1994 850 Turbo Running rough and threw a lot of codes

[RussB]

I want to but I'm running out of time and money. I guess she will be going with my wife's Mazda 5 and we'll have to bring her car up to Portland when its done.

That is a great plan!

[GDiode]

I know the general consensus is to always use genuine Volvo or OEM parts for electrical and I'm sure the genuine parts last alot longer like in the case of timing belts. But if my daughters Volvo needs some new valves do to cracks, holes, whatever. Would an aftermarket brand like they sell at FCP, Osvat, SM, or TRW work? They are considerably cheaper than the genuine ones. A friend turned me onto a good machine shop that surfaced his head and did a ring job for about $200.
Again sorry for the muddling along but do you usually put in new valves when you do a valve job or can the old ones just be reseated? thank you all for baring with me.
Shannon

[Sommerfeldt]

Just my 2 cents here, but I'd say timing belt is one of the things you shouldn't try to save money on.
As for aftermarket parts, a lot of stuff is very good, and things don't have to come in blue boxes to last a long time. If the machine shop is good, and you trust your friend's review, then I don't see any reason not to use them.

The thing about cheaper parts is that they're usually cheap right then and there, and then they cost more in the end because you have to buy new ones sooner than with OEM stuff. That, however, depends on how much you're planning on driving the car, or how much it will be driven, rather. A running car is in any case better than one which isn't so you should base your decision on that equation.

Valves in good condition can be reseated.

- S

[erikv11]

What Sommerfeldt said. Any machine shop will by standard practice be re-using any valves that aren't ruined.

If a valve is cracked or burnt or chipped etc, then the best source hands down for replacement valves is the junkyard. Any 94-98 engine, turbo or non-turbo, has valves that will work for your non-turbo 96. You may have to just pull a head and give it to the machine shop as a source of valves, that will take some time but be much cheaper in the end than buying a few new valves.

[GDiode]

Sorry for the long pause. I lost my job the day after I after I took the head the shop so it has taken awhile to get it out and get the parts needed.
What do you guys suggest to get the old gasket residue off the block and the cam cover? Iv'e used some brake cleaner like the guy at the auto parts store suggested but I still cant get the old stuff around the cylinder holes to come off. I think I'm going to get the gasket cleaner that I was trying to find in the first place when the parts guy said that he just uses brake cleaner. I have been following Robert's (RSPI) advice and only using old credit cards but man the burned carbon deposits on the top of the pistons were real tough to get off. I know he said don't use brillo pads. I watched a Youtube video of a Ford mechanic who said that ford suggests using a 3M product called Roll Lock Bristle disks, the white one for aluminum heads to get the mating surface clean. He did also say to stuff rags in the cylinder holes to minimize stuff getting in there.
The machine shop also sold me a shim because they said the clearance was not enough for the valves to clear or something with the head having to be planed. What are all your thoughts on how to mate the shim with the block.
The shop said don't put anything between the shim and the block but would think it would leak there. All the non Volvo help I get says to just use the regular head gasket red/orange stuff with the head gasket. They looked at me funny both at the machine shop and at the auto parts store when I said I heard that Volvo head gaskets were supposed to be mated with anerobic sealant.
Thanks, Shannon

[Ozark Lee]

At this point would doing a wet compression test help?

At zero PSI, not really. There is about a 90% chance that you have a burned valve, a borescope could confirm that. The rest of the cylinders are less than dazzling and it would be interesting to see what they do wet but that is more of an exercise in "interesting" than it is a means to getting the car running.

...Lee

[j-dawg]

A wet test could help determine if the piston rings and cylinder liners are super-worn. That would necessitate bottom-end work, which might help make the decision about repairing the head/swapping in a new engine/scrapping the car.