Considering shimming 2006 V70 2.5T

[CedBobKing]

My V70 is nearing 280k miles. The car runs well, but I now have a head gasket leak that I will fix myself and am considering shimming the block since I will be doing almost all of the work to get that done anyway. My hope is to drive the car a third of a million miles or more, because it seems pretty solid otherwise.

Shimming is certainly overkill. I accept that. However, might it be a bad idea for some reason I have not considered? Will it help the block last longer.

Also, are there any strong feelings about Volvo vs Mahle vs Victor Reinz head gasket kits. I am leaning toward Mahle.

Thanks in advance,
Cedric

[vtl]

Slots are there for thermal compensation. It will compensate somewhere else. I would not do anything to slots, besides cleaning them from calcium deposits. In fact I didn't shim my engine when I was rebuilding it.

T2 has MLS gasket, it does not matter much, which one you will use. However, thinking about difficulty of the job, does it makes sense to save $30 or so on non-original gasket?

[dikidera]

Over on another forum a user shimmed his 2.3T5 block and got 660hp at the wheels. For me the gains far outweigh the potential for cracks.

[CedBobKing]

Slots are there for thermal compensation. It will compensate somewhere else. I would not do anything to slots, besides cleaning them from calcium deposits. In fact I didn't shim my engine when I was rebuilding it.

T2 has MLS gasket, it does not matter much, which one you will use. However, thinking about difficulty of the job, does it makes sense to save $30 or so on non-original gasket?

My understanding was that the slots are really there because of the iron sleeve in aluminum block engine design, which allows for assembly tolerances and ease of manufacture. Otherwise it would just be holes in iron. I will look at them closely before doing anything, however apparently all the 2.5 R owners seem to swear that it keeps the sleeves from cracking. There should be plenty of heat in those engines, especially at the point where the sleeves meet the head.

Not looking to save money on the gasket, quite the opposite in fact. I worked for a dozen years for an automotive OEM supplier. Every car make is driving the suppliers to lower cost for parts going to original assembly, Ford was no exception. At the same time the flow of repair parts through the manufacturer supply chain is ridiculously complex and expensive. My presumption is that Victor Reinz is the OEM supplier for the Volvo head gasket and that Mahle might actually make a better head gasket. The Mahle kit is not as expensive as the the Volvo parts individually, but it is not cheap. What I would really like to know is if there is someone out there who makes a far superior gasket than the original, like something for an highly boosted R motor that also matched my B5254T2.

[vtl]

Over on another forum a user shimmed his 2.3T5 block and got 660hp at the wheels. For me the gains far outweigh the potential for cracks.

2.3 is the most durable block in the family. Here we are talking about the weakest: the 2.5.

[vtl]

My understanding was that the slots are really there because of the iron sleeve in aluminum block engine design, which allows for assembly tolerances and ease of manufacture.

Nope, they are for thermal compensation. Sleeves in shimmed block expand upwards and lift the head. You will see that happened to your stock engine, there will be sleeves imprints in the head. Especially if all it saw is a lower octane gas. Would happen much more aggressively with shims, up to a head gasket failure.

I don't know, who makes MLS gaskets for Volvo. Piston rings are made by Mahle. Viktor Reinz is a lower tier vendor, I think. MLS gasket by Reinz still could be fine. Reinz old style gaskets are less durable.