Burnt valve on 99 Cross Country

T64me · Post by **T64me** » 02 Jul 2016, 21:51

My friend has a 99 Cross Country. It has 1 burnt valve. Is replacing the 1 burnt valve a good option? My original thought was that he should have the head rebuilt but that will cost nearly as much as what the car is worth. Any constructive input would be appreciated.

Post by **tryingbe** » 02 Jul 2016, 22:07

It really depends. Burnt valve could damage the cylinder head/piston. I would opt for a used engine instead, but if "that will cost nearly as much as what the car is worth" is that important, sell the car as-is and get something else.

beigg · Post by **beigg** » 03 Jul 2016, 04:43

Rolling the dice at a clearwater head could be a suitable option. Would cost similarly to what a headgasket replacement costs omitting the timing belt maintenance costs.

101 · Post by **101** » 03 Jul 2016, 08:28

The correct repair would be to remove the head and have it reworked by a reputable machine shop. If one valve is burnt, others may follow shortly. At a minimum, the one exhaust valve, a set of valve stem seals, and checking the cylinder head for flatness are needed.

It all depends on the condition of the car and what your friend's ownership horizon for the car would be. Would the engine repairs exceed the value of the car? Probably - if he does it himself. Definitely - if a shop does it. Is the rest of the car sound enough to get him a few more years of service? Then the investment may make better sense than car payments to replace it.

Post by **MadeInJapan** » 03 Jul 2016, 10:28

101 wrote:The correct repair would be to remove the head and have it reworked by a reputable machine shop. If one valve is burnt, others may follow shortly. At a minimum, the one exhaust valve, a set of valve stem seals, and checking the cylinder head for flatness are needed.

It all depends on the condition of the car and what your friend's ownership horizon for the car would be. Would the engine repairs exceed the value of the car? Probably - if he does it himself. Definitely - if a shop dies it. Is the rest of the car sound enough to get him a few more years of service? Then the investment may make better sense than car payments to replace it.

I totally agree with this!! There is no better fit than the original head on your engine!! That said, a "reputable" indy who knows what he is doing is a must. Letting him rework the head and lap in the valves again and replace the valve stem seals. I say this from experience. I trusted a shop that did engine work for me and so a couple of years ago when I burned a valve on my S70 in my #5 cylinder, I ordered a good head from Clearwater. That was fine and the head went to the shop for the replacement. Long story short, during all of this, my friend who owned the shop decided to get out of the car repair business and get into driving trucks for a trucking firm. The repair got delayed. Next, I find out they have everything done and come and get my car! Yippee, I was excited. My friend was out on a truck run when I got there and his son handed me the keys and I handed him a check. All seemed fine until my drive home in this car...I kept smelling oil. when I pulled over, there was oil coming out of the corners of the cam cover. I of course, did a turn-around and drove the car back to the shop. Come to find out, my friend who I had trusted with the repair had sold his shop to his son and his son was the one who did the work. This guy had never done engine work on an Volvo before and did not use a cam holding tool during the replacement. Long story short, he bent the cam cover and also stripped several of the hold-down bolts. Those things are torqued to like 7 inch pounds- very light! I was in no shape to stall any longer on getting my car right, and I had serious doubts that this guy could do it, so I took my old head (with the burnt valve in it to another guy more local to me who charged me about the same amount of $$ but did exactly what is posted here- re-worked my old head with new seals, replacement valves on the exhaust of the cylinder and re-lapped all the valves, and I was good to go! The repair proved to be very good- this car now drives better than it ever has in it's life. The down side is, I never have received a refund from the first guy and I got tired of gibbering over it. I will just never take my car there again and inform all I know to avoid him. I do feel sorry for him, just getting into a business of his own- apparently working side by side with his dad for years (who knew what he was doing), but he's just not competent to work on a Volvo engine.

So, weigh the costs of a car payment, etc. How much does your friend love this Volvo? Is it worth saving? Ask around and get quotes. Make sure the shop is reputable to begin with, but have him ask specific questions such as "what tool do you use to hold the cams? Will you re-lap the valves...will you put in new valve stems? What anaerobic sealer do you use on the head?" The answers to these questions will tell you quickly if they are up for the job or not. Sure, they may work on GM's and Fords, but Volvo's are a different creature so whoever does the work better be well versed in them.

Post by **erikv11** » 03 Jul 2016, 11:21

I say 102.

That's +1 to what 101 said!

Post by **E Showell** » 04 Jul 2016, 19:02

Just throwing this out there -- what if you could pick up a used head at a yard for $50. Would anybody just cross their fingers and pop on a used head? I am suspecting there are a bunch of reasons not to do that -- i.e., it wouldn't have been machined, etc., but for somebody really hard up for cash might it be a viable option -- just asking -- save the rotten fruit throwing. This is a legitimate question, not an exercise in trolling. If something like this could work (as in theoretically could work) it wouldn't work for me because I never have that kind of luck.

Post by **rspi** » 04 Jul 2016, 20:03

E Showell wrote:Just throwing this out there -- what if you could pick up a used head at a yard for $50. Would anybody just cross their fingers and pop on a used head? I am suspecting there are a bunch of reasons not to do that -- i.e., it wouldn't have been machined, etc., but for somebody really hard up for cash might it be a viable option -- just asking -- save the rotten fruit throwing. This is a legitimate question, not an exercise in trolling. If something like this could work (as in theoretically could work) it wouldn't work for me because I never have that kind of luck.

I've seen many heads in the "yard" totally on the edge. Also, most of them are now there due to overheating. You have to be VERY CAREFUL of getting these heads.

1. Look for a wrecked car.
2. Look for evidence if the car has had a head job prior to now. If it has, you may want to keep looking. It may be on the edge.
3. If you do end up pulling a head, any signs that any of the cam cover bolts are loose when you pull them, just leave it and walk away.
4. If you finally do make it out of the yard with one, have it checked for trueness and rebuild it or have it rebuilt.

As 101 said, if 1 valve burnt, there are likely others ready to follow. I prefer to replace the valve on the current head.

Now, if the engine is a '99-1/2, it likely has solid lifters. That is a new ball game. Those heads have to be professionally reworked so, only have them done by a pro.