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Newbie Needs help FAST! Should I buy or pass and what could I be in for $$$$

A

andrewcconti

New member
Joined
Dec 25, 2009
Newbie Needs help FAST! Should I buy or pass and what could I be in for $$$$
Thanks in advance guys *and gals.

I have been looking for a while and found what I think could be the "right" 745T its a 1988 Wagon with 3 previous owners and relatively no rust and pretty decent cosmetics *paint, interior, body. The pause that I am having is the engine. The seller had the water pump replaced not to long ago and the car overheated while on the highway. He tells me he shut the car down right away and had it towed to a local swedish car garage. Their diagnosis was the following: this is the exact copy from the garages invoice

- Leaking Coolant (water pump had recently been replaced)
- Head gasket (?)
Work performed - Found very low compression in cylinder 1,2,3
Has blown head gasket, warped cylinder head
May have blown pistons
Recomend replace engine

The car has 178k miles on it and is in above average condition otherwise.

I know it is very hard to evaluate a care without seeing it. My question what is the likelyhood this engine could be saved? And does anyone know of a good, honest garage up to the task in the New England area? Or is my only hope a replacement engine? Are they still available from Volvo? or can anyone recomend a place to buy a replacement b230ft?

Thanks in advance! Any and all advice welcomed and appreciated!

Andrew
 
^^^^ what he said unless you want to spend thousands, the turbo may have affected in all this too, you can find a better deal.
 
If you can buy that car for scrap price ($400 in my area, perhaps less in yours), and if you plan on buying a 7/9 series wagon that has a good engine, it might be a good buy as a parts car. And after you rob all the parts you think you might need for the good engined car (spares, etc), you'll still have a scrap value car that you can sell.

I agree that you don't want to resurrect the dead engined car, but if you've got room for a parts car, consider that option.
 
You would be in for some $$$$ but why should you turn away from it?

Don't you want to make it a project if the body is so nice?

At worst, go to the junkyard and pull a 94/95 940 turbo engine and put it in, its basically a direct drop in. Depending on the yard you can spend 500 bucks or so on another engine.
 
I started reading this thread thinking you were gonna fix it yourself.....paying a shop to fix a broken car that isn't yours yet is dumb....keep looking
 
If you have to ask, and you don't have piles of cash laying around to throw at a shop to replace the engine because you're not there yet in your tools/confidence/knowledge, keep looking.
 
The only way I would consider this car is if it came dirt cheap, AND I planned on doing all the work.

At minimum, you need to pull the cylinder head and have the head decked (warp machined off) at a machine shop.

It may be unsalvageable anyway, if the engine had gotten too hot and cooked the bearings.

I would put a wrench on the front crank pulley, with the car in neutral, and turn it clockwise to make certain the engine spins OK on its bearings before doing anything else such as removing the head.

The above procedures are not too hard for a competent DIY shade tree mechanic, but a shop would charge a lot.

So, if you are NOT able to do the work yourself, then yes, pass on this one.
 
Last edited:
andrewcconti said:
Newbie Needs help FAST! Should I buy or pass and what could I be in for $$$$
Thanks in advance guys *and gals.

I have been looking for a while and found what I think could be the "right" 745T its a 1988 Wagon with 3 previous owners and relatively no rust and pretty decent cosmetics *paint, interior, body. The pause that I am having is the engine. The seller had the water pump replaced not to long ago and the car overheated while on the highway. He tells me he shut the car down right away and had it towed to a local swedish car garage. Their diagnosis was the following: this is the exact copy from the garages invoice

- Leaking Coolant (water pump had recently been replaced)
- Head gasket (?)
Work performed - Found very low compression in cylinder 1,2,3
Has blown head gasket, warped cylinder head
May have blown pistons
Recomend replace engine

$$$$$$$$$$$



The car has 178k miles on it and is in above average condition otherwise.

I know it is very hard to evaluate a care without seeing it. My question what is the likelyhood this engine could be saved? And does anyone know of a good, honest garage up to the task in the New England area? Or is my only hope a replacement engine? Are they still available from Volvo? or can anyone recomend a place to buy a replacement b230ft?

Thanks in advance! Any and all advice welcomed and appreciated!

Andrew
Click to expand...


That car has been neglected. you'll waste more $$ trying to get it running properly. I suggest you head over to the "Latest Volvo Orphan" thread and browse around. rallydallas does a good job of posting decent running Volvos that don't need a complete teardown.
 
Vovo said:
That car has been neglected. you'll waste more $$ trying to get it running properly. I suggest you head over to the "Latest Volvo Orphan" thread and browse around. rallydallas does a good job of posting decent running Volvos that don't need a complete teardown.
Click to expand...

+1 on that. Unless you've got the time, facility passion and talent, keep looking. There are some Volvos out there in good shape, for reasonable money. In my area, $2200.00 wil buy a reasonable 740 wagon.:)
 
This was all relatively feasible (price being key) up until I saw this:
andrewcconti said:
And does anyone know of a good, honest garage up to the task in the New England area?
Click to expand...

It's not economically fixable by a shop. Which is why the current seller is trying to ditch it.
If you can invest the time yourself into an engine swap, it could be a good deal. Junkyard motors with plenty of life in them are $400 - 800 (ish, YMMV) - swapping the entire motor is a fairly involved task, but still, maybe a weekend's worth of work? Wires hoses and bolts.
 
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