Blown Gasket -Valve Job?

bradmball · Post by **bradmball** » 15 Nov 2016, 18:09

I have a 98 S70 and am original owner 240k miles, head gasket is blown, and mechanic said something about valve job being done also? Is it really needed? Any specific question I need to ask to clarify from him? This is not my primary car, so I do not want to have unneeded added expenses. Everything works in my Volvo and the car is in pristine condition and recently put on new tires, pcv valve, brakes, timing belt, etc so regular maintenance stuff has been done within the last 5k miles, so after the head gasket is replaced, I probably won't need anything else, that is why I am asking about the valves?

Post by **misha** » 15 Nov 2016, 18:24

Headgaskets don't just go bad on these cars unless it was overheated or coolant was never replaced before.Coolant becomes agressive if it wasn't replaced on schedule or neglected.
What happened?
If you meant on valve stem seals replacement....then it's recommended as a precaution measure since the head goes off anyway.

bradmball · Post by **bradmball** » 15 Nov 2016, 18:39

Yes, it blew, because it overheated. He quoted me 750 for the valves, I assumed because it was that costly, it was the actual valves being replaced? Or could the stem seals be that costly?

Post by **erikv11** » 15 Nov 2016, 19:49

At 250k the valve stem seals are almost certainly shot. If you don't fix them now, there is a small chance the car will burn a valve as a result. Which requires pulling the head again.

750 would be reasonable shop charge for all of the machine shop work on the head: Valve job including all new valve stem seals, milling the head flat, cleaning and resurfacing the head. Some of those things need to be done anyway, as a result of the head gasket problem. Reinstalling the head is also part of the head gasket job.

If you go with the valve job, be absolutely certain they use Volvo branded valve stem seals. Otherwise it is just a waste of time and money. Several people here have learned that the hard way. Your cost for all new valve stem seals from Volvo is about $80 (https://www.matthewsvolvosite.com/forums ... hp?t=71962), so you can expect the mechanic would charge close to $150 just for the seals.

bradmball · Post by **bradmball** » 16 Nov 2016, 07:33

Thanks, just to clarify, he wanted to charged me 750 for the head job and an additional 750 for the valve job, not the seals. Sounds like the valve seals are worth it, but the actual valves are not? Is that correct in your opinion?

Post by **erikv11** » 16 Nov 2016, 08:44

I'd agree with that. The valves can all be cleaned up by the machine shop and reused, that is always done as a standard part of any valve job. Definitely no need to replace any valves unless the machinist finds a problem with one or more of them. But it sounds like nothing in the car's history suggests bent or burned valves.

Adding a valve job to a head gasket repair adds a couple hundred dollars of machine shop work plus the cost of the valve stem seals, if you walk the head in to the machinist yourself. 750 more to the mechanic does seem too high, assuming he was going get the head resurfaced anyway, but to be fair I don't know how a valve job is usually priced out when the mechanic gets it done for a customer. For example, for parts from a mechanic you usually pay double what you would pay over the counter. Maybe he is just doubling all of his external (machinist) costs. Or maybe at 750 for the gasket job, he wasn't going to resurface the head? That doesn't seem likely, wouldn't be wise anyway. The head gasket price is low, the valve job price is high.

Post by **Ozark Lee** » 16 Nov 2016, 14:41

Any time I have a head off and change the stem seals I go ahead and lap the valves. It isn't at all difficult and really adds no significant time to the project. Most burned valves start as a slight leak and re-lapping them assures a good tight seal. There is really no reason to actually change the valves if they are otherwise not chipped or burned.

...Lee

101 · Post by **101** » 16 Nov 2016, 18:16

A data point for you ... This past spring I had my head cleaned and checked, mating surface cleaned up, valves lapped, and valve stem seals replaced for around $400. That did NOT include the cost of the valve stem seals or the three cooked exhaust valves I had to replace.

I think the head gasket job books out at around 10 hours.

Post by **tryingbe** » 16 Nov 2016, 19:20

Why was the car overheated? If that isn't determined, you can bet it overheat again very quickly.