor perpendicular to block, and it is far from spotless. It is completely smooth. I can't catch a fingernail anywhere. But there are spots of discoloration from old gasket. Will it seal like that? It seems to me that it's in the metal, and only way to remove it would be to remove metal with something abrasive.

Post by **rspi** » 11 Apr 2014, 20:00

If it is smooth you should be ok. Clean it good with acetone so there is nothing that would cause the head gasket not to seal. Also, if you have a long metal ruler or something that you can use as a straight edge, lay it across the block and make sure you can't get a filler gauge under it.

BigRed · Post by **BigRed** » 03 May 2014, 18:09

Finally got to finish this after many set backs, not all related to doing the repair. Anyway, it starts right up! Other than that...

After about 20 seconds there is smoke coming from back of engine (back as towards the firewall). Not sure it would be hot enough yet for it to be steam if there was coolant leaking, but not sure. Perhaps exhaust leak? I didn't pull manifold and have it planed. It doesn't smell like exhaust, more chemically, like burning plastic. But after everything used to get it apart and clean, who know what exhaust might smell like. Any ideas on how to proceed?

Other than that it sounds horrible, but I think it will quite down after it runs for awhile. I can post video of its first startup.

Post by **E Showell** » 04 May 2014, 05:24

If it sounds horrible and your are getting smoke from the back of the firewall, then one of the individual exhaust manifold gaskets fell down when you were reattaching the manifold and you have an exhaust gasket leak. Simple fix.

Post by **erikv11** » 04 May 2014, 07:00

It is completely normal for there to be a lot of residue back there that needs to burn off. Give it 10 minutes of running and see if it goes away.

BigRed · Post by **BigRed** » 04 May 2014, 08:59

I couldn't hear an exhaust leak over the noise, which I think is from the lifters. It's a very fast, ticking noise. Rat-a-tat-tat kind. That noise was present with previous cylinder head and started sometime after the initial mis-fires with flashing MIL, and before when we shutdown the car. So an unrelated coincidental failure of the oil pickup O-ring, along with two burned exhaust valves all in under 15 minutes? At no time was the low oil pressure indicator illuminated (however I need to key it up and verify bulb is good!)

I am going back out to the in-laws today and will pull the heat shields from back of engine to get a better view. As of now, it just appears to be coming from under the heat shield, closer to engine. A manifold gasket does seem quite likely as I didn't apply anything to hold them in place. I read pros & cons, and went without. I also read that something often cracks under weight when pulling head and leaving manifold in place. I can't find it now. I did use wire wrapped under the manifold outlet and up around something on the firewall.

BigRed · Post by **BigRed** » 05 May 2014, 11:55

I remeoved the portion of the heat shield that is perpendicular to the engine and started it up. I could see that it was coming from between the remaining portion of the heat shield, and the engine. It seemed to be concentrated around cylinder #3. I decided to shut it down, and put the heat shield back on and go with the, "it will burn off" route. I then took the car down off the jack stands to move out of the driveway for the burn off period.

Once I got the car down I was able to check the oil level which was low. I had filled engine like when doing an oil change, which appears to not be enough after removing the head. after adding 3/4 to 1 quart, the engine did sound better, but still not good as far as I know. Here is a recording of it at idle, and with engine speed raised:

https://dl.dropboxusercontent.com/u/43856533/98V70R_After_Head.m4a

Please let me know what you think of the sound. If anyone can record what a "good" one sounds like, or point me in the direction of one I'd appreciate it. I could find a lot on YouTube of "bad" ones, but no "good" ones.

After about 10 minutes of running the smoke from back of engine dissipated (hooray!), but out the exhaust pipe is white smoke at times. It's not consistent, though. It's heavy on a warm start for a few seconds, but generally not there at idle. When it is there at idle, it's only a short period and not heavy. Under increased engine speed it is sometimes present, and when it is it is heavy. Not being able to take the anxiety that I failed to install head gasket properly, I went and got a combustion gas block test kit from the parts store. The test did not show combustion gases in the coolant (hooray!). I think a good drive may burn out whatever is burning up in the exhaust, but I don't want to do that until I find out if the engine sounds ok. I did see fine bubbles on the dipstick, so it may be an oil pickup problem.

Post by **erikv11** » 05 May 2014, 13:55

It is also totally normal for the lifters to be noisy at first, and that is what your clip sounds like, but that should go away within like 15 minutes of idling in the garage. The lifters fill back up with oil and quiet down.

I am looking at the top of the page now, about the block surface. Two comments for future thread readers: (1) stains are completely fine to leave but a lot of buildup can be smooth and very difficult to remove. I have found the only way to be really sure is with a good chemical gasket remover (not the Permatex one, it is worthless) and a perpendicular razor blade. And (2) keep in mind that acetone is like a finishing wipe, it will do nothing to dissolve or help remove any leftover gasket or sealants etc, it just cleans all the oils from the surface (which is why it is a good last step).

Not meaning to alarm you, it sounds like you were careful and the surfaces were clean.

BigRed · Post by **BigRed** » 05 May 2014, 14:39

I was doing a coolant flush as part of the process and that recording was after about an hour total of idling (3x 20 minute runs), so that's why I am concerned about driving it as is. I did run into a problem with the fan never turning on before the distilled water boiled over. I did find a post from Jimmy57 that said starting with some 1996, and all 1998 that the temperature for the fan starting was raised, and that boil over would occur first. So I did do as suggested, turned the A/C on, and the fan engaged.

I wanted to minimize the use of harsh chemicals as much as possible and I started with just credit cards, then moved to a perpendicular razor blade (much better). Out of desperation I did try the CRC Gasket remover in one area, but there was no change in the surface visually or texturally (the staining you were talking about). I also used Denatured Alcohol instead of Aceteone on the final wipedown. I remeber reading a Volvo manual that called for the use of "methylated spirits" when I did the shift solenoids, so I went with that.

On a totally unrelated problem, I now have a horrible shudder when turning the wheel. It feels like low power steering fluid, except it's not low. Perhaps air got into the system while it was out of service for a month? I plan on putting it up in the air running, and work the steering wheel back and forth for a while. And there's a thump-thump when driving. I think that may be the rust that built up on the brakes.