I've been chasing this problem for a while. I see no leaks or residue, system holds 15# pressure for 30 minutes, I smell nothing unuusual from exhaust, see no white smoke from exhaust, no apparent leak from water pump. I lost 10oz in 400 miles a few days ago then lost 12oz in 200 miles yesterday. Coolant loss is inconsistent like that. Yesterday I opened the hood after driving 90 miles & saw the fluid level in the expansion tank was at the "min" level. I opened the cap, gas rushed out and the fluid level rose to "max". I've been watching this happen for several weeks now, is it exhaust gas? If it's exhaust gas, how do I determine source (head gasket vs cylinder wall vs cracked head)? If I have to pull the head, what is used to seal the upper & lower halves? On my 960 there was a pink sealant that I rolled on with a foam roller. Thanks.
Marlin

Marlin,

Watch these video's here:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WlIjBledtS0

There are five in all. I used this to replace the head on my 2007 XC70 as it was a CVVT head and I was not familiar with it.

He goes into great detail on how he determined that it was the head that was leaking.

To seal the valve cover to the head you use a pink sealant that you roll on. I got mine from FCP and its a Volvo gasket maker.

Good luck and let us know what you find out.

Matt

I watched the videos & re-read your thread on repairing the valves. How long did the disassembly take? Did you order the complete gasket kit or just the cam & cylinder head? Is the cam sprocket separate from the vvt hub & do they need to be removed? Thanks.
Marlin

Marlin,

It took me about 3 to 5 hours to remove everything as I've done this twice before on my 1998 V70, so I had a good idea of what to do.

The biggest PITA on this job are as follows:

1. rear passenger side of the head is a coolant pipe that attaches with two bolts. Don't forget to remove it!
2. remove the tube that attaches to the throttle body before removing the intake manifold.
3. Don't remove the injectors, remove the intake manifold as a single unit.
4. remove the serpentine belt, and then unbolt the power steering pump as this will aid in removing the thermostat, and this will then give you easier access to the last intake manifold bolt which needs to be loosened, not removed, to pull the intake manifold off.
5. removal of the banjo bolt going into the intake manifold that is part of the PCV system.
6. removal of the banjo bolt going into the bottom on the head on the driver side.
7. remove the 4 bolts that connect the turbo to the exhaust manifold, and when you are ready, pull the head out with the exhaust attached, and put it back that way as well, getting a good friend to do this both times.


I did not order the kit. I ordered the head gasket, intake manifold gasket, rear coolant pipe gasket, thermostat gasket, and the copper washers for the two banjo bolts were reused by just sanding them down. I also ordered both front and rear CAM seals, and the Volvo valve cover sealant that you roller on. If yo don't have the tool to hold the CAMs in place while re-installing the CAMs, then I would either make one, or buy one. It has been the best $150 bucks I ever spent.

I have access to a parts washer, so while I had it all apart, I let everything soak in simple green so that when I put it all back together, it was nice and oil free.

You do not have to remove the sprockets of VVT hub from the CAMs. Just put the seals on the CAMs and then take your time placing them in place. Make sure the Crank is set properly and also that the CAMs are set properly. Patience is the key here. I test fit mine for about 30 minutes as I had never done a CAM installation with the VVT and sprocket still in place. Going forward, this is how I'll do it in the future!

I think that is about all for now. Let me know if you have anymore questions.

Regards,

Matt
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1989 - 245, 1990 - 245, 1991 - 245, and 1993 - 245