Head Gasket, 1992 Torslanda

[Angie]

I had an overheating problem and it was apparently caused by water entering no. 1 cylinder. The car's in for a new gasket, and they're getting the head skimmed followed by pressure test. Even then they can't guarantee the repair but it's all that can be done, the car's done around 240,000 miles, if that's relevant

I had a new thermostat last year and since then the gauge needle has been pointing higher than horizontal, is it possible that the wrong thermostat was supplied and if so might that constant running hot have contributed to gasket failure? As far as I know the thermostat was either from local Volvo dealer or reliable motor factor. Could it be that there are two possible thermostats available and the one supplied was the higher temperature one? I don't want to risk further expensive repairs, if the gasket goes again I might have to dispose of the car which would be a shame as I've spent a lot on regular maintenance over the years and it's never let me down.

Any help would be much appreciated. They expect the skimmed head to be back tomorrow then they'll finish the work.