Cooked B200FT Wentworth Estate 86k

[Steve 940]

Normally I like my better half’s cooking, but this morning she borrowed the car to drop some furniture to her sisters some 15 miles away.

Just had call, and stranded 1 mile from home, car had cut out….. on getting there, even from 10 yards away there was a very distinct ‘cooked engine’ smell.🙁🙁. One very empty expansion tank, and signs of a major leak somewhere on the left front side as water sitting on main chassis rail

On having a ‘full and frank’ discussion about what had happened, 😀😀she said an orange light appeared on dash, heater went cold then some odd noises around 10 mins later, 10 mins later!! Well the light was orange not red was the response. On checking, it was the lambda light.

Oh well, now what to do?? as I have rather foolishly grown fond of the old thing since joining Volvo ownership a few years ago.

1. Source a replacement engine, and fit myself. Gulp, have no prior experience on doing these. Always a bit of a lottery I suppose, as all spare engines will probably be described as good runners.

2. Get my garage to do a swap for me.

3. Cut my losses and look for a 245/745

4. Just forget all about this messing around with motors of a certain age.

Any guidance or suggestions most welcome, and any pointers of how to assess if the actual engine has managed to dodge a bullet and survived also most welcome.

Cheers
Steve


PS just poured some water in to see if an obvious leak source, and almost immediately a lot of water coming from bottom hose/ outlet. As it’s a new rad probably not even a year old, I had to shut the bonnet and walk away🙁🙁

[griston64]

Originally Posted by Steve 940

Normally I like my better half’s cooking, but this morning she borrowed the car to drop some furniture to her sisters some 15 miles away.

Just had call, and stranded 1 mile from home, car had cut out….. on getting there, even from 10 yards away there was a very distinct ‘cooked engine’ smell.🙁🙁. One very empty expansion tank, and signs of a major leak somewhere on the left front side as water sitting on main chassis rail

On having a ‘full and frank’ discussion about what had happened, 😀😀she said an orange light appeared on dash, heater went cold then some odd noises around 10 mins later, 10 mins later!! Well the light was orange not red was the response. On checking, it was the lambda light.

Oh well, now what to do?? as I have rather foolishly grown fond of the old thing since joining Volvo ownership a few years ago.

1. Source a replacement engine, and fit myself. Gulp, have no prior experience on doing these. Always a bit of a lottery I suppose, as all spare engines will probably be described as good runners.

2. Get my garage to do a swap for me.

3. Cut my losses and look for a 245/745

4. Just forget all about this messing around with motors of a certain age.

Any guidance or suggestions most welcome, and any pointers of how to assess if the actual engine has managed to dodge a bullet and survived also most welcome.

Cheers
Steve

Whip the head off and get it skimmed and bung it all back together !! It's a redblock Steve

[Steve 940]

Hi Mark,

Well I wish I had your optimism 😀😀 I have vowed not to look at it any more today, but from her description of mechanical and metallic noises I do fear major issues, perhaps with the bottom end/pistons/bores……

Cheers
Steve

[griston64]

Originally Posted by Steve 940

Hi Mark,

Well I wish I had your optimism 😀😀 I have vowed not to look at it any more today, but from her description of mechanical and metallic noises I do fear major issues, perhaps with the bottom end/pistons/bores……

Cheers
Steve

They are tough as old boots Steve. Turn over by hand once fully cooled. Find leak,fix leak and try to start

[john.wigley]

Steve, nil desperandum. As 'griston64' said, 'it's a redblock!

I once had the bottom hose to rad clip break on my 940 and although I caught it in time, the resulting leak resembled the Niagara Falls. As yours is a new rad, were the clips and hoses replaced at the same time? If you are lucky, it may be just the clip.

If you do need a new engine, a RWD redblock engine, especially a manual, is one of the most straightforward that I know to remove and refit. It is heavy, yes, but not difficult. Hire a robust engine crane or hoist and ideally also recruit a couple of mates around for both moral and physical support. You also have the collective wisdom of forum members to call upon if you find yourself in need of technical advice or assistance.

Take a step back, deep breath, and tackle it is you would approach any other mechanical problem on the car - it's only a question of scale; in some ways that can make a job easier.

From your past posts and what you have done on your car, I have every confidence in your ability to tackle and successfully complete the job. Stop procrastinating and go for it!

Regards, John.

[Paulk]

I agree with John it is a simple engine - I stripped down and rebuilt a b21a engine myself many years ago - quite a straightforward process!

(With the radiator and front panel removed I was able to sit on the front bumper in comfort while refitting various parts to the engine!)

[Moomoo]

Bloomin eck, you could have done without that mate!☹️

[Steve 940]

Originally Posted by Moomoo

Bloomin eck, you could have done without that mate!☹️

Cheers Andrew, exactly my sentiments when I got the call!!!!

Currently in middle of replacing chimney pots and cement flaunching, as always, a half a days job ends up taking 3 days, relaying the top 4 courses of stack, finding a replacement pot etc etc.

Also bitten the bullet to refelt/batten the house roof whilst the scaffolding is here, let alone get on with my main priority workshop build for Margo😀😀😀

Oh, also found 91 yr old mother on the floor last Tuesday morning, with broken hip, so she’s currently in Norwich hospital recovering from operation, so wheels are quite essential.

Worse case scenario I will have to tool around for a bit in her indoors jaunty RAV 4.

Have taken the optimistic views of Mark and John as some support, so first thing tomorrow will be to see the cause of the bottom hose/ rad leak, sort that, fill up and turn over by hand, say my prayers and turn the key🤞🤞🤞🤞

Cheers
Steve

[Moomoo]

Never rains etc !🤨

[Forrest]

Based on past experience with these engines I would share others' confidence that it might just work when cooled down and with fluids replaced. I am still driving a 940 which hit the red line for temperature when a heater hose gave way and which on another occasion I drove home 20 miles with a major coolant leak and occasional stops to add water from a gallon bottle of spring water.

I think if I were going to the trouble to replace the engine with a secondhand unit I would take the time to do a complete overhaul of the new engine with replacement seals and gaskets before fitting it. As a minimum check the rear crankshaft seal and distributor O-rings which are more of a pain to access once the engine is fitted. Try to get as close a match as possible in terms of capacity and vintage to ensure ECU compatibility.

Maybe also add a coolant level sensor and RED warning light from a 960.