Warped cylinder heads

Post by **davep84** » 01 May 2020, 15:52

Hi Everyone,
I'm working on a 98 V70 GLT that I purchased recently. It was pressurizing the cooling system so I pulled the head. The machine shop says it was warped beyond repair. After that I bought another used one and now the shop says it's worse than the original one. Any tips on finding a good one?

melmaclifeform · Post by **melmaclifeform** » 01 May 2020, 18:54

Have you considered just taking the original head to a machine shop and having it rebuilt?

Post by **kklepack** » 01 May 2020, 21:32

I would also try another shop for second opinion.

Post by **RickHaleParker** » 02 May 2020, 01:17

Clearwater on eBay has a remanufactured heads.

Volvo 850 Inline 5 Cylinder Head Cast # 1001716 REBUILT 1997

Volvo 850 2.4 DOHC 5Cyl Cylinder Head Casting #1001525 ONLY 92-97 REBUILT

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This is from an individual only $442.00 Remanufactured and 20 new lifters.

There are more there keep digging.

Post by **erikv11** » 02 May 2020, 11:30

davep84 wrote: ↑01 May 2020, 15:52 Hi Everyone,
I'm working on a 98 V70 GLT that I purchased recently. It was pressurizing the cooling system so I pulled the head. The machine shop says it was warped beyond repair. After that I bought another used one and now the shop says it's worse than the original one. Any tips on finding a good one?

Pull one yourself from wrecked junkyard car is probably your best bet. You'll want to rebuild it as you suggested, but it will be straight and therefore trouble free when you are done. HPT or LPT have the same head, non-turbo head has different valves.

I wouldn't trust a head from Clearwater or any high-volume rebuilder, the machine work is probably great but it is fair to assume they are putting in cheap valve stem seals. Valve stem seals are an achilles heel on these engines. Only use Volvo branded valve stem seals on a rebuild, cost is about $80 for a full set from Volvo. Similarly, I wouldn't trust any eBay head unless I could get confirmation they used Volvo branded valve stem seals.

Post by **davep84** » 02 May 2020, 13:38

Ok. I'll keep checking. Ones from 99 and up won't work right? Thanks for all of the replies!

Post by **RickHaleParker** » 02 May 2020, 14:15

davep84 wrote: ↑02 May 2020, 13:38 Ok. I'll keep checking. Ones from 99 and up won't work right? Thanks for all of the replies!

I would get a hold of the seller in the last link and ask what it came out of. The 850s used that cast number. It is a P80 head.

Post by **davep84** » 02 May 2020, 16:05

Another thought: What about buying the one from Clearwater and then putting Volvo branded valve stem seals on before I install it?

Post by **smacknab** » 03 May 2020, 06:20

davep84 wrote: ↑02 May 2020, 16:05 Another thought: What about buying the one from Clearwater and then putting Volvo branded valve stem seals on before I install it?

Would you be putting in the seals yourself? If you're paying someone else to do it I think you'd be better off having a machine shop surface and fix an old one.

For reference I brought my head to a machine shop that my Volvo dealership uses and he ran my head right after another, lapped some valves and installed new seals I brought him for 350 cash. Seals cost me about 120-140 (I bought 20 individual seals from my dealer at ~$6-7 each) but I later found out Volvo sells a pack of 24 seals for cheaper.

Post by **rspi** » 03 May 2020, 10:07

Heads from '94 through '98 should work.

Caution, if the head was warped that bad you may want to consider swapping the engine. Did fluids mix?