Driving with a burned exhaust valve

[101]

With 20K on my 98 GLT engine post rebuild, all is well. Like erik11, if I had it to do over again, I would source used exhaust valves, but the machine shop work was worth every penny.

[cn90]

- The Compression Tester Gauge arrived. It is INNOVA 3612 Compression Tester; about $23 on amazon etc. with good reviews.

PROCEDURE:
- D/C Fuel Relay.
- Removed all 5 spark plugs.
- D/C Ignition Wires
- Crank with Throttle Opened.

FINDINGS:
- Cylinder #1: ~150 psi
- Cylinder #2: ~135 psi
- Cylinder #3: 0 psi
- Cylinder #4: ~147 psi
- Cylinder #5: ~150 psi

- Poured some engine oil into Cylinder #3, still 0 psi. So burned Exhaust Valve is confirmed.

- Asked my 18yo son, on the way to Kansas City, he filled with Octane 87 b/c it was the cheapest. I didn't want to make him feel guilty b/c over the last 20 years, I have filled my many cars (even brand-new) with Octane 87 with zero issues.
Currently, I only use Octane 91; when stuck I use Octane 89, but not Octane 87.


So, my options are:

1. Sell it to some talented Volvo enthusiast since the car has so many new parts.

2. Donate this to the refugee family (I sponsor a few refugee families a year).
Technically speaking, per rpsi, one can drive it like this for 100K miles LOL (I already disconnected the connector to Fuel Injector #3).

3. Keep it as a "junk 2nd car" in case my daily driver breaks down.

4. Or wait until I have some precious time and rebuild the head with new Valves and Seals.

5. Or ask one of the guys at the local Volvo shop to see if they want to do this for me at home for extra cash.

6. Where is rpsi when I need him LOL?

S70-Burned-Valve.jpg (345.17 KiB) Viewed 1683 times

[rspi]

I'm here and ready. Bring her over. lol

[cn90]

Robert rspi,

Why don't you come up here? I will pay for the labor...LOL.

[abscate]

NE is only 8 letters away from NM..

I think I would weekly drive it as a backup or use it as a weekend grocery getter running it at 45 mph or less until circumstances changed and forced either sale or fix. no reason to sink money into a car until you have to if it still functions.

[erikv11]

My sister-in-law will be passing through Omaha tomorrow, on her way to Albuquerque ... unfortunately she's already driven her own car up here.

With all the replacement parts you have poured into it I'd keep it around and see how it fares. Lee says he's driven for thousands of miles on 4 cylinders before. If it's your kid's car though, that could make it a bit more tricky.

[cn90]

Thanks erik. Too bad you don't live here, otherwise I can pay you for the job b/c I know you can handle this cylinder head job.

I agree that I should keep the car b/c I poured so many new parts in the car during the last 4-5y. Plus I wrote so many DIY using this car, so I am kind of "emotionally attached" to it...LOL.

[rspi]

Labor won't cover the other expenses. lol We have friends in Lincoln and I can't get my wife to agree to go there. They use to be HER best friends. :/

I drove as fast as 75 mph with my burnt valve. Long hills is what concerns me. Spoke to a guy a few days ago that said that he'd been driving around in his 960 for 2 years with a burnt valve. Up and down the east coast. lol

[cn90]

Yeah,

I already d/c the electrical connector to the Injector #3.
At idle it is rough but not stalling. On highway, I can tell the power is about 85% of what it is used to be.
Not bad, I can live with it for now.

This has been an interesting experience...Bought the 1998 GLT with 145K miles 5y ago (Fall of 2012) for about $2300.
Over the last 5y, I have spent about $2700+ on parts, labor was mine of course. Many hours spent on: front suspension, rear shocks, heater core, rebuild heater hoses, rebuilt trans hoses, Oil Cooler Tstat, Front wheel bearings x2, brake jobs, rebuild brake calipers, lock actuators, fuel door fix, igntion tumbler FREE fix (removing bottom plate), timing belt/WP/Tensioner etc., Serpentine Belt/Tensioner, AC Pulley bearing fix etc. etc.

Looking back, I might have been better with a "$5000 car"; something like a 2005 S60 with 100K miles, this way I didn't have to fix the items mentioned above. Next time, I will be smarter and buy a "$5000 car"...LOL.

I wish the valve didn't burn, this way I can keep the car forever.

[PeteB]

I bought a 2010 Ford Focus 5sp stick base model for $5K last year, 69K miles for
my son, not a luxury car but he likes it. A Mazda would have been better but they
are more expensive, at least the Focus has the Mazda engine with a timing chain.