Taking the dead engine apart

While the new engine was at the machine shop getting cleaned up and bored out, I started the task of taking the old one apart. I was hoping to figure out what exactly happened to cause the engine to blow up as it did.

Taking the engine apart is pretty basic. Started by removing the Valve cover. Right away I noticed that something clearly wasn't right. The Volvo b-18/20 engines use pushrods to open and close the valves in the cylinder head. The pushrods ride up and down on the cam-shaft lobes. If you look closely at the picture, you'll notice that one of the pushrods was completely missing.

A missing pushrod means that the camshaft must have broken, allowing the pushrod to fall into oil pan. Not surprising, all things considered. I was hoping I'd be able to save the cam from the engine and reuse it (as it was the most expensive part I put in the blue block.) Now that won't be an option.



After taking the valve cover off I removed the carbs. The intake and exhaust manifolds were next. With the manifolds removed from the head, I was able to get the head off the engine for a closer look at things. (I had forgotten to drain the cooling system which is why the cylinders were full of coolant.) Once the head was off, I could see that a catastrophic failure inside the engine had happened. Piston 1 and 4 should be top dead center at the same time. When the crank was rotated, piston 4 didn't move.

Removal of the old engine is pretty straight forward. Disconnect any wires, hook up the engine hoist to a few lift points on the block and remove the mounts. The engine was removed with the transmission in this case (as the tranny needs to be resealed anyway.) The engine bay sure looks weird with so much pavement staring up at you from below.

Now that the dead engine is out of the car, my next entry will deal with what I found when I pulled it apart. Pictures to come as well! Stay tuned.

Engine replacement: Day one.

On Monday of this week, I picked up the engine that will be going into the amazon. Lee Boerner had an engine out of a '75 240 taking up space in his garage and many of the pieces needed for a rebuild. New pistons, bearings, a crank and other bits were included.



We loaded the block into the back of my '80 245, securing it using straps, and a tire to sort of "cup" the oil pan.

Off to the garage the whole thing went. Rob at Vol-Tech is graciously allowing me access to his garage and tools for this project.

First, we unloaded the engine and placed it on a stand. The next step was to take it apart. The engine had to come apart. I started removing bolts left and right on the engine, keeping (decent) track of what goes where. Eventually I had taken the oil pan off, gotten the crank and camshaft out.

The fun part was getting the pistons to come free. Rob pushed on them from above and it was my task to catch them before they hit the ground.

The engine must have had a knock, as piston 2 was missing half of it's bearing.




This block is absolutely filthy. It might be the dirtiest block I've ever dealt with. It's a strange sticky oily film. I've always wondered how people can let the engine in their car get so grungy. It only takes a few minutes (and a few quarters) every few months to keep things nice and shiny! See this VClassics article.



By the end of the day I had the new engine completely apart and loaded back into my wagon. I put a liner down on the cargo floor because of how nasty (dirty-wise) the new block. Without the pistons or crank in the engine it's surprisingly light! I was able to lift the engine completely by my self!

The next day, the engine is off to the machine shop. You can read more about that in my next entry.

I'm back, and boy do I have a lot to blog about!

So I know I said I'd keep this thing up to date and I obviously have done a very poor job of doing that.

That said, I have a very good reason to resume writing this blog.

The engine in my 122 broke a rod in December. Poked a hole in the block. It's not pretty. So now it's time to replace the engine, basically. See attached picture:



It's not pretty.

This time around I'll be taking lots of pictures and writing about what I'm doing. My hope is that anyone can read this blog and follow along my daily exploits, and most importantly understand what I'm doing at any given time.

Fellow Volvo nut Lee Boerner had the most important pieces I'll need for the project. He sold me a B-20 (from a '75 240) engine, along with new over-bore pistons, bearings, and a machined crank, all for a very fair price.

There is much work left to be done, but how nice it will be when it's all finally back together, and I'm behind the wheel. Feel free to post any questions or suggestions you may have along the way!

My goal is to have the car back on the road by the end of this month (January.) We'll see if I make it.