I am concidering re-building my 740 B230FT 160K heavy breather. I did a 122S years ago and was very happy with the result. Is the B230FT much harder. I can get a Volvo change-over unit for about $5,000 but I was hoping to do it cheaper. What can I expect to find with the head and the crank?

I did my own rebuild about four years ago on my B230FT as the cylinder walls had a .040" ridge on the major thrust side. No .080" over pistons are available so rather than scrap the block I had it sleeved back to std. and picked up a couple of used pistons. It now has about 116,000 miles and is still going strong. I suggest pulling the head first to see if an in chassis overhaul can be performed, my engine had experienced knocking and lots of blowby.The rest of the rebuild was pretty standard stuff although if your engine experienced a severe overheat expect to replace the plastic shield behind the timing components (it melted) The PO had replaced the head with an exchange unit so that was OK. There is also a plastic tube in the crankcase that connects to the PCV box that is likely to need replacing. If your intake system was properly maintained and it wasn't overheated you're likely be able to do an in chassis although if the rear seal is leaking you may as well pull it. BTW for all the abuse sustained by the PO's the crank and rods were undamaged and reused. I work for Clevite 77 so I recommend their bearings!

Thanks Tom, I take it the pistons could not be re-used? Did you go for turbo pistons? What is the biggest oversize available?

I bet you'd find a good used motor ready to drop in for less than you'll pay for new pistons, bearings, and gaskets.