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Input on possible blown headgasket??

Help, Advice and DIY Tutorials on Volvo's P80 platform cars -- Volvo's 1990s "bread and butter" cars -- powered by the ubiquitous and durable Volvo inline 5-cylinder engine.

1992 - 1997 850, including 850 R, 850 T-5R, 850 T-5, 850 GLT
1997 - 2000 S70, S70 AWD
1997 - 2000 V70, V70 AWD
1997 - 2000 V70-XC
1997 - 2004 C70

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RedRocket850t5
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Year and Model: 1997 850
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Input on possible blown headgasket??

Post by RedRocket850t5 »

I'm pretty sure it's a blow headgasket but just wanted to see what people say. So I recently bought a 1997 850 t5 with 150,000 miles on it took it to do a top speed run and it might've blown a headgasket???
The codes are p1310 p0301 p0303 p0300
At idle it seems like it has something clogged in the exhaust. At 130 the low coolant light came on and the car started to shake and then the check engine came on. I got off at the nearest exit and popped the hood. As I did coolant was being pushed out of the coolant reservoir tank (was a considerable amount).

tryingbe
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Post by tryingbe »

Do a compression test.
Do a exhaust gas test in coolant system.
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Jaguar xjs
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Post by Jaguar xjs »

Are you saying you've blown 3 headgaskets since early February? If so, I'd stop the 130+ runs until you complete a stage 0.

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RedRocket850t5
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Year and Model: 1997 850
Location: Georgia

Post by RedRocket850t5 »

Update: I took it for a more aggressive test drive popped the hood and there was oil all over the intake manifold. Would a blown headgasket cause this?? And also it didn't build much boost when I got on it.
I would do a compression test but I have less than no money right now and just want to be more clear of what my options are. And no I haven't blown 3 headgasket's since early February. It's actually 4 I just haven't posted a thread about that one yet :p.

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Post by abscate »

Probably blown a cam seal from PCV pressure but a head gasket could blow oil too.
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RedRocket850t5
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Post by RedRocket850t5 »

Anyway to decipher between the two? Could it be both? Getting the cam seal redone and servicing the pcv system sounds a lot more appealing than replacing the whole engine. I know it's had the cam seal replaced before cause the previous owner mentioned it.

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rspi
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Post by rspi »

Just park it until you are ready to fix it. Every time you drive it you are likely doing more damage to the car/engine. So you start off with a blown head, then maybe a burnt valve or two, next you'll clog the cat, then destroy the turbo. Finally you'll burn a piston or destroy the block.



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Post by wizechatmgr »

Oil all over the intake manifold? Check the dipstick tube and o-rings. Clogged PCV plus bad o-rings = oil shower at higher RPMs. Usually won't leak a drip at idle.

Finding a leak on a head-gasket that is bathing the outside of the engine in oil is rather easy... Has this head been planed/trued each time before reinstall? 3 gaskets tells me something is wrong with either parts or technique.

What kind of torque wrench have you been using? There were some Chinese models that were off by up to 60% a couple of years ago. Folks thought they were torquing their bolts down - but they weren't...

Have you been chasing the head bolt threads with a tap & die before reinstalling them? I usually lube mine lightly with either engine oil or assembly lube - whichever is closest to my hand.
Wisdom requires knowledge as a prerequisite, but knowledge can be developed due to a lack of wisdom.
In order to learn how to fix something, you must first learn how to break it.
1999 V70 XC AWD 2.4 T -- ~231k miles
1998 V70 2.4 NA -- ~184k miles

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