Hi,

New to the forum!

I bought a 1997 Volvo 960 Wagon. It ran ok, but there was a problem with the cylinder head - #5 intake valves were leaking.

So I pulled a head from a pick a parts and had it professionally pressure tested and measured. Cylinder Head shop gave it a thumbs up.

I buy new head gasket, front and rear seals, and head bolts. I install per the factory "Green" book service manual. I go to start the engine and first symptom is that the starting is really slow; check battery and enough juice. Pull spark plugs and there is coolant in all six cylinders.

No coolant in Oil!

My question is how could I get coolant in the cylinder chambers and not in the oil? There was no coolant even in the oil in the cylinder head. Just coolant in the cylinder chamber.



Let me know your thoughts.

Thanks,

John

you may have the gasket on wrong thats the only thing that i can think of good luck

Thanks for the reply. The gasket can only be put on one way. I broke down the engine again. I just cant figure out how coolant can get into the piston chamber/ cylinder and not in the oil. Could it be coming in through the intake manifold?

maybe its still there from when you took the head off

Covered head and block while ordering parts. Cleaned mating surfaces and wiped out cylinders. During attempts to start coolant was being pumped out of the exhaust manifold at least a cup full of coolant.

did you match up the new gasket with the old 1 , once the head is bolted down and the hoses back in place the system should be sealed

I threw away the old gasket, but from impressions left by the old ones they seem to match. I understand that the system should be sealed that is the reason I am confused. If there was a crack in the block there would be coolant in one or two of the cylinders and the same for the crack in the head. So I guess that really only leaves the gasket.

Hello.

My understanding is the block in the Volvo 960 is not cast iron it is alluminum as well, the problem could be a warped block. It's just a guess. Good luck.

I wanted to close out this posting with the resolution:


Jboutari,

You are correct. I swapped engines and took the old engine apart. I took my straight edge and measured. The width had a gap of .014 inches. The maximum is .080 inches. I could get it machined but that would take a lot of effort, when getting an engine from the junk yard is less expensive.

Good job on the guess!