New engine, valve job, or punt?

kcookvt · Post by **kcookvt** » 19 Jun 2018, 15:16

My 2004 XC90 2.5T AWD w/193,000 miles has a burned valve, apparently. I was driving on the interstate and the CEL came on. Lost a cylinder, hoped it was a coil, but, sadly, no. I love the car. What would you do? Should I have a valve job done, replace the engine with a used one, or part it out and move on? So annoyed and sad. I could kick myself for not pulling over immediately.

Post by **FLXC90** » 20 Jun 2018, 01:40

Valve job or cylinder head swap, drive it for another 200k

pdriggs · Post by **pdriggs** » 20 Jun 2018, 14:14

Happened to my XC70 (2.5T), I had the valve job done, and my daughter is still using it at ~300k.

Post by **SuperHerman** » 27 Jun 2018, 16:33

Pulling over would have not helped if you have a burnt valve so don't feel bad.

If you have the vehicle properly sorted then you may want to keep the car. You need to price out the cost of both projects (new used motor or head rebuild) and move forward. If you can do it yourself then fix the head. For about $1000 you should have the top end head and seals, timing belt, water pump and everything else fixed if you do it yourself. I would also rebuild the turbo while there.

Post by **Roger_850T** » 27 Jun 2018, 20:11

What's the rest of the car like? If it's nice, and you like it, then I'd fix it. Since you didn't mention them, I'm guessing the bottom end and transmission are fine, so removing the head and doing a valve job are the likely fix. For what it's worth, my 850 has essentially the same engine, and it's over 300k miles now.

On the other hand, if the car is junky and you're looking to get rid of it, then this is a good excuse.

Roger