Volvo Maintenance Hints for 7xx/9xx - Bill Garland's Nuclear ...

● There is a whole buch of stuff bolted to the back of the head with about 2" of clearance to the firewall.
● The "ungodly, unreachable" bolt on the bottom of the intake manifold is best addressed with an "S"
shaped or "obstruction" type 13mm wrench. Hold it palm up and wedge your hand between the harness
and other crap next to the manifold while sliding the wrench to the left, finding the bolt, getting a grip, and
loosening it 1/4 turn or so. Repeat as needed. Swear a bit. [Tom Irwin] Aafter my 5th time it is not too
bad. If you can handle some slight contortions, you can do it. The key is to pull the hot air exchanger
completely out and get a hand up in front of the rack and pinion.
Suggested Engine Removal. I suggest that you remove the engine and transmission as one unit. To take the
engine and tranny out requires less than 2 hours. To remove the head in the car requires scraped knuckles and
lots of expletives plus many more hours and more headaches. I will not do this job ever while the engine is in
the car!
Removal of Cylinder Head. [Inquiry] I am trying to get the top half of the B6304 cylinder head off. I've removed
the 46 bolts, the cam position sensor, the screw in the back on the connector bracket which is threaded into the
top cyl head section, and the cover on the intake cam is loose. I think that all that is holding that top half down is
the chemical gasket. The Volvo manual say to "CAREFULLY" tap upwards (with a copper mallet) on the top
section & the camshafts to push it up. There aren't a lot of places to tap upwards. I am reluctant to try to chisel/
pry the two halves apart for fear of damaging the sealing. [Response: DanR] The first time I did this I had
tremendous reservations with using a mallet. The Volvo green book I have came with "new update" stickers
where the direction to hammer with a mallet was covered up and the new direction was to order the Volvo
special tool which not only holds down the top to put in the bolts but also pulls it off and breaks that seal. I think
too many mechanics were breaking the hammer points. I proceeded without the tool and used a soft mallet and
a screw driver at the two or three spots where there is a little tab hanging over the outer edge of the head
cover. These tabs have the guide pins in them. The glue is strong, but using a flat blade screw driver in those
spots did the trick. Do not use any thing to pry on a sealing surface: these are machined to a very tight
tolerance; a few scrapes and things will be leaking later.
Compression Test Procedures. [Tips from Motor Age Magazine, Apr 2002, by Glenn Hunt, adapted to Volvo
B2XX]
When Should the Compression Be Checked?
By performing a compression test, internal engine malfunctions, such as bad valves, piston rings or excessive
carbon buildup, can be detected before they cause irreparable damage. It benefits the owner to be aware of
these problems so they can make an informed decision whether to invest in repairs or sell the vehicle.
How is the Engine Compression Checked?
The compression should be checked in any instance when an engine is running roughly or is lacking power.
Engine compression on a gasoline engine can be tested in two ways. One method of testing involves the use of
an electronic engine analyzer. But for the do-it-yourselfers, the easiest method is the manual compression test
using a manual, handheld compression gauge. A screw-in gauge is generally more accurate than the gauge
with the rubber seal.
● Run the engine until it is hot. A cold engine will not test correctly.
● Disable the ignition coil by disconnecting connection 1, ground, at the coil.
● Remove spark plugs for all cylinders being tested.
● Crank the engine continually for at least five to 10 full revolutions to obtain an accurate reading on the
compression tester. The starter must be operating normally at around 4-5 revolutions per second or 250-
300 rpm.