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Volvo 2.3 l 4 cyl problems

robj

Regular Contributor
Hello,

Just getting my boat ready for the season, it is a 4 cyl, 2.3 l Volvo rubber band engine. Has not run since last summer. Pulled the plugs, #4 looked lean, clean white ceramic on the plug. Did a compression test, and the numbers were #1 and #2 were at 165 psi, #3 and #4 were at 120 psi. Looks like I will not be going boating today.

What I was planning to do, is start it up on muffs in the driveway, let it warm up and re-do the compression test to see what the numbers are. If they are the same as earlier, will try a wet test to see if it changes.

I think it is the head gasket again, changed it last year, but I guess I did not do a good job.

Any other suggestions would be greatly appreciated.

Thanx and have a a great day

Rob.
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Ran it for a bit with muffs on the driveway and then re-tested. Compression was now #1, #2, #3, were at 180 and #4 was at 165. Based on that I think I will take it out for a day and re-test. I was wondering if I should try re-torqueing the head, but unsure how since the head bolts are torque to yield. Any suggestions?

Also not sure how to deal with #4 lean, will try and richen the mixture.

Have a great day

Rob
 
Ran it for a bit with muffs on the driveway and then re-tested. Compression was now #1, #2, #3, were at 180 and #4 was at 165. Based on that I think I will take it out for a day and re-test. I was wondering if I should try re-torqueing the head, but unsure how since the head bolts are torque to yield. Any suggestions?

Also not sure how to deal with #4 lean, will try and richen the mixture.

Have a great day

Rob


If you suspect the head gasket, I see tow options: either replace it, or loosen and then re-torque to yield one head bolt at the time.
 
Hello,

Thank you for your response. Might try re-torqueing, will talk to the machine shop that did the head work last year. My other problem with #4, the white ceramic indicative of a lean condition or water in cylinder. Could it be possible that the exhaust manifold is leaking and water is getting in that way? Don't think it is anti-freeze since I have had no coolant issues or loss.

I did buy an new exhaust manifold a few months ago was going to change it as a preventative measure anyways since I did not know how old it is. Will try that and see if anything changes.

Aren't boats fun??

Thanx for your help and have a great day

Rob
 
Well I got my leakage tester and ran the test. All 4 cylinders were at about 14%, which is good. There was some blowby evident and some leakage through the intake valves. But all engines will have some leakage. At only 14% for all cylinders, that indicates that the engine is generally in good shape. Definitely no air in the coolant, which is a good thing, indicating that the head gasket is OK.

When I pulled the old exhaust manifold off, I did notice some traces of water and rust around #4, so maybe I was getting water from a faulty manifold going into #4. Who knows. Will put on the new manifold and take it for a run.

Have a great day

Rob.
 
#3 and #4 are usually in some sort of contact with the raw water in the exhaust, and that's why those two ports suffer from corrosion over time.
 
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