That car is just a baby in terms of mileage. Seals should not be leaking but front ones can be replaced when it comes time for it's second timing belt change which is every 50K miles. Same for water pump as all this is easiest done all at once while the front of engine is apart. Assuming previous owner had timing belt changed on schedule it is not yet ready till 100K.

It is highly unlikely that the head gasket would need replacement unless the car was overheated. A head gasket is either good or bad, period. It cannot be "not that bad". There are specific tests to diagnose a failed head gasket including a compression test. It is never changed based on "feelings" or as a regular maintenance item.

If you went to a dealer I would pull the car out and get another opinion from a good independent shop that knows Volvos, dealers are notoriously expensive. My standy recommendation is to stay away from dealers except for no charge recall and warranty woek and purchase of a new car.
--
David Hunter

>>... and everything is opened up to get to the water pump, does it make sense to do the timing belt, too (if the price is right)?

Yes, do the water pump, timing belt, front seals, tensioner and drive belts all at the same time. Parts from fcpgroton would run around $100, so double that from a shop. Triple if a Volvo shop. Then add 2 to 3 hours of labor. So, $400-500 at current shop rates is expensive, but not necessarily a rip-off. This is a job you could easily do yourself for around $150-200, which would include all the parts I mentioned, plus the special crankshaft tool you could buy from IPD, a set of metric wrenches, and a sixpack for when you are done! But on the other hand, it might be worth an additional $300 not to spend the day in your driveway, particularly if it is cold.

Good luck, either way you go.

Tom

Avoid places with service managers. They're paid to get the business, not to know if something actually needs replacing. Talk to the mechanic directly (out of range of service manager). If you get the impression that the mechanic doesn't feel the work is necessary "but I'm not the boss" consider going elsewhere.

Unfortunately, you own a car that's easy for a DIY to work on, but you aren't one.
--
1980 245 Canadian B21A with SU carb and M46 trans

Having read the posts earlier than this one, I am a bit surprised that no one, unless I missed it, mentioned that a full servicing of the flame trap and positive crankcase ventilation (PCV) system might clear up most if not all of the rear main seal leak. BTDT x 2.

That service is, again, a DIY job. Depending on your penchant for that sort of thing. All new parts, oil separator box, hoses, etc, should be under $70 using Volvo dealer parts, and that's a high guess.

I agree with the recommendation that you seek another shop.

Good Luck,

Bob

:>)

Regarding the front of the engine:

TRW iming belt and three Scan Tech front seals, $13
Hepu water pump, $38
Timing belt tensioner if needed, $22
Timing cover gasket if needed, $5
New drive belts, $20?

These are FCP prices, what you might pay if you decide to do the job yourself. Do this stuff and the front of your engine will be in good shape. Mechanics will charge you a lot more for the parts they supply (maybe 2x), although the quality might not be any higher and very well could be lower, depending on the mechanic you choose. Of course, labor will be substantial.

Hope this helps.
--
Thanks to everyone for the help, Doug C. 81 242 Brick Off Blocks, stock, M46; 86 244, 140k , auto.

What did they quote you $500 for?

The head gasket?

The timing belt and water pump?

The timing belt, water pump, front and rear engine seals?

Will replacing the front engine seals put more stress on the head gasket? No.

Keep in mind that on top of making a profit on the labor costs, the shop will likely mark up the parts that you buy. Chances are you can buy aftermarket parts online of the same quality for less than they're paying.

The head gasket, depending on current labor costs, is easily a $700 job on its own. It's pretty straight forward, but it is time consuming.. especially if you have to farm out the machine work. Plus, there are a lot of little parts to replace.. and fasteners will often break.

I would expect the shop to charge you nearly the full amount (1-1.5 hrs) for the timing belt because you don't need to disassemble the front of the car to do the head gasket. If they have to take it apart further to do the seals expect another 30 mins, and another 30-45 mins for futzing with the water pump.

Realistically $500 is a bit steep for a shop to charge you for a timing belt and water pump. The parts alone would probably run you $70-$100 at a shop (especially if they use Volvo branded parts). Around here, shops charge around $100/hr, so if you add 1-1.5 hours on top of the parts, you've suddenly got a $300 job. If you wanted the front engine seals replaced at the same time, that's ideally only another half an hour of labor and another $25-$30 in parts.

To do the rear main seal, you'd have to pull the engine and/or transmission.. either of which will add quite a bit to your labor cost.

If you're handy with a breaker bar, you can probably do all of the repairs yourself and save a bundle of money.

Expect to pay about $50 for a head gasket kit, $45 for a water pump, $10 for a timing belt, $3-$5 per front seal, $25-$30 for the t-belt tensioner (a good idea to replace if the pump has been leaking on it), $10 per radiator hose and v-belt.. and the machine shop work could run anywhere from under $100 to $300+ depending on what you have done and the shop's hourly rate.

If you are willing and interested, I highly recommend you do these jobs yourself.

- alex

'85 244 Turbo

It's called duplication of labour. Some shops will charge the flat rate for both the water pump and the timing belt separately, which makes them a pile of money. Other shops will combine the two jobs, as they should. Say 1 hour for each job flat rate, then becomes 1.5 hours for both. A good shop will give you a break like that. To do the front seal while doing the belt is an addition to the t-belt rate, and that one should NOT be doubled. To do that is unethical.
As to the cylinder head, my question to them would be "Just what is not too bad about the head gasket?". The deal is they either work or they don't. No in between.
My advice would be to find another shop.

I would check the FAQ section if you thinkning about doing the work yourself.

None of the items you mention are that difficult to fix if you fairly handy with tools and have some manuals. You don't need a manual to change the water pump probably the easiest of those you mention to change. Front and rear seals, well you have to pull the transmission to do the rear seal and remove the front crankshaft pulley to change the front. If the car has a manual transmission then change the clutch and put in a new throwout bearing while you at it. If you change the front then also change the seal for the idler pulley drive the distributor.

Do you see and oil around number one exhaust outlet? If you do then the cam seal could be leaking, That should be replaced when the timing belt is changed. Simple job and it should only take about 20 minutes if you take your time with the timing belt off.

The interval for changing the timing belt is about 40,000 miles(at least on the 82). You should be able to push the timing belt another few thousand miles if you not ready to change it right now. You can change the timing belt without disconnecting any of the cooling hoses. Before I would change the head gasket I would do a compression check to see what each cylinder checked out. Should be within 10 to 15 psi of one another. If you losing water out the tailpipe then you more than likely have a blown headgasket.

The cost is somewhat dependent on how well the mechanic knows the car. A good Volvo mechanic probably wouldn't change as much as you mention. A shop that does geneal repairs not Volvo specific another matter.

I hope this provides enough information for you to determine how you want to proceed.