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Overheated 940- replace head or whole engine? 900

posted by  philc on  Wed Jul 11 21:01 CST 2012
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last visit: Tue Apr 15 12:56 CST 2014
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The radiator plug blew out of my daughter's 940 a while back. Car overheated and stopped running. Obviously, the head gasket blew. The engine turns and doesn't make any bad noises. At first, I was going to replace the engine witha low mileage unit. But... I found a nice head at a pick n pull for $45 and couldn't pass it up. I checked it with a machinist's straight edge and it's not warped. My plan is to pull the old head, clean things up, replace the gasket and cam seals and see what happens. It's a lot less work than replacing the engine. The car had Rotella 5/40 synthetic oil in it so, hopefully, the bearings are ok. I think it's a reasonable gamble, but would like some of your opinions and suggestions.
Thanks!








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    Overheated 940- replace head or whole engine? 900

    posted by  rjk2 on  Sun Jul 15 10:15 CST 2012
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    last visit: Sat Jun 21 05:30 CST 2014
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    What was the head from?
    From what you describe I would suspect it is a non-turbo head since they are not subject to the heat-loading of a turbo and generally are found in good shape if never overheated. Turbo heads can have issues over 250k, usually related to HG breaking down.

    However, if your daughter's car is a turbo & you determine the head you found is N/A you will need to swap/replace the exhaust valves & cam as they are different between the two.
    --
    1999 E320 1994 F150 1989 560 SL 1986 560 SL (deceased) 1988 300 TE (departed) 1994 945T (daughter's) 1988 244DL (it lives!) 1986 242Ti (fallow) 1968 GT500KR (under restoration)








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      Overheated 940- replace head or whole engine? 900

      posted by  philc on  Sun Jul 15 12:11 CST 2012
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      Thanks for the responses. It's a non-turbo car. I'm in the process of removing the old head. Will probably order a head gasket set from fcp. My plan is to remove the head with everything lined up at tdc. That way setting the timing with the new head shouldn't be too difficult. Right??








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        Overheated 940- replace head or whole engine? 900

        posted by  someone claiming to be Hueck on  Sun Jul 15 22:55 CST 2012 [RELATED]

        I've been there. Had a beautiful junkyard head and changed water pump and seals even crankshaft gear and don't forget new timing tensioner. Worked out well.
        Sometimes when you open it up you will find a piston chipped near a ring from heat. Then its engine time. But that's not so bad either. I put a good 1995 engine with oil squirters and mated it to a nice fresh tranny and put alot of new stuff on the engine before I installed. Its so much easier to organize evryhing including the plumbing. Beautiful. Started right up (engine had 64K and I was saving for 3 years). Still driving and just a great car. 940 wagon with ipd blue overload rear springs and Michelin class D tires so i can pull boats and carry outboards with 500lbs higher payload. As reliable as any Volvo I have had (over 20) and true to the Volvo reputation.








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    Overheated 940- replace head or whole engine? 900

    posted by  TONY H on  Thu Jul 12 06:07 CST 2012
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    That's the route I would take.
    --
    '75 Jeep CJ5 345Hp ChevyPwrd, two motorcycles, '85 Pickup: The '89 Volvo is the newest vehicle I own. it wasn't Volvos safety , it was Longevity that sold me http://home.lyse.net/brox/TonyPage4.html http://cleanflametrap.com/tony/








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    Overheated 940- replace head or whole engine? 900

    posted by  Rhys on  Wed Jul 11 21:24 CST 2012
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    last visit: Tue Nov 20 10:22 CST 2012
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    When overheated the early B230's would collapse the skirts on the pistons - what little skirt there is. I don't know what year your 940's B230 is, but it may have survived. They were at least better than the early ones.
    When the head is off, roll each piston to TDC and with your thumbs rock the piston in the bore perpendicular to the crank. In the past I've been able to make the piston knock just doing that, and if it does, then it will when it runs, perhaps constantly. If the rocking is not much, you can feel it more than see it, then install the head and try it.
    My only other concern is why the engine stopped during the overheat - was it was shut off, or did it quit by seizing when hot? Once an engine cools the pistons can move again after they shrink. If that's what happened it's not going to be good.






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