Is any one else running a 16 valve red block

[czech240]

I had one....great engine.....went well. The overdrive was a novel thing to have and the rear diff was a 3.31 so made for great cruising.

Sold it early this year and replaced it with an 850 AWD. Time will tell if I made the right decision! :-)

Enjoy yours!

Cheers
Jody
www.rideczech.com

[volvoz2000]

guys are getting well over 300hp from B230 + 16v head on stock B234f intake so I don't think that's the bottleneck. Exhaust manifold, the hydraulic lifters and weak valve springs are the first port of call.

Don't forget that the first year or 2 of 940 GLEs had a fair number of B234f engines in them

[rogerthechorister]

Presumably those B230s with a 16V head are turbos. In which case they will likely be running adaptor plate plus 90+mani OR a complex and efficient header.

[244T]

Well following the issue with the burnt valve I hope to have mine fired up again tomorrow.

Thanks for all the replies, Interesting to see people's thoughts about releasing a few more horses..

[GreenBrick]

I had a 940 GLE saloon with a B234 and the head had corroded, due in part to poor antifreeze by the looks of things, so I would recommend using very good stuff. I got my head welded and after that it pulled like a train, great fun!

[244T]

Well

I have completed the repair, while it was bits I had the pistons out and gave them a look clean, the engine guy said this was the likely cause of the burning oil, and to say the least The holes behind the oil control rings where bunged up.

For the anti freeze I want to the local volvo agent on the docks here in Preston, they are useless, they did not even have four litres in Stock, although after some further looking they found a further litre in the display cabinet and the final one under a desk!!

Took it for its maiden voyage last night and all appears to be well..

[244T]

Well,

Looking like I am the only one on the forum running one of these engines..

Touch wood after the rebuild all appears to be well...

I had the good fortune to pick up a couple of mint wings in the right colour and as they are from a 940 16valve car they had the 16valve badges on them, that is so so lucky.

Hope to get them on soon.

[rogerthechorister]

No, as I said, I am running one and hope soon-ish to be running two. And there was a chap in I think Poland who used to post here but maybe he sold his. A man in Lincolnshire had one, maybe two (one being rebuilt as a record-breaker-attempt car - on which I first saw the amazing header), and there was a chap in Portsmouth who had put a new engine in his car and I acquired the old one which has been mostly rebuilt for my hoped for B234F+T. And you do get a second attempt even if the valves kiss the pistons although you are likely to need many new valves.

As to balance shafts - leave the belt off and if you are doing a major rebuild take the whole balance shaft assembly off. If you ignore this advice then be shatteringly careful about the balance shaft belt tension, is is amazingly low and of course if that belt goes it takes the cambelt with it.

The other thing that is a must to replace in a rebuild and even on a cambelt change is the oil pump bolt (must be a new Volvo spec one) and check that the bottom corner pulley is the metal one not the plastic one. If it is the plastic one change it for a metal one. And check the belt tensioner too. And it might be as well to replace the hydraulic tappets, certainly if they were noisy.

[T5Sweep]

Why on earth anyone would even contemplate a 16v conversion on anything this side of a 500bhp build is beyond me. A worked 530/531 will easily deliver the goods.

[244T]

Why do they,

Why do people do any thing? Sometimes to others things don't make sense, why do people put five pot engines into 240's when they could tune a red block...

Just because they can and want to, something a bit different, all adds to the spice of life.

I could of scrapped my car once I found out it was a burnt valve, but I just felt the thing to do was sort it.