1999 V70R possible burnt valve?

[HWG09]

I'm not certain a bad oil change did this but 3 weeks after said oil change my dipstick showed zero oil in it and it wasn't like I was leaking a bunch of oil not too mention this awful tapping sound the engine was making because it was starved and I think the engine takes 6.5 quarts.

Do you have any links to how to remove the head myself? I'm not opposed to doing that but I'm concerned the problem will be in the lower part of the engine. I know this is not going to be a cheap repair but I have to at least approach the dealer about doing something b/c otherwise how did this cylinder all of a sudden fail with 110k miles on it and no other warning signs?

Best case scenario maybe they'll take the car and give me some credit to put down on one of their cars on their lot.

[rspi]

Well, I'm with you on the "go pound on the dealers desk" thing. Heck, the car is an R so I would say it's worth saving.

These cars have large sumps, likely for a reason. There is a real good chance that them having you drive away low could have cause some wear issues. If you were not getting enough oil to the top could have caused you lifter issues, thus the ticking/noise. Once you discovered the noise you were not able to quiet down there was likely permanent damage done. Did that cause the burnt valve? I doubt it but who's to say.

When you do go to them, say as little as possible. The facts are;
1. They changed your oil last.
2. The oil was low.
3. They did not add enough back.
4. They are responsible professionals.
5. The motor started making noise.
6. You added oil.
7. The noise did not go away.
8. The motor is damaged.

I would NOT go into anything about you adding chemicals, or any other thing you did to try to fix the issue. Just drive the car down there, ask for a loaner, and tell them that you need them to fix the car.

The value of a nice '99 R with low miles in my book is worth about $6,000. Not sure how many R's were sent here in '99 but I have not seen many.

[erikv11]

This is getting a little silly, there is really no way for low oil level to lead to a burnt valve ... If you just want to be opportunistic then sure, go for it, the car dealer might take you up on it in order to make a sale, but you should know the basic facts. rspi, is that why you are recommending to be vague in discussions with the dealer, because there is no logical connection between the oil change and the problem with the car?

The two are often correlated, that is, a car that consumes a lot of oil is a good candidate to burn a valve, because the oil is getting past the valve stem seals.

OP: yes, there are lots of posts about how to pull the head. This one is the gold standard, give it a look, you will understand exactly what is involved and ca go on to look at more DIYs from there: Volvo 5-cylinder: How to Replace the Head Gasket

[HWG09]

I guess the main thing is we don't know if it's a burnt valve. All we know is I have zero compression on #2 cylinder so that is why I'm leaning towards going to the dealer saying you changed my oil and didn't add enough, engine was bare after 3 weeks, added oil now compression lost on #2 so damage done and see what they come back with.

I paid $6200 for the car back in July with about 105k miles on it (Has 110k now). Definitely would like to keep it but have to sort this out obviously.

[erikv11]

I see your point, it's worth a try. At the least they may diagnose the problem for no charge, for example if I was the dealer and feeling responsible/professional, I would want to boroscope it and determine if it was a burnt valve just to know I hadn't caused it, etc.

[osman]

If it didnt overheat and your compression is zero= burnt valve. Case closed, and yes Erikv11 is correct low oil will not cause burnt valve, running lean, or using less than premium fuel in a turbo, or valve stem seals and or carbon build up are the usual culprits. Either way since you have to pull the head you will be replacing the burnt valve and all the stem seals anyway.

[HWG09]

Well predictably the dealer didn't want to have much to do with it. He made his case by saying I should've called when the engine was super low with oil months ago instead of 3 months and a couple thousand miles. He wasn't being an a$$hole and said he'd stand behind their service but like many on here didn't see much link to the oil change and this issue. It was a hail mary that fell incomplete.

Guess it's on to a shop to check out what's going on and we'll go from there.

Merry Friggin Christmas right?

[rmmagow]

Short of a borescope, is there a way to determine if the piston might be holed? I used some of those jcwitney magic surface gap plugs in a motor, developed some problems. After removing the head (not a Volvo) it was determined that the spark was actually jumping to the piston and blew through one eventually. Not saying this happened here, but is it possible for a white motor to have a piston fail maybe from undiagnosed knocking. Leakdown maybe?

[erikv11]

A cheap little camera from harbor freight into the spark plug hole would give you a look at the piston tops. I have seen a few pics of cratered 850 pistons but always from people running the engine very hard.

[socompsp]

what part of the country are you in? your best bet is to have someone drop a borescope inside and have a look. but 0 compression is normally 99% a burnt valve. its possible during the low oil you had a lifter freeze causing the valve to become bent. a scope into the cyl will show signs of an impact with said valve if thats the case. if the cyl looks clean then its a burnt valve. either way, the head is coming off.