95-850- 225K...Well the worst news...the leak I am having is clearly the head gasket. Under pressure, you can see the anti-freeze exit the gasket on the driver's side, just under the heater hose nipple. At this milage, it does not make sense to invest the $$$ to fix, as it needs new brake calipers and tie-rods. Any 'fixes' that are available? Can I re-tighten the head? I did this in an old Mercedes of mine...but I don't want to do it if it could snap a bolt or create more issues. Are there any additives?

Knowing that I will not be installing a new head gasket, I used Bar's Gasket stuff...one bottle, into the cooling system...60 miles later, still no leak. Crossing my fingers and taking it for a long 'highway' drive tomorrow. If it holds up...maybe I can squeeze some more miles out of this thing.

you could also try a Gates coolant cap reservoir cap that pressurizes the system to a lower PSI than standard......see FCP for these caps. They say to change the cap whenever you change your fluid.....mine is 20 years old.....never had a problem with it.

No, you cannot re-torque the head. The factory bolts are "torque to yield" style and will likely break if you try to give them another twist. I guess you can try a "head gasket in a bottle" approach, but I wouldn't bet on that being a long term fix.

For what it's worth, I'm gearing up to do the head gasket on my 241,000 mile '95 854T because it is drinking oil and coolant at alarming rates. Not leaking out the side like yours though. Also will do the valve seals because it smokes after idling for a few minutes.

I had the same question at to whether I should spend any money to fix it or just run it until it dies completely. It's in otherwise good condition and could still be worth probably around $1000 on the market - in running condition. I couldn't sell it privately without full disclosure though.

So for the repair, it seems aftermarket parts from the popular Volvo suppliers run around $110 for a head gasket set, $180 for a timing belt kit, $170 for a PCV system kit, $100 for a valve spring compressor, $40 for head bolts (you must use new ones) plus I'll guess another $150 for other misc. parts - hoses, clamps, fluids etc. So just parts are going to run around $750. Maybe I can get away with just a timing belt and save some there. Even rent a spring compressor from Autozone can save a few bucks. But the PCV hoses are beat, so I know I need those. Anyway, $750 in parts is probably a decent estimate. If it's less, I'll have some extra beer money.

But if the head is warped and has to go to the machine shop, I'd imagine that will run at least $400 to $500. Maybe even more since it's a 20 valve head. So now we're up to $1,250. Hmmm. Worth it?

Of course all this assumes me doing the job so there is no labor charge. I'd imagine it'll take me about 40 hours by the time I prep and clean everything. I've no doubt a shop would take maybe a 1/4 or 1/3 of that time, but this would be my first head removal on a whiteblock, so it'll take longer.

Me? I'm going to dive in. I've grown to like this car and I enjoy wrenching on things. I'll cross my fingers that the head does not need work. If it does, then all bets are off and it'll probably be donated to a local charity.

Tom,
It is rare for the head to 'warp' unless the coolant completely drains out and the heat is too high. I would be more worried about valve seats.

I wish I had more confidence in my wrenching:
http://minneapolis.craigslist.org/wsh/cto/4994604071.html

While the head is off, look into replacing the seals in the turbo...http://www.volvoforums.org.uk/showthread.php?t=48611

Klaus
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My back feels better when I sit in a Volvo seat

Oh man. Turbo seals may blow the budget! I'll have to look at how oily the hoses are. I suspect I won't like what I see.

I wasn't really clear with my head work comment.
I'm not so much concerned with a warped head. It's never overheated since I've owned it (3 yrs. - 42,000 miles). Not sure about the previous owner, but I don't think so. It runs too smooth to have major issues. Just passed emissions last month.

The valve seats are a good point. I did plan on pulling the valves when doing the seals to check for coked oil on the stems and seats. This thing goes through a quart every 700 miles. I can't believe the cat. isn't clogged - maybe it is.

Just crossing my fingers that I can get this done under $750. I think I can, but the "may as well"s can add up quick. The goal is to at least get the head and PCV done. Timing belt can actually wait a little longer (though I will inspect) since the PO had it done around 185,000.

Your craigslist reference didn't come up. What was that about?

Back in my good old days as a programmer, we called that creeping sophistication. Open up a program to make a simple change and then make a few more changes to make it even better, and before you know it the entire program is twice as big and no original code is left.

Fix what needs to be fixed, and leave the rest for the bone yard.

The local Craigslist was for a 1995 854T, grey/grey, 168K, no dents and good driver's seat, $600, but might need a new head gasket.
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My back feels better when I sit in a Volvo seat

Hi Tom,

Sometime the car is gonna sit for some time, put a Tbsp. or so of Mystery oil
in each cylinder, the longer the soak the better. You might be pleasantly
surprised. It's worked great here, soaking a day or so while replacing a clutch.

Bill

The problem with this engine design is that there is a 2 part valve cover that is glued together. Unlike the old cast iron blocks with push rods, the valve cover had a cork gasket and was easily removed.

The hardest part of the 5 cyl engine is removing/reinstalling the cam cover, and even this cannot be 'gorilla' replaced. So, no to retorqueing the head. Besides, once the head is off you would also want to replace the 20 valve seals and possibly clean the valve seats.

Calipers usually aren't that expensive. Tie rods are easy.

Make sure that the coolant is coming from the head gasket and not from the O ring at the coolant hose.

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My back feels better when I sit in a Volvo seat