Cylinder Head Removal

[Cal3thousand]

So,

I'm about 90% sure I have bent valves due to a seized water pump. I'll have the last 10% after my compression tester comes in tomorrow. LINK to the carnage

Anyways, I'm mentally (and spiritually) preparing myself for removing the head myself and sending off to a shop to replace the valves. I have never done this before, but I am confident I can follow the instructions well enough.

So I have a bunch of questions... Any comments are welcome, but PLEASE try to answer some or all of my questions:

1) Should I have the machine shop completely rebuild or just replace the toasted valves?

2) Are the instructions on QBM good enough?

3) Headset: I can get 20% off the list price at the dealer, or should I get ELRING from FCP? What about studs? Any thing else I should remember?

4) Should I try to gasket match the intake by myself after they do the machining?

OR

4) I emailed V and S dismantlers and they want 300 for a head or 500 for an engine. +shipping [ I definitely have not done an engine swap ever, but my cousin has done his 240 with an SR and would help me out. (totally different, I know).

BTW: This baby is my only car, I'm biking/busing to work for the time being (superlame), so downtime should be considered.

DISCUSS:

[sconeman]

So,

I'm about 90% sure I have bent valves due to a seized water pump. I'll have the last 10% after my compression tester comes in tomorrow. LINK to the carnage

Anyways, I'm mentally (and spiritually) preparing myself for removing the head myself and sending off to a shop to replace the valves. I have never done this before, but I am confident I can follow the instructions well enough.

So I have a bunch of questions... Any comments are welcome, but PLEASE try to answer some or all of my questions:

1) Should I have the machine shop completely rebuild or just replace the toasted valves?

2) Are the instructions on QBM good enough?

3) Headset: I can get 20% off the list price at the dealer, or should I get ELRING from FCP? What about studs? Any thing else I should remember?

4) Should I try to gasket match the intake by myself after they do the machining?

OR

4) I emailed V and S dismantlers and they want 300 for a head or 500 for an engine. +shipping [ I definitely have not done an engine swap ever, but my cousin has done his 240 with an SR and would help me out. (totally different, I know).

BTW: This baby is my only car, I'm biking/busing to work for the time being (superlame), so downtime should be considered.

DISCUSS:

My understanding is that swapping an engine can be just as fast or close to it.

If you're putting in a head why not go reman. PM "lil bo peep" or Oreo I think they know of a place where you can buy then cheap enough.

[Cal3thousand]

My understanding is that swapping an engine can be just as fast or close to it.

If you're putting in a head why not go reman. PM "lil bo peep" or Oreo I think they know of a place where you can buy then cheap enough.

I've heard that... but is that just because the head removal is just more labor intensive or because of difficulty?

Would a reman cost less than pulling mine and getting it rebuilt?

[matt b]

$500 + shipping for an engine ? Does it still have their 30 day warranty ? I'd take that and run, unless you have a built engine or are attached to your current engine.

Do the RMS seal water pump, etc.... while you're doing all that and get another 100,000 miles from the engine.

[Cal3thousand]

QUOTE (matt b @ Sep 24 2008, 02:34 PM) <{POST_SNAPBACK}>

$500 + shipping for an engine ? Does it still have their 30 day warranty ? I'd take that and run, unless you have a built engine or are attached to your current engine.

Do the RMS seal water pump, etc.... while you're doing all that and get another 100,000 miles from the engine.

I just got a complete quote: 500 for the engine and 200 for shipping. Engine passed a running test and has 102k on it. Not sure about any warranty though.

I'm real tempted to go the engine route. But I have to make sure that my cousin and I can actually do the job. He told me that it's a lot of work and he's never done a FWD.

I don't want to get over my head here, but an engine would be great and I could rebuild my old engine and find another shell in the next couple years. Just concerned about the labor cuz there's no real 'write-up' for engine swaps. I have NO clue about mating a tranny with a motor. And the logistics is another story all together.

[Oreo931]

It is not difficult at all to do an engine swap. There is also every bit of guidance could you need on this site.

If you need encouragement, both Justin AND I have successfully accomplished engine swaps. As long as you label where everything goes its as simple as taking things apart and putting them back together.

I got my used engine from V and S dismantlers and I couldnt be happier with it.

[Cal3thousand]

It is not difficult at all to do an engine swap. There is also every bit of guidance could you need on this site.

If you need encouragement, both Justin AND I have successfully accomplished engine swaps. As long as you label where everything goes its as simple as taking things apart and putting them back together.

I got my used engine from V and S dismantlers and I couldnt be happier with it.

Thanks for the words. Helps make me feel like I'm more ready to pull the proverbial trigger.

My engine quote came from V and S. Did they give you a warranty?

I have access to my cousin's reseller license. Will this help at all? no tax?

[Oreo931]

My engine quote came from V and S. Did they give you a warranty?

100 day warranty.

Not sure about any discounts...

[Cal3thousand]

100 day warranty.

Not sure about any discounts...

I'm getting real close to ordering... Need to buy a cherry picker though. Just found out that I can get it tax free.

How long did it take to get your engine?

[Oreo931]

I'm getting real close to ordering... Need to buy a cherry picker though. Just found out that I can get it tax free.

How long did it take to get your engine?

IIRC 7 business days. The shipping company brought it up my driveway and right into my garage .

I got my engine hoist/cherry picker from harbor freight for $100.

[DonutsDemise]

I followed Adam's lead and am in the middle of swapping engines. It came today, the guy put it in my garage. I got my old engine out today too. Just think of doing a break job or changing out an axle and how easy that is, a swap is basically removing everything all at once and then putting it all back together. it's not harder than any other job, just much more time consuming. however, I haven't started putting it back together though i almost had a heart attack taking out my engine, i thought i broke the torque rod mount under the transmission, turned out it was just the torque rod that was coming to me though as I have had bad things happen, this is the first nearly terrible thing that ended up being completely okay moral of the story, be meticulous and don't get ahead of yourself

also, if you will have a bad engine to crack open and play with to learn on and rebuild later if the head and block are okay

[Cal3thousand]

I followed Adam's lead and am in the middle of swapping engines. It came today, the guy put it in my garage. I got my old engine out today too. Just think of doing a break job or changing out an axle and how easy that is, a swap is basically removing everything all at once and then putting it all back together. it's not harder than any other job, just much more time consuming. however, I haven't started putting it back together though i almost had a heart attack taking out my engine, i thought i broke the torque rod mount under the transmission, turned out it was just the torque rod that was coming to me though as I have had bad things happen, this is the first nearly terrible thing that ended up being completely okay moral of the story, be meticulous and don't get ahead of yourself

also, if you will have a bad engine to crack open and play with to learn on and rebuild later if the head and block are okay

What year is that T5 that you are dropping in?

I'm interested, because I will have an extra engine to play with after all this mess. Are you changing the RMS or any other seals before dropping the T5 in?

[matt b]

What year is that T5 that you are dropping in?

I'm interested, because I will have an extra engine to play with after all this mess. Are you changing the RMS or any other seals before dropping the T5 in?

It's 45 minutes of your time, max (unless you're Adam, then it's 4 days), and the part is $32 new at the dealer. It'd be dumb not to do it.

[Oreo931]

QUOTE (matt b @ Sep 25 2008, 02:38 PM) <{POST_SNAPBACK}>

It's 45 minutes of your time, max (unless you're Adam, then it's 4 days), and the part is $32 new at the dealer. It'd be dumb not to do it.

It took me an hour or two. I will admit I went through one seal. In my defense, it was an aftermarket seal from FCP. If you are going to replace the RMS, make sure the seal is VOLVO OEM. There was a definite quality difference between the aftermarket seal and OEM seal.

[Cal3thousand]

QUOTE (matt b @ Sep 25 2008, 11:38 AM) <{POST_SNAPBACK}>

It's 45 minutes of your time, max (unless you're Adam, then it's 4 days), and the part is $32 new at the dealer. It'd be dumb not to do it.

ok... I didn't know if replacing the seal took too much more work or what. thanks!

It took me an hour or two. I will admit I went through one seal. In my defense, it was an aftermarket seal from FCP. If you are going to replace the RMS, make sure the seal is VOLVO OEM. There was a definite quality difference between the aftermarket seal and OEM seal.

Thanks, I'll keep that in mind when ordering my parts. BTW, do you know who made that FCP seal?

Side question: Do I need to drain the ATF before taking the engine out? I just want to salvage my Mobil 1 if that's the case.