Greetings from Houston, TX (US)

[john beal]

hi there, everyone.

i own a 1985 volvo 745 with D24T engine w/ severe damage to the cylinder head: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bzKmrXzqE0c&feature=g-upl&context=G28e54afAUAAAAAAAAAA.

as i live in houston, texas (US), i've learned that getting this kind of repair/replacement work done properly is no easy task. primarily, the issue i'm having is difficulty finding someone locally who has good knowledge/experience working with these engines (and has the proper tools to do so). second, while i've been given a recommendation for a spanish company, AMC, which manufacturers the cylinder head, i've also been told it's not wise to go with anything else other than volvo OEM for the valves as all others are of inferior quality.

any advice/suggestions to assist me in getting my diesel running again would be greatly appreciated.

many thanks and happy dieseling,
john

[Jason]

Hello John,
nothing wrong with a new head though I have never seen one... Probably could find a good used one to rebuild for much less. As long as your using good quality valves for the exhausts your fine, I used Italian made vavles in my engine, and reground the original intakes. Good luck with the rebuild.

Jason

[john beal]

thanks, jason. tell me, from your experience, based on the damage shown in the video, how likely is it there may be further damage to the block/pistons? note the machine shop doing the diagnose on the cylinder head couldn't determine whether pistons/rods suffered any damage b/c only the head was sent out.

btw, i don't think i'm going to attempt the rebuild myself as i've no experience here, so will need to find someone...

[anders]

Wow! I wonder what caused the buckets to fall apart like that? Head was so warped it caused the buckets to bind? I talked to a guy that I bought a engine from that rebuilt his engine in his 84 wagon using the spanish head. He had 20,000 miles on it with good luck. What is the price?

[john beal]

not sure, anders, and the head in my 745 has been rebuilt twice (once due to blown gasket) since i purchased it back in '98, and neither instance was the damage this severe. and believe it or not, the only apparent symptom experienced prior to bringing the car in for diagnosis was overheating at 65-75mph; other than that, the car was pulling away from stop lights with very good acceleration emitting little-to-no smoke, maintaining very smooth running condition for sustained periods, provided i did not attempt to exceed 70mph. at that point the needle would begin walk toward the red very quickly.

price quoted on the bare head is $650 + 200 air freight; w/ valves $960.50 + 250 air freight.

however, problem is i can't find a good mechanic to do the work here in texas. sure, lots of guys claim they can do the work, but this is in part the reason i'm going into head job #3 in span of 14yrs, approx. 100k miles.

[anders]

I think the bare head is a fairly good deal, buy new quality valves and buckets, get all those valve springs checked. You should be able to find a guy that works on older VW diesels. Any good mechanic that can get the proper tools and book can do the job.
Was the first head rebuild done because of the blown head gasket?

[Volvoist]

Find yourself a used head, and have it reconditioned. You'd be better off as it would be cheaper. I am sure there are folks here who have one.

[Jason]

Ya that sounds pretty pricey... Was the head gasket blown the second time you took it apart when overheating at highway speeds? I too would just buy a used head, and have it rebuilt. Hell ship it to me and I can go through it for you if you cant find someone local. I cant see any reason there would be a block or piston problem unless the valves hit the pistons or something. Also have your radiator cleaned out, and make sure your car has a good water pump with the cast type impeller, not the stamped steel one. Is there any rust build up in the block coolant passages you can see?

Jason

[Jason]

Haha I just realized after doing the math the difference with valves and springs/retainers/keepers (i'm assuming that stuff too) is $300!!! There is not 300 worth of hardware there. Check with George (v8volvo) he has quite a few parts I would bet he has a head he can sell you. I had a spare head but already sold it.

Edit** I just watched the entire video, and wow your head is trashed... I've taken apart a few and haven't seen cam follower damage like that! The spring seats are probably all beat to hell from all those broken pieces dropping down in there and getting pounded in. I would expect the cam follower bores to be toast anyway, regardless of how warped the head is.

Jason

[john beal]

Ya that sounds pretty pricey... Was the head gasket blown the second time you took it apart when overheating at highway speeds? I too would just buy a used head, and have it rebuilt. Hell ship it to me and I can go through it for you if you cant find someone local. I cant see any reason there would be a block or piston problem unless the valves hit the pistons or something. Also have your radiator cleaned out, and make sure your car has a good water pump with the cast type impeller, not the stamped steel one. Is there any rust build up in the block coolant passages you can see?

Jason

jason, i'd much rather ship it to you than roll the dice on someone here locally with whom i've no references and thus no reason to trust they know/care what they're doing. however, not sure i can foot the bill to get the car to you + parts + labor. and while i understand you're simply offering to have a look at the head to ensure it's in sufficient condition to use it for the rebuild (btw, thanks, that's very kind of you), what i really need is someone like yourself who can check all facets of the build--e.g., water pump, rust in coolant passages of the block, pistons at TDC, etc. shipping quote to get the car to st. louis (63101) is appprox. $650, which isn't itself prohibitive, but that's just to get the car to you.

in your estimation, assuming no damage to the block, replacing the water pump, cleaning out the radiator, reconditioned head, new valves, springs, buckets, etc.....what should expect to pay for a quality job??????????

[Jason]

For the whole job I wouldn't be the one to ask, I've never paid to have it done! George works at a Garage that specializes in volvos he can probably shed some light on what that level of work costs these days.

Jason

[v8volvo]

I've never paid to have it done, or had anyone pay me to do it, either... fortunately or unfortunately, the only ones I have had to really seriously take apart have been my own. :-P

I'll second the advice to find someone who is a) already knowledgeable in working on VW diesels and *also* b) willing to use someone else's special tools and Greenbooks and learn the new techniques that are necessary for the D24T. You are correct that the question of whether this job will last as long as it should comes down to who does the work on it.

If there is nobody near you, I would almost suggest talking to one of the TDI guys in your area... there is a good one in Austin TX and another one in Dallas. TDIs are different in some ways but similar in others, and more importantly the guys who work on them are generally pretty smart and ready to do a job right even if it means taking extra time to figure out how... there is also an excellent cylinder head builder in Missouri who does TDI heads and could probably get your existing head back into shape, or put another one together for you and do a nice job. Or, you could get the car (or just the engine) sent somewhere, maybe to one of us on this board, to get put together right and just have someone locally do the plug and play part, but that gets expensive pretty quickly...

I have a couple extra D24T heads, though one is incomplete (got torn down for a rebuild and not put back together yet) and the other needs some machine work. If you get to that point I would be willing to sell you one to get your wagon back on the road.

[john beal]

george--

thanks very much for the advice. if you have a moment to chat, please PM me your number and i'll give you a call to run something by you. and i promise not to take up too much of your time.