Ok -- now i need to draw on you all more experienced than I am.

I got the head off, and this is what I found (www.pbase.com/macisaac/volvo).

When the bolt holding on the air filter worked its way loose, the washer went into the cylinder, and as you can see, was banged up against the top of the combustion chamber, was destroyed in the process, and the pieces have welded themselves to the top of the piston. There is a piece about a centemeter long sticking straight up. The sides of the cylinder don't seem to be scored. But the top of the piston has all of this washer on it now, and the bottom of the head around the valve for that back cylinder is a bit scored.

I am guessing I can just snip off the bit of the washer that is sticking up and put her back together. Opinions?

Also, a bit of coolant spilled into the cylinder, but I wiped it out. Anything to worry about?

Finally, I could get a head gasket a little thicker than normal to lower the compression and cut down on the persistent but minor pinging I have when accelerating hard. Good idea or no?

By the by, has anyone had anything large than a washer make its way into a cylinder and attach itself to a piston head, or do I win a prize?

Greg