98 V70R Sudden Loss of Power & Now Barely Runs

[erikv11]

If there is piston damage you are going to want to see it in the light of day not just through a camera. Pulling the head is free and not very hard, it is putting it back together where you must be very careful. Take it off and have a look but only if you are prepared to DIY it the rest of the way, if not then have a shop pull the head (will get pricey fast though!)

[rspi]

Do know that 2.3 motors are hard to find. If you find one in the junk yard it likely has a blown head gasket so what's the point. Of the last 20 I seen in the yard, none has good 2.3 motors in them. Actually there was only 2 with the 2.3 motor, one with a bad head gasket, the other was a fire total loss.

I looked for one for 2 months in 3 states. Finally found one in a '94 car that had 196,000 miles on it. It was in great shape with high compression so I pulled it and had it installed in a '96 R.

I'm really thinking about pulling these blown motors and rebuilding them to help keep some 2.3L's available but the cost may not be worth it. Who will pay $1,000 for rebuilt 18 year old motor? The cost of the motor and rebuild would likely cost about $700 so there is not much profit in it.

[BigRed]

Try to look at the plugs vs a web example like here:
http://www.ngksparkplugs.com/tech_suppo ... p?mode=nml

It doesn't sound like you were driving with a misfire? Have you had a CEL?

All of this transpired in about 30 minutes. Prior to that, there was no stored code. My wife was unsure how long it flash for, but guessed 10-30 seconds. The extreme loss of power was for last 5 minutes of drive.

All the plugs looked lke the picture of dry fouling. Some had whit chunks, like the picture labelled deposits, but no where near that much. All had some amount of fresh oil, but not at the tip. It more covered my socket.

You could maybe look inside the engine to see if the pistons are badly damaged before doing the head deal. At that point a replacement engine might be the way to go although the 2.3's are a bit harder to find.

I looked briefly for engines, and they seemed quite expensive. Plus, it's a roll of the dice, may have same faliure shortly thereafter. This engine actually has a very good documented history, so I am shocked at the failure.It has been having a noticable smoke at startup after sitting, so I've been suspect of the valve stem seals.

I've spoken to three machine shops so far. Prices all across the board. $200 on the low end to pressure test, deck it and install valve stem seals (then depending on what valves it needs), another ball-parked $400 for the seervice. The first one I called, which is who the shop I used to work at deals with, said probably a $1,000. He spent the most time getting into the details about what he's doing. I called him first, and after hearing the other numbers called back and asked if he thought I was bringing a car, and not just a cylinder head. He said no, and that he's not sure what the other shops are quoting, but it's not the same work he intends to do. That price was inclusive of parts, including all the exhaust valves and sleeves, and resetting the lash. He made a big deal about setting the lash, saying it's a time consuming operation, and he was sure the other shops were not including it.

I had also emailed Clearwater yetserday, and had not heard back. I am going to give them a call.

[erikv11]

Do know that 2.3 motors are hard to find. ...

You may want to try checking in on Craigslist regularly. Looking within a few hundred miles of here I see wrecked cars on CL with good 2.3 engines about once a month. In Pittsburgh it should be pretty easy to find one.

But I agree with OP, pulling and reconditioning just the head makes good sense.

[BigRed]

Certainly a thought I had, but adding another dead car to a stable of two already... I called Clearwater, as they said $530 shipped. They need the cast number, so I may not be able to order today. I also need to source the head bolts and gasket, probably FCP. And debate what else I can afford while in there. Probably would be stupid to not do PCV (need to pull records on last service, but there does seem to be some improvisation on the system as-is). Also considering sending injectors out for cleaning, or getting the rebuild kit & tool from ARD, as they can be contributing factor to burnt valve.

[northernlights]

How old is the timing belt and hardware on this? Seeing that you don't see any coolant I wonder if the belt/tensioner/whatever did something funny and allowed a few valves to bend. That would not be a hard check to do without pulling the head.

[erikv11]

Timing belt idea is a good one, worth checking. You will still end up pulling the head I suppose, but worth checking.

While you have the top end open, definitely do all 4 cam seals (buy SKF or Volvo, Elring is junk), you will also need spark plug tube seals (I would buy from Volvo even though they are pricey). SKF seals you can get for $40 for the four of them, search or PM me if you can't find it.

PCV you can do pretty cheap, just buy the three hoses in Volvo brand (2 short ones, plus the wavy oe fmor trap to top of valve cover), the rest is DIY bulk hose. Clean out the trap and re-use it.

[BigRed]

Before I did the compression test yesterday, I rotated the crank and lines up the cam sprockets. All marks lined up and belt seemed tight. I'd have to check records to confirm, but I think it was jut over 5 years ago, and 40K.

I think I'll be going the Clearwater route, and that includes the cam seals (hopefully OE!). I was planning on ordering needed gaskets from FCP. Is the Victor-Reinz OK to use for the head gasket and exhaust? A few of the other needed gaskets were not available OE; throttle body (Elring), turbo oil line & thermostat housing (Elwis), water pipe (Victor-Reinz).

When I did the compression test, obviously the engine was not warm since it's not running. I also forgot to hold the throttle open. I assume that doesn't change the 0 readings, though. One thing that seemed weird that I didn't mention, when I tested the cylinders with compression, it sounded like the engine cranking fairly normal. When the tester was in the cylinders with 0 compression, it just sound led like the starter was spinning, but not spinning the engine. I thought maybe the battery for weak, so I retested a cylinder with compression, and it sounded like an engine cranking. Back to a 0 cylinder, and just sounded like starter spinning. At least it's consistent.

[erikv11]

That does sound weird, but I agree that the fact that they tested zero more than once seems pretty definitive. Are you sure the tester was threading in and sealing well in those two cylinders? That's about all I can think of.

The more I think about it, this is something you really, really want to be sure about before pulling the head - was the engine really somehow not spinning? I might even try it one more time. Watch the gauge while you crank it, even when there is a burnt valve you can see the needle jump while the engine spins, it just always settles right back to zero.

Those gaskets all sound fine except the turbo oil return line (the rubber ring at the oil pan right? If at the pipe then it is paper and it doesn't matter), I always go Volvo on that one. Your call, you can always replace it in a couple years if it leaks but I think it is a PITA on the AWD cars.

[BigRed]

I'll repeat before tear down, and remember to hold accelerator down. If same, I will do leak down test. The gauge has feature where it holds needle at highest pressure, so if it moved at all, it should have still been there when i checked it. Perhaps I'll have a helper watch and confirm things are spinning.

Also, not sure about my statement about the Clearwater head coming with the cam seals. I thought I read that, but now can't find it. I did just replace te intake rear, and have another SKF in box for exhaust. Would just need the part numbers for the front ones.