Worried about my 960 Mk II
 

Somewhat despondent. The 960 now starts on all 6 and ticks over smoothly with the occasional hiccup which in my experience is normal). Unplugging each coil pack in turn (and then reconnecting) produces bad running. Therefore the plugs and coilpacks are OK. But there is no power. And she pressurised the cooling system getting over the road from the car park. And with the header tank cap off there are bubbles in the header tank. I reckon it's head gasket (again). To compound the problem, the autobox feels funny - but that could be a by-product of lack of power (and it sometimes shows he flashing yellow arrow of doom although I am reasonably confident that that is the PNP switch) .

I had a similar problem. It was a radiator issue . Atf fluid in the rad .

Different to that
 

Not possible on mine - I have a HUGE DO88 rad (with no atf heat exchanger) and two HUGE atf coolers separate from the rad.

Any codes showing Roger?

2.5 or 3.0?
A lot of 2.5 I've seen with worse than a head gasket.
Do you have access to a endoscopy?

B2xy will have probs with:
Head gasket
Radiator (if automatic)
Corrosion at the head

B6xyz :
Head gasket
Cracked head
Cracked liner!!!
Cracked engine block ( no pressure at the coolant system)
Radiator (automatic again)
Good luck, Kay

Kay has suggested everything i was going to suggest Roger, in particular the cracked liner which seems quite common on white blocks.

If you have a boroscope/endoscope, get each cylinder in turn to the bottom of its stroke and have a good peep around inside the liner through the plughole. Closest i get to gambling is a few quid on the lottery now and again and once in a blue moon a quid on a sweepstake somewhere (work, pub similar, not through a bookies or similar) but i'd be willing to bet the 5p piece i found earlier today that it's either a cracked liner or something else. :tounge_smile:

The something else could be HGF again - or was it HGF in the first place? Could have been the cracked liner then, but only when it got hot, perhaps after a long journey towing a caravan and then stopped and the heat climbed (opening the crack) through lack of circulation of coolant until it cooled to a more normal level.
Could be that while giving all the symptoms of HGF that either it was only the cracked liner then, or possibly because of compromised cooling the head gasket failed as well, giving a bit of a red herring. The extra heat from the head gasket could have expanded the crack in the liner or even just use.

The gearbox relies on feedback from the ECU if it's electronically controlled, if the ECU tells it the engine isn't performing then the gearbox will "go easy" on things.
If all else fails, drop a 1UZ-FE and A341E into it instead - that should drag any caravan nicely and give you an extra 50bhp.
Alternatively, drop a B230FT and AW71LE (aka A341E :thumbs_up: ) in it with a higher pressure boost and drag any caravan you like.

Whichever way you look at it, it sounds like a hefty bill just for parts, depending what you find with the boroscope.

Mmmmmm
 

Thanks for the thoughts. When the HG was first done liners were inspected with head off and the second time round (when the heater hose split - and when driving in to the mecco) the gauge never QUITE reached the red (and I DO have pressure in the cooling system) so I am cautiously optimistic about the block/liners.

IMHO the Toyota engine is not really an option, and to put a B230FT or B234F+T in would require new engine management as well.

But what you say about the gearbox is comforting. I can get the PNP switch done later.

So I reckon it's spend between £500 and £800 getting the head gasket done - belts plugs and all that stuff was done when the head last came off so no extras there - and wait and see. And use one of my other Volvos to tow - this one has been a pain with tendency to overheat both engine and gearbox when towing up hills - hence the effing great DO88 radiator and the two effing great atf coolers. And if I am not going to tow with her then I could go back to the standard 960 rad with internal atf cooler although reversing the pipework mods could be a pain in the backside.

If it's that prone to overheating i'd leave the BFO rad and ATF coolers in place and just not use it to tow anything heavier than a wheelbarrow.

It's possible the liners had a crack not visible when inspected last time, below the piston somewhere, hence my suggestion of getting the piston to the bottom of its stroke and using a boroscope to inspect them.

The Toyota/Lexus was slightly tongue-in-cheek but would certainly give more power and torque for towing and it's a conversion becoming increasingly popular.

Not even a wheelbarrow!
 

Yes, you may be right about the towing capacity!

I was wondering whether it might be an idea to try a dose of genuine K-Seal. A while back I gave away a B200FT that had been boiled and the new owner and I K-sealed it and it was fine until he turned the turbo up to about 13 psi - and then he had to do the head gasket.

You could try it i suppose. I have a natural aversion to such products for two reasons, first on my other automotive passion, sealants of that form MUST NOT be used as they will block some small bore coolant channels in/around the throttle body area causing major problems and second, my mind set is fix the cause, not the symptom.

That said i'm sure there are many people who will tell you it's safe to use on a white block and to go for it, just do your own research to satisfy yourself it won't cause any problems by blocking any small bore channels.
Also, many moons ago i bought an Audi for tuppence ha'penny and a brass farthing because the heater matrix was leaking. One £3.99 bottle of Radweld followed by a fast drive home and leak cured. Remained so at least until the car was written off by a 19 year old girl driving daddys turbo diseasel Escrot in reverse and hoofing it.
A week or so later their insurers sent me a cheque for a bag (give or take a Lady or so) and i bought something else.

In other words, these sort of sealing products can work and work well. If you're going to stop towing with this car and not give it too many beans on the A2 or similar then if K-Seal works, go for it. You could always sell it as a going concern if it does and let it be SEP - Somebody Elses Problem! :thumbs_up: