The seal at the top of the water pump is a very common place for coolant leaks on this engine. FCP sells a water pump seal kit for about $3. It's the same set of seals you would get in the box with a new water pump. If your water pump is in good shape, it could be removed and installed with the new gaskets, and that would solve that problem.

If there are oil leaks on the front of the engine, i.e. camshaft seal or valve cover gasket, these can drip oil into the area of the water pump seal, and make the rubber swell up and distort and cause that kind of coolant leak. There could well be additional work to help alleviate these oil leaks and prevent the coolant leak from reoccuring.

If there is leakage from the head gasket, be it oil, coolant, or internal leakage between cylinders, the head gasket must be changed (eventually, obviously you can run for some length of time depending on severity). It's a straightforward job on this car, and is done with the engine in the car. A lot of stuff has to come out, but trust me, it's far simpler than virtually any newer car.

The mechanic most likely is talking about sending the cylinder head to a machine shop to check it out. THey would then clean it, inspect it for cracks, possibly pressure-test it, and check the bottom surface of it for warping or flatness. If it's flat enough to reuse, it gets reinstalled as is. If it is distorted (often from an overheating event) then the shop grinds metal off to make it nice and flat again. These tests and possible machining could take a couple days and cost a couple hundred dollars. I have no idea what shop rates are in your area. They vary widely from shop to shop. The machine shop time starts after the garage gets done removing the cylinder head from the car.

The good news with a head gasket job is, it sort of encompasses all the other little jobs. You'll have a new timing belt, new front seals (well, I HOPE they would change them), new water pump seals, intake, exhaust and valve cover gaskets, and a bunch of other stuff. It should run like a new car and leak not at all.

You are entitled to a written estimate at the shop. He may not be able to accurately figure the machine shop's prices, but he should know exactly what his part of the job will entail. If he sources the parts, expect to pay Volvo list price. If you want to supply parts like the gasket set, to save money, ask him first, and be aware that they may not warranty parts they don't supply.

Hope it all works out well for you!
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::: Rob Bareiss, New London CT ::: 92 244 ::: 90 745GL ::: 90 745T ::: 84 242DL ::: 90 745T Parts ::: Used to have : 86 244DL, 87 244DL, 91 244, 88 244GL, 88 744GLE, 82 245T, 86 244DL, 87 244DL, 88 245DL, 89 244DL!