Yeah.. The intra-webz lore has it the early B230 has what TBers call "the 9mm rods"* which are flat scary weenie....and it has a crank with 55mm main bearings which is supposedly terrible and worst of all it has the dreaded "Center thrust bearing" which is guaranteed to ass-splode and kill everybody in 50m radius..
Now if anybody just happened to actually look around they might see plenty of modern engines with main bearings in the 55-57mm range...
And if they noticed that the thrust bearings (these things)
(but not flanged bearings like that, instead like-a dis
loose)
were only 180 degrees per side kinda like you see in the photo RATHER than like this**
which are what old B20, B21, B23, and later B230 have---that is to say a full 360 degrees
then they might begin to wonder if the alleged thrust problems were related to the sting 180 degree design or the lack of 360 degrees---rather than the placement at center or rear..
Shirley, I could not comment myself...
As for where the 16v came from or on, some later maybe just 88-89 model 7 whatever...
* this is in shocking contrast to the just flat absurdly beefy---and outrageously heavy---"M" rods in the early motors and the "only slightly less appallingly wimpy so called 13mm rods" which came at some impossible to say when time in late 89 maybe..
** astute reader may notice the little tang thing stickin out..They may further notice that if there were a little relief ground into the block or main cap that a second set of thrust bearings could be slid home and make a early crank into a 360 degree thrust.. It sure looks super easy..But evidently its impossible to do since none of the Volvo hero shops that have come and gone has ever done it....Then again no Volvo shop figured out how to easily add under-piston squirters in a easy and fool proof way either...So it must be impossible.