Volvo 960, what Have I done!

[CNicholson]

Hi there,

I have posted this on the T5D5 forum, but I suspect that I might have more appeal for this car if I post here!

The other week I bought this absolute chunk off Ebay:



I took the car for a test drive and I thought it was great, I was under no illusions however that it most likely will have several niggly issues that cars of this age generally have.

In my first week of ownership :

discovered that the heater matrix was bypassed (have ordered a new one, looking forward to taking the interior apart!)
I think gearbox selector switch is faulty because it flashes the arrow on the dash every now and then (ceases when codes are cleared, drives fine)
Rear passenger door does not unlock with central locking
Some cross-talk between lighting circuits (sometimes fog lamp indicator will illuminate when in reverse, or when indicating)
And finally the timing belt snapped due to a dodgy tensioner, which has lead to the following picture!



I have successfully taken the head off, everything is straight and true, checked with metal rule and feeler guages. However of course there are bent valves and also The piston crowns have taken a bit of a beating as well, some worse than others.

So bit of a disaster really!

Anyways I am quite determined to get the car back on the road, but whilst I am into the engine I wouldn't mind getting input from you guys as to whether I should reassemble with standard parts, or purchase better up-rated parts (recommendations welcome) as I would quite like to increase the power output from this engine, but probably without forced induction (at least for now) if that is at all possible. Not looking for major increase in power for now, just a solid basis for future modifications with the emphasis on reliability.

I really don't want to replace the pistons, but I expect it is an inevitability, can the pistons be removed from these cars by pushing them up from under the engine? I don't really want to pull the engine out!

Have fun,

Chris.

[classicswede]

Pistons will most likely be ok but need a little clean to take out any lumps and bumps.

I would very much consider converting to later pulleys that use a wider belt. The change interval is longer and it is a more reliable belt. I have not done the conversion but it should be easy enough to do.

For more power without turbo exhaust and possibly convert to ITB's

[Laird Scooby]

Does it have a towbar? If so, investigate the earths and main connections for that, if not, check all the earths for the rear light clusters, all power connections to each bulb etc and you'll probably find the fault on the lighting circuit you mention. It sounds like a backfeed coming from somewhere and the usual cause of that with lighting is a bad earth and/or dirty connections in the lighting cluster.

[CNicholson]

Good Morning,

Yes there are towing electrics fitted, I will check these out, also I will post pictures of the pistons later.

I will look for the later pullys, are these taken from the later (facelift?) 960 model, does this mean the tensioners and water pump will need to be changed also or are the rest of the parts the same?

I like the idea of throttle bodies, has someone on here does this before? I can see how the exhaust may well be restrictive considering the size of the engine.

[atco]

i to bought a v90 last year and resently found out that the head gasget is gone,to have the confidence to take the head of is fantastic and makes me nerves thinking about it.if you you get a chance to video the rebuild on the engine that would help me lots or eny tips would be more than welcome

[CNicholson]

Its a bit of a pig to get off, you have to make sure everything comes off straight so you don't crack any of the alloy, so lift everything up evenly, and to get the cam cover off pry it carefully with a 3/8" wrench evenly around, then use nylon wedges and a soft hammer to lift it evenly off the main casting (I don't have any special tools).

The biggest pain in the arse was the nut under the inlet manifold needs loosening, Not a job to be undertaken if you have a bad back, or arn't feeling agile. You have to climb in the car kneel on the engine and reach both arms around the manifold, then blindly undo the nut.

Make sure you have all the tools you need to hand and take your time.

Here is a picture of the head just after I removed it, you can see the bent valves lifted from their seats.

[atco]

thats fantastic to see your self having to put this back on the road mate i take my hat of to you.i also will not be giving my v90 to the local garage to fix due to the price they will be charging.in time i will be looking to get some one local to cardiff to have a look at in the spring.wish you lots of luck and keep us info on all the progress.cherrs

[AllHailKingVolvo]

Originally Posted by CNicholson

Its a bit of a pig to get off, you have to make sure everything comes off straight so you don't crack any of the alloy, so lift everything up evenly, and to get the cam cover off pry it carefully with a 3/8" wrench evenly around, then use nylon wedges and a soft hammer to lift it evenly off the main casting (I don't have any special tools).

The biggest pain in the arse was the nut under the inlet manifold needs loosening, Not a job to be undertaken if you have a bad back, or arn't feeling agile. You have to climb in the car kneel on the engine and reach both arms around the manifold, then blindly undo the nut.

Make sure you have all the tools you need to hand and take your time.

Here is a picture of the head just after I removed it, you can see the bent valves lifted from their seats.

Damage aside (and I'll be watching this thread with great interest, you have my absolute admiration for your hard work on this!), The head is beautifully clean, clearly the car was running cleanly with the mixture bang on before it suffered the tensioner luncheon...

[tofufi]

I've nothing to add from a technical perspective, but wanted to say good luck!

[Terje1]

Did the same back in 2004.
All 24 valves were bent.

Lucky for me i had a spare cylinderhead.
Timing belt snapped,but two days later the car was back on the road.
Replaced the cylinder head included gaskets,waterpump,tensioner++