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Attempting to diagnose a possible blown head gasket! Help!!

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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Aintezbeincheesy
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Year and Model: 1994 850T
Location: Thornton, CO
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Re: Attempting to diagnose a possible blown head gasket! Help!!

Post by Aintezbeincheesy »

PeteB wrote: 30 Sep 2017, 14:54 I was very surprised to find this, and that it sometimes works. I'd think
that with the stress of a turbo it would not hold up:
I'm scared to death of putting sealants like that anywhere near my car. I've heard so many mixed reviews I don't even know what to believe anymore.

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wizechatmgr
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Year and Model: 1999 V70 XC AWD 2.4T
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Post by wizechatmgr »

My view on sealants is this:
Do you plan on keeping the car for any length? If so, I wouldn't use the sealant.
Do you plan on junking the car? If so, try the sealant, at that point you're getting borrowed time if it works.
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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FLXC90
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Post by FLXC90 »

Aintezbeincheesy wrote: 30 Sep 2017, 14:11 Crossing my fingers that there could be ANY other way for oil and coolant to mix.
Yes, the oil cooler for your car is in the radiator tank. It is possible, but probably less likely than a HG failure.

That said, yeah, do it yourself, use the tracy's truesoaps tutorial found in the database, and you need to check the head first. the tolerance is pretty tight, so most likely, it will need to be trued. But you'll save a lot on labor!
Current Volvos:
1998 V70 T5, 112k sat 5 years, still in mechanical coma (finally at the top of the pile )
2004 XC90 T6 AWD: 186k, 60 on transaxle ( traded in )
1998 POS70 N/A: DD/training aid, 236k but really about 240k, I think...ABS module( passed on to son who sold it)

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rspi
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Post by rspi »

First, before you start your drive, have you checked your coolant level? If full, I would replace the thermostat immediately with the proper VOLVO stat.

Second, if the temp tries to raise after that, replace the water pump the very next day. I have seen the impeller fall off of the water pump shaft.

If you have ANY coolant leaks, fix them.









'95 855 T-5R M, Panther - 22/28 mpg, 546,000 miles
'95 955 T-5R Yellow Wagon, Lemonade, 180,000 miles
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PeteB
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Post by PeteB »

wizechatmgr wrote: 30 Sep 2017, 15:45 My view on sealants is this:
Do you plan on keeping the car for any length? If so, I wouldn't use the sealant.
Do you plan on junking the car? If so, try the sealant, at that point you're getting borrowed time if it works.
Yes, I agree only try it as a last resort should have said this.

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erikv11
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Post by erikv11 »

Use sealant only as part of the disposal process, if you want to see if you can run it even though you are throwing it away. Those products are not related to trying to fix it.
'95 854 T-5R, Motronic 4.4, 185k
'98 V70, T5 tune-injectors-turbo, LPT engine, 304k, daily driver
'06 S60 R, 197k
'07 XC70, black, 205k
'07 XC70, willow green, 212k
'99 Camry V6 :shock: 153k
gone: '96 NA 850 210k, '98 NA V70 182k, '98 S70 NA 225k, '96 855 NA 169k

Aintezbeincheesy
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Year and Model: 1994 850T
Location: Thornton, CO
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Post by Aintezbeincheesy »

[background=][/background]
rspi wrote: 01 Oct 2017, 20:56 First, before you start your drive, have you checked your coolant level? If full, I would replace the thermostat immediately with the proper Volvo stat.

Second, if the temp tries to raise after that, replace the water pump the very next day. I have seen the impeller fall off of the water pump shaft.

If you have ANY coolant leaks, fix them.









Thanks Robert! Love your videos. Got me through a pcv system replacement relatively painlessly. Will make replacing the thermostat my next move!

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