B230F Cylinder head replacement. Head measurement specs.

lifeofgold · Post by **lifeofgold** » 02 Oct 2016, 18:30

Hello,

I hope someone can give me advice, or direct me to a link, to help me with my problem. I decided to replace my head gasket when I had my engine on the stand and I am glad that I did. After examining the gasket and the surface of the head, I discovered some discoloration between #2 & #3 combustion chambers on the gasket and excessive corrosion around the rear coolant jacket holes (the ones with no corresponding jack in the head). In my search for information, I found one webpage diagnosing a Volvo head gasket failure resulting from a "half-@$$ed" (quoted from the webpage) repair where the head was surfaced without checking the camshaft saddles, and it was determined that the camshaft had pulled the resurfaced head thereby causing a failure of the gasket after a few thousand miles (I cannot find this webpage again). When I took the head to the machine shop, it measured .006" out of flat. We were going to measure the cam saddles, but with the spring buckets removed and the cam placed in the saddles, the camshaft "rocked". The machine shop did not have the ability to align hone the saddles, so I took it home to make more calls. I could not find a shop within 50 miles that could either straighten the head, or align the cam saddles. Also, since the erosion encroached the fire-ring on one chamber, I knew that the head would need welding to repair, epoxy or aluminum brazing would be iffy at best. I decided to just get a replacement rebuilt head for expediency. I am looking for information on minimum cylinder head height to measure the amount of material that has been removed from the replacement head. I don't want to bolt on the head blindly trusting it is good. Thank you for your time.

1994 940 Wagon Base.
Cylinder Head casting 1000530

*UPDATE*
The mail order machine shop sent me a 531... Lucky me! It definitely is from a boat, casting date 1986, is the cam different? Now what do I do???

93Regina · Post by **93Regina** » 03 Oct 2016, 21:52

lifeofgold wrote:...minimum cylinder head height to measure the amount of material that has been removed

New: 146.1 mm

Min (after machining) 145.6 mm

TP 30927/1 Section 2 (21) Reconditioning Engine B200, B230 740/760 1985-19..

93Regina · Post by **93Regina** » 03 Oct 2016, 21:58

93Regina · Post by **93Regina** » 03 Oct 2016, 22:03

lifeofgold wrote:*UPDATE*
sent me a 531... Lucky me! It definitely is from a boat..Now what do I do???

Well, of course, make it an Evolvo

Post by **jimmy57** » 04 Oct 2016, 12:18

use a 100mm/4 inch long or thereabouts and measure for it not being more than 0.003 inches in that short span. If it is then it will need to be bolted down flat so cam bearings are in line and machined no more than 0.020 inch (0.50 mm) to get flat surface.
These (and many many others) will "bow" when removed from engine and machining the bow flat is not what you want. You are after a head that will seal against block by eliminating any localized warpage from overheat. Usually the localized warp is between head bolt holes under exhaust port and between cylinders in the span between head bolt holes.

lifeofgold · Post by **lifeofgold** » 05 Oct 2016, 01:30

Thank you 93Regina, that is just the information for which I was searching (although I question the conversion figures, did they use a slide rule instead of a calculator?). As to the Evolvo... I know of easier ways to clean the underside of a car, but I don't know of any way that could be more FUN!!

*UPDATE on Cylinder Head:

Upon a more in-depth inspection, I found some surprises and some problems.:

1) 531 casting, not 530
2) "A" cam profile, not "T"
..( sounds good so far)
3) Has a ring insert repair on #4 exhaust (sounds like marine head...)
4) Does NOT have the drilled hole for the ECU Temp sensor (GRRR, definitely a marine head...)
and the most annoying thing...
5) Chock full o' Junk! Lots of Aluminum chips and blasting medium everywhere. (another example of "Ready!, Fire!,...aim?")

I was offered a $50 refund if I was willing to do the disassembly and clean it myself, I paid $400+tax free S&H. I have no problem with the cleaning, I probably would have disassembled it anyway for verification, but I cannot find any shop who will drill the temp sensor, it is not a pipe thread, it needs to drilled and the mounting surface need to be cut flat for a sealing washer. It would require a special cutting bit (similar to cutting for a new valve seat). Is the 531 head with the "A" Camshaft worth the hassle of machining the hole myself? I was not building a mod, this is my only car and I need reliability. I drive more than 25K a year, so fuel mileage is a big concern, not to mention California Emissions Inspection. Everything else on the head looks good, I don;t know if I should consider myself lucky to get this head, or wait for them to find another casting. Any & all opinions are welcome, and I thank you for your time.

lifeofgold · Post by **lifeofgold** » 05 Oct 2016, 01:55

To jimmy57,
That was my biggest problem, I could not find a machine shop that would fix the head properly. No one does thermal straightening, no one will align hone the saddles. They all would just pop it in the milling machine, and have at it!. When I asked about the cam saddles being out of alignment, they then said they didn't want to job. I cannot understand how any machine shop can ignore the fact that if one side is warped, then the other side is out of specs as well. Makes me wonder if they skip the stress plates when boring/honing cylinders The head gasket did not fail, I just did not trust the work that had been done before I purchased the car, that is why I pulled the head. When the head was bolted down, the cam would spin, when it was off of the block, NO GO!. So any shop I would send my head would have ruined it. It IS fixable right now, the warpage is only .006" (~.15 mm.) and the erosion just needs a little welding before milling.

93Regina · Post by **93Regina** » 05 Oct 2016, 20:58

lifeofgold wrote:I could not find a machine shop that would fix the head properly. No one does thermal straightening....

I had that done on a Mercedes head, back in early 1980s.

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lifeofgold · Post by **lifeofgold** » 06 Oct 2016, 00:03

I checked out their website, but alas, they are just out of my district...

What I cannot understand is how ANY machine shop can say they rebuild OHC heads, and have no concern for the camshaft saddles. Please, what am I missing? Is the Volvo Red Block special in that concern? Or do they just want to work on small block Chevys?

93Regina · Post by **93Regina** » 06 Oct 2016, 10:56

lifeofgold wrote:I cannot understand is how ANY machine shop can say they rebuild OHC heads, and have no concern for the camshaft saddles

I will not believe in California no machine shops exist....see if these folks know....they claim "Nations Largest Cylider Head Supplier."