i am looking at a 1989 volvo 740 turbo wagon.i know alot about cars but nothing much about volvos.the body on the car is great.it has about 170,000 miles so im not sure if thats real high or not.the problem is supposedly a blown head gasket.it runs but theres antifreeze in the oil and lack of power.i can purchase it for 300.00 but i'm unsure as to other issues ie. mileage to high..turbo problems..ect.just need some insight.oh yeah and i live in vermont..theres a ton of them here but i wasnt sure how good they are in the snow.thanks

well, if you think about it, the volvos are made in the land of snow.

Be careful if its the 16 valve model as there are 2 timing belts on them that need replacing every 50,000 miles and will wreck the engine if they snap. 170,000 is not huge mileage if its been looked after properly

so if its the 8 valve you still have to replace the belt.

(I think)8 valve has only 1 belt,lasts longer and don,t wreck the engine if it snaps

170,000 isnt too bad ... blown head gasket with that ... should say something, i have a 1987 740T on the drive atm with 245000 on the clock and it still has its original as far as i can see from the history i have for it.

Does it run? if so any black smoke from the exhaust. Quite often the turbo can be screwed and give it signs of head gasket, like anti-freeze in the oil as these have water cooled and oil lubricated turbo's.

Get a compression check on the car, this will tell you if it is the gasket or not. if it is the gasket then that is a cheaper fix than the turbo. If the head gasket is fine, then it is most likely 99% the turbo from my experience. You will need a new turbo for it. this can be expensive, dont buy a second hand off ebay or scrap yard, get a decent refurb unit that has a warranty, that way it should reduce the chances of you getting sold a duff unit.

Matt

ps: and yes the 8 valve does indeed only have one belt