head gasket and valve seals

vp965 · Post by **vp965** » 13 May 2018, 18:19

I posted the same question on 240/740/940/960 forum but received no reply, and since my question is more of a whiteblock engine specific, I thought I'd try here... I'm about to change the head gasket for my car and want to leave the head for a valve job (valves are fine, but the valve stem seals would likely benefit from replacing). I've ordered an AJUSA set of gaskets (52142700) off rockauto.com -- I've used their intake manifold gasket before and was happy with the quality, solid product. Hope the other gaskets in the set are of comparable quality. The set also comes with 24 valve stem seals; I wonder if these aftermarket seals are decent enough so I don't have to splurge for a set from a dealer ($$$). Another aftermarket seal option is Victor Reinz P/N 3517893 which cost about 50 cents per seal (as opposed to $6-7 or so that the Volvo dealer wants -- the AJUSA seals are part of the set ). Volvo seals are marked "made in Germany", Victor Reinz are "made in Vietnam", the AJUSA's are supposedly "made in Spain". I hope someone with experience with these products could chime in. Thanks!
The car is 1998 V90 157K miles, B6304FS 24 valve engine same valve seals as the 850/S/V70 engines.

Post by **FLXC90** » 13 May 2018, 19:59

I haven't done this particular task yet on any of my Volvos. That being said, and prevailing wisdom saying stick with bluebox/oe for seals and critical parts, the caveat for expense is: How many miles do you accrue per year, and how long do you intend to keep the car, what is the ROE for the cost of the parts?.

callahanoffroad · Post by **callahanoffroad** » 13 May 2018, 20:10

Im very interested in these answers. Im currently trying to decide whether to buy a rebuilt head or buying a second head and rebuild it myself.

vp965 · Post by **vp965** » 14 May 2018, 00:13

The blue V90 is my project car, and the expected mileage is ~ 5,000 miles/year. I've been a V90 owner and a shadetree mechanic for the past 10 years though, and I have another V90 with 234K on the odo, which will also need head gasket and some transmission work... I guess I just like working on these cars at least as much as I like to drive them (a 960 would've been my dream car if it weren't so thirsty for gas)... I've been using both genuine and aftermarket parts on my Volvos, and I guess that most of the aftermarket parts I've seen were fine, and I've had a few instances when I actually preferred aftermarket to "genuine" (Volvo's "made in India" brake pads is one example, I'd rather use Euro made Textars...). I'd prefer not to use URO parts hoses when there's a better aftermarket alternative (Mackay) since I know I'd have to replace them in less than 2 years, but I don't see much difference in performace between the latter and the more expensive OEM. There's been one time I've been really burned by aftermarket parts, and it's when I put on aftermarket front control arms bushings (Febi-branded) which happened to be a tiny fraction wider and made my aluminum control arms unusable after they served their time. Having learned my lesson (and gotten a new set of control arms) I've been only using OEM for the front bushings, even though I'm fine with (for instance) Febi's for the rear -- haven't seen any difference in their longevity compared to the more expensive OEM. I guess I'm expecting the same from the valve seals: if they work and not make the head into a one-use part after installation, I'll be willing to give them a try. Just don't want to use junk parts that would make me redo the job in another 10K miles...

Post by **erikv11** » 14 May 2018, 00:19

My guess is the valve stem seals you mentioned will last about 10,000 miles. Or maybe 8,000.

Many, many people have investigated the valve stem seals. My recommendation is don't consider other than Volvo brand valve stem seals for even a second. The set for a white block is about $80 shipped to your door from Volvo, expensive but definitely not $6 each. viewtopic.php?t=71962

I also buy only Volvo head gaskets but others have used other makes and say they are OK.

vp965 · Post by **vp965** » 14 May 2018, 01:31

Sweet! $80 is less than half of what these things would cost me individually, so I guess I could splurge and get the real thing. Thanks!

Post by **misha** » 14 May 2018, 15:00

Victor Reinz and Mahle are premium brand of sealing products(gaskets,piston rings,valve seals...etc).
Victor Reinz is oem for seals and Mahle for piston rings.

Post by **rspi** » 16 May 2018, 07:09

LOL, Love these comments.

Brands and quality can change in 1 day, one VP's decision to save $$$ by choosing a different manufacturer can send quality below the ground level. This is really evident in the quality of parts I have been using over the past 4 years.

When pulling a head or any job that takes:
1. Longer than 30 minutes to complete
2. Can result in personal injury
3. Can cause major damage to my car or equipment
I only use OEM parts now.

I am done with having valve stem seals failing in 6,000 miles. Head gaskets failing in 2 year. Intake manifolds leaking in 6 months. D O N E.

My last couple of head gasket jobs have only Volvo seals in them. Cam, head, oil well, intake manifold, thermostat housing, etc. Cost is less than $300.

Many parts that were OEM 10 years ago, are no longer OEM, just a note.

Post by **Clemens** » 16 May 2018, 16:36

@ rspi: didn't Volvo downgrade some bluebox parts (like the brakepads) to lower quality after the Ford aquisition in the 90ies?

Post by **SuperHerman** » 19 May 2018, 00:31

I have used Victor R that come with the head gasket set on a number of cars without any issues, two of them being Volvos.