Replacing engine on 1999 S80

[Jim Burke]

I need some advice, please. I have a 1999 S80 with 96,000 miles on it. The
check engine light has been on for about a month. The car runs fine, but
when I went to have the annual emissions test performed to register it,
obviously, it failed. The failure code is random misfire. As I said, the
car runs fine.

According to the dealership, there are 2 cylinders that are not holding
pressure. They say that this can't be repaired, but that the engine has to
be replaced. Their quoted price was $10,000.

1) Do you think there would be harm in driving as-is?
2) Does this sound right, that it can't be repaired, only replaced?
3) Does this price ($10,000) seem outrageous to replace with a REBUILT
engine?

All advice is appreciated.

--
Jim Burke


Scrappin' since 2/1/03
Pages done: 13

To reply: remove REMOVE

 

[Mike F]

I need some advice, please. I have a 1999 S80 with 96,000 miles on it. The
check engine light has been on for about a month. The car runs fine, but
when I went to have the annual emissions test performed to register it,
obviously, it failed. The failure code is random misfire. As I said, the
car runs fine.

According to the dealership, there are 2 cylinders that are not holding
pressure. They say that this can't be repaired, but that the engine has to
be replaced. Their quoted price was $10,000.

1) Do you think there would be harm in driving as-is?
2) Does this sound right, that it can't be repaired, only replaced?
3) Does this price ($10,000) seem outrageous to replace with a REBUILT
engine?

All advice is appreciated.

--
Jim Burke

Scrappin' since 2/1/03
Pages done: 13

To reply: remove REMOVE

Second opinion time.

If there's a compression problem, first it has to be determined what's
causing it. It could be something simple like a head gasket failure
between adjacent cylinders, and the fix may only involve head removal,
surfacing and reassembly.
$10,000 is probably about right for an exchange engine from Volvo. I
certainly hope you don't need anything that drastic at such a low
mileage.

As far as harming anything, if your engine is already scrap (as they
think it is), how much worse could it get??

 

[Jeff Lesperance]

I would look around for salvage S80s or engines on ebay. I would also take
it to several places and play dumb and see what they tell you, for the heck
of it.

 

[James Sweet]

I would look around for salvage S80s or engines on ebay. I would also take
it to several places and play dumb and see what they tell you, for the heck
of it.

Isn't this a bit drastic? Has anyone even done a leakdown test? Determine
the cause of the fault, don't just replace the whole engine. My guess is
it's a blown head gasket, driving it like this can wreck the block or head
though.

 

[Jim Burke]

Unfortunately, I'm only going by what the dealership said right now. I am
going to get some other opinions, but wanted to get some group feedback as
well.

 

[James Sweet]

Unfortunately, I'm only going by what the dealership said right now. I am
going to get some other opinions, but wanted to get some group feedback as
well.

Well if they're paying for it I'd say go for it, but if it's out of your
pocket forget the dealer, they're only good for repairs done under warranty
or those requiring very specialized tools.

 

[John Horner]

According to the dealership, there are 2 cylinders that are not holding
pressure. They say that this can't be repaired, but that the engine has to
be replaced. Their quoted price was $10,000.

You need to find a good independent mechanic who specializes in Volvos or at
least in European cars. Most causes of two cylinders having low
compression can be fixed short of a complete exchange engine. If, however,
the cause turns out to be a cracked block then you may indeed be looking at
a new motor.

One possible scenario is the engine may need to be partially disassembled
just to find out what is wrong, and that could lead to several labor hours
for what might be a pretty easy fix (headgasket) or might not be (cracked
block).

John