Engine: Mechanical                                                                                      FAQ Home

Raising the Engine:

[Tip: Bill Aileo ]  Some folks carefully jack up the engine from below the short distance necessary to assert news one (after making sure at least one side of the old ones is not connected.   I prefer to use a 2x6 cut to fit snuggly over the engine compartment on top of the strut mounting area.  [See Dick Riess' lift design in Special Tools.] The 2x6 is positioned like a joist and a hole for a piece of threaded rod is drilled near the center to line up with the lifting hook on the front of the engine.  Put a piece of threaded rod about 12-18" long in place through the hole.  Figure out a way to attached one end of the rod to the lifting hook and slip a large washer and nut on the other end.  Then simply tighten the nut to raise the engine.  Replacing the mounts is then easy.
[Another Tip:] Instead of raising the engine by using a board between the jack and oil pan , I cut an angle at the end of a 2x6 and raised the engine at the front of the oil pan. The angled part of the 2x6 was pressed against the oil pan bolts at the front of the engine, the other end was square against the floor jack. I didn't want to risk damaging the oil pan. I also had to use a small hydraulic jack to help the engine raise straight. It worked fine and with new mounts my brick is running smoother now than it has in 10 years.

How to Change the Mounts:

[Procedure from Christopher Ascoli] Using the jack and wood block method should be sufficient for lifting the engine to remove the mounts. I did this procedure just a month ago and it worked just fine.
My mounts were the hydraulic mounts. As for tips, I have only 2. First and foremost, make sure you buy VOLVO or comparable HYDRAULIC mounts. Second, I remember not being able to reach all of the bolts from above which tie down the mounting bracket (that the motor mount sits on ) to the car's frame. Chilton's made it sound like all you had to do was unbolt the top and bottom of the mount and yank it out. If you haven't done this before, you must:
Driver's side

1. remove the top nut on the mount
2. raise the engine (the bracket that sits on the mount does not have to be raised all the way so it clears the top of the bolt. you will remove the entire lower bracket with the mount so you have some play)
3. I think you can get to 2 of the 3 bolts of the bracket that the mount sits on, the last you'll have to get at from underneath the car
4. once all 3 bolts have been removed, lift the mount out (with the bottom bracket still attached) and you'll have access to the last nut that connects the mount to the bottom bracket.
5. if you find that there still isn't enough room to remove the mount, you can remove the engine top mount bracket (or remove 2 of the 3 bolts and swing it out of the way) and then extract the mount.
6. installation is simply the reverse.

1. same as the drivers except you don't want to mess with the upper bracket. It connects WAY too many things to be screwing around with it. I didn't have touch the top bracket at all. This side was definitely easier. You may have to reach 2 out of the 3 bolts from underneath on this side. The job is not technologically challenging, but depending on when the mounts were last changed, you could be in for some blood and sweat. I'm sure the Arizona heat will not help your plight. Just be careful not to strip the lower bracket bolts when removing (for obvious reasons), and some anti-seize compound on them when they go back in could make the next mount change a lot easier on you or the following owner. Good luck!

1. Before you jack up the engine, unscrew the top bolt on each motor mount. I also removed the bracket with each mount due to clearance. The bottom nut on right side mount by the turbo was completely unaccesible with the bracket attached to the crossarm. I took the left bracket off because of clearance. If the mounts are OEM the nuts are on rather tight. Have a piece of metal pipe to get extra leverage with your socket wrench or use the muscleman wrench trick with two wrenches.
2. I used a 2x4 between my hydraulic jack and the oil pan to protect it. Jack the engine up favoring one side. The engine should lift off of the mount. Lossen the three nuts on the bracket. Remove the mount and bracket together. Loosen the mount's bottom nut and remove the mount from the bracket. (This was the hardest part on both sides) It may be helpful to use a vice to hold the bracket while removing the nut.
3. Attach the new mount to the bracket using anti-seize compound on the bolts. (Anti-seize can be purchased in a tube at Pep Boys for about $3)   Install the bracket and bolt it in.
4. Let the engine down making sure it sits on the mount correctly. DO NOT ATTACH THE TOP NUT YET!
5. Jack the engine up on the other side. (repeat #2-4)
6. Put the top nuts on both mounts. Make sure everything is tightly attached. Enjoy the smoothness of your ride.

Other Ideas to Help the Work:

[Tip from Don Foster]   When I do mounts, I offset the jack to favor the right side, and do the right mount. Then offset it to favor the left side, and do the left mount. In this way you avoid tugging on a good mount as you lift the motor.   As you lower the engine onto the new mounts, you may need to "persuade" the stud into the bracket. Because of its angle, it doesn't naturally engage with the hole.
[Tip from David Steffy]   You don't say whether you have a turbo. Our '88 is, so the left mount was easy and the right was a very tight spot. I took the brackets off with the mount in both cases, but didn't really need to for the left mount--just take off the upper nut and jack away. On the right one, I had to move the oil lines to get access to the bolts. Messy on my old gunky engine, a bit slow, but not a bad job overall. Without the turbo it's probably a lot better.
[Accessing the Mounting Nuts: Dick Riess]  In my experience it is necessary to take off the belly pan to get at those front nuts on the drivers side. You also will have better access to the bolts, but a universal joint on your socket will help. I have had to attack from the front of the mount by the power steering rack and also from the rear.  On the pass side, for me it helps to take off the oil filter to get at things and you may as well take off top and bottom mount brackets. Believe one of the bottom is bolted through the crossmember and you have to unbold from under the car. Jacking up your engine a little at a time helps access. When reassembling, tighten the mount to the bottom bracket, but leave the top loose so you can move it around for alignment to the block.

Preventive Maintenance Tips:

[Tip from Ed Kucinski] Just a reminder, when changing oil, keep the oil off the rubber motor mounts.  Especially when changing the oil filter, some tends to get down there.  Wipe it clean.  Its the oil that deteriorates the rubber and speeds failure.

Note: the above two tests are generally not shadetree mechanic things performed as the cost of the one time use equipment can be prohibitive. Well equipped shops can handle these types of tests. Sometimes it's worth it just to have a pro shop diagnose the problem, even if you are planning to do the r&r yourself.

[Note 2:]  There are several ways to detect whether your engine's head gasket is OK.  The best method is to have a service shop, or a friend who owns a block test kit test your system for a compression leak to your cooling system. If unavailable this test kit can be purchased from a Snap On dealer or contact the manufacturer for dealer in your area. This is a test unit and test fluid that changes color with the presence of exhaust gas in the engine coolant.  The kit costs about $40 to purchase and is good for many tests.. Ask for either Snap-On YA2000 "Head Gasket Testing Kit" or GA170B Block Combustion Leak Tester Kit.  The latter adds the ability to pinpoint which cylinder is leaking.  Another test that should be completed is a coolant system pressure test   Test your system for leaks with nine to twelve psi pressure. It should not show any appreciable pressure loss within 5 minutes.

Temp Gauge Acts Oddly: Leaking Headgasket?  [Query:] When I first get going, the temperature gauge will get into the middle,  and stay there for few minutes. Next, it will rapidly shoot for the “red”  zone. It will do this in seconds. The moment the red zone is touched,  the gauge falls just as fast to the middle, where it will stay for duration of the trip. Next day, same situation.  Should I be concerned, and replace the thermostat ?
[Response: Robert S.] You may have an air pocket during startup due to leaking head gasket or antifreeze leak. Try flushing cooling system to get junk out.  Pressure test your cooling system to eliminate the possibility of the blown head gasket.  When you first start your car leaking head gasket will introduce gas into the head cooling space. It will replace fluid from the area. The thermostat is closed so the gas has no place to go. The gas acts like an insulator so it will delay heat transfer to the thermostat. But other parts of the engine covered with the fluid blanket will heat the water up to the boiling point.  Finally engine is hot enough to cause thermostat to open and let the gas go into the radiator. After the gas goes the overheated water and that's what causes your needle to rise on the gauge. Further operation is normal because thermostat is open and the gas goes to expansion tank as soon as it gets into the system. You need to repair the leak as soon as possible if that's the cause or you will end up with warped head due to spot overheating.  [Response 2: Art] I might add a note to suggest you squeeze the radiator hose early in the warm up cycle. If it is a bad exhaust leak it will have pressure long before the engine is warm.

If the plug was cross-threaded, you have a different problem entirely. See  Spark Plug Hole Re-Threading.  The head will need repair.  Typically this mandates removal, but I have had good luck with high mileage cars by going ahead and using an impact wrench, starting off at a low ait pressure, and working upward as necessary.  Again, liberal penetrating oil is a help.  If you are commited, the ceramic insulator can be broken off the plug for better access.  Once the plug is out, setting the offending cylinder piston to BDC and filling the cylinder with a foamy shaving cream will catch all the chips made when you helicoil -- or possibly only re-tap if the threads are not too bad.  Crank the piston back to TDC slowly with a good shop vacuum covering the spark plug hole.

I always apply a thin coat of anti-sieze compund to plug threads, especially when dealing with aluminum heads. [Editor's Note: See Spark Plug Installationbelow for warnings about this practice.]  In addition, most folks put in spark plugs WAY too tight.  Check the specs, Volvo says about 9 ft-lbs on the six and 18-ft-lbs on the four cyclinder engine. (700 series).

[Response 2: Paul Grimshaw]  I suspect that jammed spark plugs would be a much more rare event if folks used a bit of anti-seize compound [see Spark Plug Installation below], started the plugs by hand (socket & extension but no ratchet handle), and used a torque wrench to tighten the plugs to specification.Strangely enough though, factory torque recommendations are based on a dry fit (ie. no lubricant or anti-seize)??!*!   Should one use some type of lube on the thread, try backing off a couple of pound-feet of torque to avoid stressing the thread in the cylinder head.
Heads with dirty or damaged spark plug threads can be cleaned up with a thread chaser.  Smear vaseline on the chaser.  Carefully thread the chaser in and out of the head. The chaser will clean the threads and capture any metal bits or carbon in the vertical grooves.

Hints for Sparkplug Hole Re-threading.  [Tips from Larry:] Here are a couple of things to watch out for:

1. 1. When you tap in the new threads, you'll want to catch as many of the metal shavings as possible by completely packing the tap with grease. Scrape the shavings off the tap several times and re-pack with grease each time.
2. Blow out the cylinder with compressed air. If you don't have a compressor, buy a can of "dust off" from a photography store--it's used to blow dust off of negatives. It's important to have #4 at the top of it's compression stroke--both valves will be closed, so you're less likely to get metal shavings into the intake or exhaust manifold.
3. Clean the new threads VERY THOROUGHLY with carb cleaner (toluene) and starting fluid (ether). The carb cleaner will dissolve the grease and the starting fluid will wash away the carb cleaner and evaporate completely. If the threads aren't clean, the cement for the heli-coil insert won't adhere.

NOTICE:   Do not use any type of anti-seize compound on spark plug threads. Doing this will decrease the amount of friction between the threads. The result of the lowered friction is that when the spark plug is torqued to the proper specification, the spark plug is turned too far into the cylinder head. This increases the likelihood of pulling or stripping the threads in the cylinder head. Over-tightening of a spark plug can cause stretching of the spark plug shell and could allow blowby to pass through the gasket seal between the shell and insulator. Over-tightening also results in extremely difficult removal.

What we finally found out was that early B234 engines, with their  "hydraulic valve lifters", had an infrequent manufacturing defect in  which the holes for the valve guides were made ever-so-slightly oval. The problem, as it was reported to me, is that the hole in the head itself, into which the guides are pressed, was oval. It's an infrequent defect that reportedly occurs in both 740 and 850 heads with hydraulic lifters. That's a very different situation from having defective valve guides or seals.This is not exactly a perfect fit for a circular valve guide, so it allowed a small amount of oil to seep onto the valve. The speculation is that this burned onto the valve, caking up the valve with carbon deposits, and prevented the valve from properly seating. Without proper contact with the cylinder head, the valve could not transfer its heat to the head and it burned.

My mechanic, a family friend who works as a mechanic at a Volvo dealership very nearby Volvo's North American headquarters in Rockleigh NJ, found out that Volvo is aware of this problem in the 89 740 GLE and in other Volvo engines with hydraulic lifters, like the 850 series, but that "the problem is not statistically significant enough to justify a [costly] recall campaign." Or so says Volvo Customer Relations.

We didn't find out about this manufacturing defect until after two top-end rebuilds, by which time the car had over 120,000 miles on it.  Needless to say, Volvo declined my request for "goodwill" service.  Part of their argument was that "this problem usually shows up  within the first 10,000 miles." My response was "perhaps, but if it's been going through oil for all of it's life, and that condition stops after the valve guide hole is corrected, doesn't it make sense that this oil control problem at the valve guide would adversely affect the valve, just like your 'statistically insignificant' manufacturing defect is known to do?" I also added that I was the first owner to do extensive hi-speed highway mileage with the car. The previous owner may have never got the head as hot as I do every day. "It didn't matter."

They finally put it to rest by saying that it may have been damaged or improperly serviced during one of the previous head rebuilds. I can't say for sure that it wasn't, but I'll stand by my mechanic's abilities. He's been a Master Mechanic for Porsche/Audi/VWs for years, and has a similar history with Bricks. I can't say I blame them for declining to service my car, but they did at least acknowledge that there is a problem with the heads in the hydraulic lifter engines.

For those of you who have experienced similar burnt valve problems to be able to check the valve guide holes in the cylinder heads. A fix can be implemented, if the "oval shaped guide hole" is suspected, by overboring the hole and installing oversize guides.

Valve Clearance Adjustment Procedure. Summary of valve lash check procedure on B230 engine appears below. While Volvo says the procedure can be performed when the engine is hot, I am in agreement with the late Joh Muir (How to Keep Your VW Alive...) who wrote that the only way to get a correct reading on valve lash is to check the engine when it is stone cold.
 

1. Remove spark plugs. Remove valve cover.
2. Use LARGE pliers (e.g, Channel Lock makes a great set for this) to turn the engine clockwide. The grab point for the pliers is the outside surface of the mount for the cooling fan on the end of the water pump.
3. Timing order is 1-3-4-2. Number 1 is at the front of the car, number 4 is back by the firewall.
4. Turn engine until TDC indicator on timing gauge (down near the crankshaft pulley) is around zero degrees. Number 1 is at TDC when mark on crank pulley is at zero on timing gauge AND cam lobes for number 1 point out and slightly upward in opposite directions. Think perky ;-) and you'll get the idea.
5. With number 1 at TDC, use the feeler gauge to probe the gap between the cam lobe and the lifter. Volvo says the valve lash should be between .3 and .4 mm when the engine is cold. If a feeler gauge setting of .4 won't go, and one of .3 will go easily, the valve lash is within spec. If your feeler gauge doesn't have .3 and .4 mm, use what you have, and interpolate accordingly.
6. Turn engine 180 degrees so that the cam lobes from number three are perky and pointing in opposite directions. Repeat step 5 for Number 3.
7. Repeat steps 5 and 6 for cylinders 2 and 4, taking note of any readings that are out of spec. If they are out of spec, use the feeler gauge to determine the actual gap.
8. Reseal valve cover, using new gasket.
9. If one or more of the valves is out of spec, you will need shims. Some dealers and independent shops will sell individual shims. Find a shop a give them your readings, and they should be able to give you the correct shim. You will need a shim removal tool. KD sells one for about $30. Or, you could have the shop replace the shim.
10. You may wish to re-tighten the valve cover nuts after a few days. I find that doing so helps stop any leaks. Torque on the valve cover nuts is not that high. 10-12 lb-ft should do it.

When this part fails, the rubber part becomes dry, the two metal parts are then able to "slip" around this rubber part. The timing marks are able to "walk" around the inner member. This does not affect the timing, as the inner part is keyed onto the crankshaft. Problem arises if you start to time the motor. The normal marks are then chasing each other around the crank and make no sense at all.

You can hear a squalling from the pulley. There can be a vibration from this part at times, cold start etc. If the timing is not changed, you can wait for the part to fail to the point that the belts to AC/PS and alternator all stop doing their thing. Another approach is to just replace the part at the time you are already doing the timing belt, seals, water pump and tensioner/idler. I know it costs more, but are you in it for the long run or short run?

2. Symptom:  Crankshaft Pulley Shakes.  [Query:] I've got a '85 760 Turbo with a B230 engine and I've been noticing a rattling noise in the front of the engine. Upon closer inspection, I saw that the crankshaft pulley seemed to be vibrating somewhat and shaking intermittently while idling, in comparison to the other pulleys such as the water pump and alternator. It appeared that the rattling noise is linked to the vibration of the pulley. However with higher RPMs, the rattling seems to go away. Currently I can grab the crankshaft pulley with the car off and slide forward and back on the crankshaft with my hand.  There is about 5 mm of play in direction of the shaft forward and back just applying hand pressure and with all the belts fully tightened, much worse with the belts off. The metal portion doesn't move at all, its just the pulley that’s moving. This results in its shaking during idle. The center bolt is still there and tight so I guess it is the damper unless anyone else has a suggestion. Or am I looking at the possibility of excessive crankshaft endplay and faulty main bearings (the car does have over 120K miles)? Or could it be just the pulley itself?   [Response 1: Burton] It's probably the pulley. It is a wear item, and I have replaced a few on my cars. It's made by GM, and it has a rubber damping sleeve that comes loose or otherwise goes bad.  Usually it just allows the pulley to spin on the shaft, making the timing marks inaccurate.  I've located the part $155 at the dealer (part num: 9135194)  [Response 2: Don Foster] Is the center bolt still there, still tight? Is the pulley actually sliding on the crank, or has the pulley started to separate -- and you're pulling the pulley apart? If the pulley is loose from the crank and spinning, then it's likely the key is beat. The pulley will probably need to be removed for repair (or maybe replacement) and to replace a battered key.  However, it sounds like you (and others) have it pegged -- unfortunately, to a new front damper.

3. Symptom: Timing Marks Drift.    When the harmonic balancer fails, the timing marks drift. B230F's have solid dampers, only the turbos have the two piece deal. The harmonic balancers on both my 745T and 765T have a hard rubber cushion between the hub and the outer grooved ring. Over time, this cushion will deteriorate -- the rubber will dry out and crack, and will separate from the metal sections, leading to a condition where the outer grooved ring will spin independently from the hub. Once this occurs, it will have to be replaced -- for obvious reasons. I had to do so shortly after buying my 765T. And from what I've learned since, this is a relatively common repair on Volvos with 100k+ miles on the odometer. Thus, it's a good idea that one inspects the harmonic balancer for signs of deterioration when the time comes for that 2nd timing belt change.

4. Replacement Tip [from Zippy] Regarding overtightening of the harmonic balancer bolt, as a Volvo Master Tech for 10 years, in all of that time I have seen one (1) ruined crank and balancer due to improper tightening.  As for using an air wrench on the front crank bolt, that is the hard way to do it, the simple holding tool Volvo has (PN 9995284 @ around $35.00 for those interested in making the investment)  is a much easier way to do it. Most harmonic balancer failures are due to the rubber giving up, allowing the outer part of the balancer to spin on the inner.  The only fix is to replace the balancer. It is a common repair on Volvos with ten years on the engine, regardless of miles.