Questions about a B230FK full engine refresh (gaskets/seals)

[Mattty]

Hi all, first and foremost sorry about the large amount of questions, I'd just rather ask them all in one place than make multiple posts.

I'm about to embark on a bit of a mission. My trusty 1997 940 2.3 turbo has come off the road so that I can give it a complete overhaul.

Long story short - my goal is between 250-300bhp. The engine has just ticked over 250,000 miles but has been well looked after and serviced every year for its entire 22 year life. I plan on replacing every single gasket, seal, and hose on the engine and was wondering if there are any brands or things to watch out for when it comes to the aftermarket.

Has anyone ever had experience with the head and sump gasket kits from parts for volvos? Specifically these:

https://www.partsforvolvosonline.com...oducts_id=4352
https://www.partsforvolvosonline.com...oducts_id=5004

Will they be ok to handle 300bhp or is there an uprated set I should be looking at instead? Do Volvo offer a full kit, and if so, is it as costly as I imagine it would be?

I don't plan on replacing any pistons or rods for forged or anything, as I know that these later stock internals can handle the power I'm aiming for just fine, however should I be looking at replacing the big end bearings, head bolts, and pistons rings whilst the engine is out?

Also I have a 530 head and understand that the 531 is much better flowing, but is it worth me getting porting a little bit and getting new valves and getting the seats recut on the 530 while I can? I'm not too clued up on valves and what condition they should/shouldn't be in (though I will be doing a bit more research on the topic).

Thanks in advance, any help and/or advice is much appreciated

[Bugjam1999]

Get a head gasket made by elring

Only get Volvo seals, the general opinion of aftermarket seals isn’t high. Your local Volvo dealer can supply all seals.

Can’t comment on the sump gasket, but if it fits well it’s probably fine.

Change the oil pump seals whilst you have the sump off- your local Volvo dealer can supply those too.

Suggest you look through threads on the turbobricks forum, there’s a lot of information about tuning red blocks on there.

Cheers

[Mattty]

Originally Posted by Bugjam1999

Get a head gasket made by elring

Only get Volvo seals, the general opinion of aftermarket seals isn’t high. Your local Volvo dealer can supply all seals.

Can’t comment on the sump gasket, but if it fits well it’s probably fine.

Change the oil pump seals whilst you have the sump off- your local Volvo dealer can supply those too.

Suggest you look through threads on the turbobricks forum, there’s a lot of information about tuning red blocks on there.

Cheers

Thanks for the info. I did see Elring mentioned in a few other places too, so I've gone for that with the headgasket set.

May be a long shot, but is there a complete list anywhere with all the Volvo part numbers for the seals?

[Laird Scooby]

A few general points - while you have the engine in bits, renew the main and big end bearings, you'd be silly not to and then run in gently for a few thousand miles before giving it any sort of beans after, your patience will be rewarded!
Likewise, inspect the condition of the bores, if necessary have a rebore and fit new pistons and rings, if the bores are ok, use a glaze-buster to remove the glaze from the bores and fit new rings - make sure there isn't a step worn in the bores at the top or bottom of the piston travel as this will break the rings.

While the engine is out, mark the relative positions of the steering column lower UJ to the rack and the column. Use a scriber or file to make the marks so they can't rub off.
Now remove the lower UJ, heat some oil in an old saucepan (opinion varies on the temperature, about 140-150C seems to be the general suggested) and drop the UJ in while the oil is still hot then leave to cool overnight.
Meanwhile make a heatshield to protect the lower UJ from the heat of the turbo. Refit the UJ using the alignment marks you previously made and fit your heatshield.

On the subject of the turbo, use new coolant and oil pipes for it ensuring all the coolant and oil channels feeding/returning fluids to the turbo are clean and clear.

Before you remove the flywheel to change the crank rear oil seal, mark the position of the flywheel relative to the crankshaft - it only goes on in one correct position to be able to fire the ignition.

Make sure you clean all threads out and you can run the bolts in and out freely by hand to avoid getting false torque readings when fitting them for the final time. If i was rebuilding the engine, i would use new head, big end and main bearing bolts at a minimum and any others that are subject to stretching, stress or similar. Also things like the flywheel bolts are often "patch bolts" - single use bolts coated with threadlocking compound. Often these can be re-used if some Threadlock is applied, get all bolts fitted to the correct torque, remove one at a time and apply Threadlock and retorque to the corect setting before moving to the next on bolts such as these.

Hope that's useful/helpful and i'm not just telling you something you already know!

[aardvarkash10]

whichever head you use, get the head checked for flat, and as a minimum have the valves relapped. Ideally, recut the valve seats. De facto, the valve clearances will then need to be checked and adjusted. While the head is being looked at, make sure all water and oil galleries are clean and clear.

300hp is nearly a 100% increase on stock. Its easy to force horsepower especially when the engine has a hairdryer attached. Its tougher to have hp AND longevity.

While the various components may be strong enough to manage, cooling and lubrication has to be totally on point. Include the water pump, radiator, hoses and other cooling components for a decent going over and, if any doubt, replacement.

Consider an external oil cooler. Have the oil pump checked - after quarter of a million miles even a well-treated component is not necessarily at its best.

[Mattty]

Originally Posted by Laird Scooby

A few general points - while you have the engine in bits, renew the main and big end bearings, you'd be silly not to and then run in gently for a few thousand miles before giving it any sort of beans after, your patience will be rewarded!
Likewise, inspect the condition of the bores, if necessary have a rebore and fit new pistons and rings, if the bores are ok, use a glaze-buster to remove the glaze from the bores and fit new rings - make sure there isn't a step worn in the bores at the top or bottom of the piston travel as this will break the rings.

While the engine is out, mark the relative positions of the steering column lower UJ to the rack and the column. Use a scriber or file to make the marks so they can't rub off.
Now remove the lower UJ, heat some oil in an old saucepan (opinion varies on the temperature, about 140-150C seems to be the general suggested) and drop the UJ in while the oil is still hot then leave to cool overnight.
Meanwhile make a heatshield to protect the lower UJ from the heat of the turbo. Refit the UJ using the alignment marks you previously made and fit your heatshield.

On the subject of the turbo, use new coolant and oil pipes for it ensuring all the coolant and oil channels feeding/returning fluids to the turbo are clean and clear.

Before you remove the flywheel to change the crank rear oil seal, mark the position of the flywheel relative to the crankshaft - it only goes on in one correct position to be able to fire the ignition.

Make sure you clean all threads out and you can run the bolts in and out freely by hand to avoid getting false torque readings when fitting them for the final time. If i was rebuilding the engine, i would use new head, big end and main bearing bolts at a minimum and any others that are subject to stretching, stress or similar. Also things like the flywheel bolts are often "patch bolts" - single use bolts coated with threadlocking compound. Often these can be re-used if some Threadlock is applied, get all bolts fitted to the correct torque, remove one at a time and apply Threadlock and retorque to the corect setting before moving to the next on bolts such as these.

Hope that's useful/helpful and i'm not just telling you something you already know!

That was all very good info, thanks!

What is the reason for doing the steering UJ? Is it mainly for the future if I ever needed to undo it with the engine still in place? I will be putting on a TTV flywheel and 850R clutch to replace my current single mass flywheel, if I remember correctly, its it with the crank at TDC, the missing timing holes on the flywheel should line up roughly with the starter motor?

Originally Posted by aardvarkash10

whichever head you use, get the head checked for flat, and as a minimum have the valves relapped. Ideally, recut the valve seats. De facto, the valve clearances will then need to be checked and adjusted. While the head is being looked at, make sure all water and oil galleries are clean and clear.

300hp is nearly a 100% increase on stock. Its easy to force horsepower especially when the engine has a hairdryer attached. Its tougher to have hp AND longevity.

While the various components may be strong enough to manage, cooling and lubrication has to be totally on point. Include the water pump, radiator, hoses and other cooling components for a decent going over and, if any doubt, replacement.

Consider an external oil cooler. Have the oil pump checked - after quarter of a million miles even a well-treated component is not necessarily at its best.

I work in a machine shop so I did plan on taking my head into work and checking for flatness. I do have an external oil cooler laying around that I could look at fitting, is an oil filter sandwich plate a common method on redblocks or is there another way to plumb one in?

Thank you for the information.

[Laird Scooby]

Originally Posted by Mattty

That was all very good info, thanks!

What is the reason for doing the steering UJ? Is it mainly for the future if I ever needed to undo it with the engine still in place? I will be putting on a TTV flywheel and 850R clutch to replace my current single mass flywheel, if I remember correctly, its it with the crank at TDC, the missing timing holes on the flywheel should line up roughly with the starter motor?



I work in a machine shop so I did plan on taking my head into work and checking for flatness. I do have an external oil cooler laying around that I could look at fitting, is an oil filter sandwich plate a common method on redblocks or is there another way to plumb one in?

Thank you for the information.

The reason for doing the steering UJ is to prevent future failure, apparently the heat from the turbo causes them to seize and they are NLA from Volvo it seems.
I'm not too familiar with the TTV flywheel but if memory serves, you are correct - i'm sure someone else will either confirm or correct this.

When you say you have an external oil cooler laying around, is it taped up to prevent spiders and other things crawling inside? Also are you able to pressure test it before fitting? Don't want spiders blocking your oil flow to a newly rebuilt engine or the cooler letting go under pressure either!

https://www.volvopartswebstore.com/s...rimLevel=24669

If you have a look at that link, you'll see the answer to your sandwich plate oil cooler question! The oil passes through a cooled water jacket but like you, i'd be in favour of a sandwich plate to run pipework to a remote oil cooler.

Curerntly looking (half-heartedly) for a remot filter and oil cooler for my 760 but there's a few things to sort before i get near needing it.

[Mattty]

Originally Posted by Laird Scooby

The reason for doing the steering UJ is to prevent future failure, apparently the heat from the turbo causes them to seize and they are NLA from Volvo it seems.
I'm not too familiar with the TTV flywheel but if memory serves, you are correct - i'm sure someone else will either confirm or correct this.

When you say you have an external oil cooler laying around, is it taped up to prevent spiders and other things crawling inside? Also are you able to pressure test it before fitting? Don't want spiders blocking your oil flow to a newly rebuilt engine or the cooler letting go under pressure either!

https://www.volvopartswebstore.com/s...rimLevel=24669

If you have a look at that link, you'll see the answer to your sandwich plate oil cooler question! The oil passes through a cooled water jacket but like you, i'd be in favour of a sandwich plate to run pipework to a remote oil cooler.

Curerntly looking (half-heartedly) for a remot filter and oil cooler for my 760 but there's a few things to sort before i get near needing it.

I've had it a while but it has been stored in a drawer in my toolbox, I will certainly check for spiders in there! I'm sure I could rig something up with my air compressor and a bucket of water to check for leaks.

I did see this on classic swede that may be a potential option:

https://www.classicswede.co.uk/Oil_s..._19775332.aspx

Would it be recommended to then bypass the factory water oil-cooler if I was to use an external cooler? I was originally just going to replace the factory oil cooler lines with DO88 silicone hoses, but is it possible that oil can be cooled too much if I used both the factory system plus a sandwich plate and external cooler in tandem?

[Laird Scooby]

Originally Posted by Mattty

I've had it a while but it has been stored in a drawer in my toolbox, I will certainly check for spiders in there! I'm sure I could rig something up with my air compressor and a bucket of water to check for leaks.

I did see this on classic swede that may be a potential option:

https://www.classicswede.co.uk/Oil_s..._19775332.aspx

Would it be recommended to then bypass the factory water oil-cooler if I was to use an external cooler? I was originally just going to replace the factory oil cooler lines with DO88 silicone hoses, but is it possible that oil can be cooled too much if I used both the factory system plus a sandwich plate and external cooler in tandem?

The one you've linked to is a different way of doing it, the Volvo one is literally a water jacket round the oil in the sandwich plate and as the cooling system has a thermostat, no need for an oil 'stat.
There is an optimum temperature for oil to work at, it tends to vary from oil to oil, even of the same weight (eg 10W40) but is usually in a certain band for each different grade.

I'd go for one or the other, not both methods of cooling, if you go for the remote cooler, don't give it too many beans until it's thoroughly warm, if you retain the Volvo one, definitely renew the coolant hoses as planned.

[Mattty]

Originally Posted by Laird Scooby

The one you've linked to is a different way of doing it, the Volvo one is literally a water jacket round the oil in the sandwich plate and as the cooling system has a thermostat, no need for an oil 'stat.
There is an optimum temperature for oil to work at, it tends to vary from oil to oil, even of the same weight (eg 10W40) but is usually in a certain band for each different grade.

I'd go for one or the other, not both methods of cooling, if you go for the remote cooler, don't give it too many beans until it's thoroughly warm, if you retain the Volvo one, definitely renew the coolant hoses as planned.

I see, thanks for the info. I'll do a bit more search and decide how I want to go with the oil cooling. Simply retaining the standard system is something I'd prefer, as long as the oil stays cool enough with the power increase.