Greetings all. 1995 volvo 850-glt with 104k miles. I replaced the headgasket over the summer and starting driving the car on a consistent basis around a month ago, and I put on approx 1000 miles.
Last Friday I noticed a froth on the oil dipstick. I know that this is a new issue because I checked the oil over the past few weeks and this is the first time that I noticed anything. I was suggested to me that I needed to retorque the head bolts. The manual I used to replace the gasket didnt say anything about actually replacing the bolts but I did follow the proper sequence and specifications. I spent 6.5 hours in the rain today replacing the headbolts and lo and behold my coolant resevoir is leaking and I cant see where, so presumably it's into the engine. What went wrong? Did my gasket go bad already? Can a bad valve seat cause coolant to leak into oil?
The engine is a DOHC 5 cylinder (volvo). Any advice would be appreciated, thanks

I guess your assuming that the head gasket was the actual problem in the first place. Unless you sent that head out to a machine shop for testing, the head could have been cracked all along.




78 Corvette Pace Car For Sale-18k mi orig-Florida

HT has a good point. It always a good idea to have the heads pressure checked while there off, could save you a ton of time.

At this point I would start from scratch. 1st track down the coolant leak, a leaky reservoir won't leak into the engine. I'm not sure what the reason for replacing the original gasket was but I would flush the engine and monitor the oil & coolant levels to make sure this isn't residue from the original problem....

zmasterflex; The leaking reservoir could have caused the head gasket issue, in the first place, if it leaked enough to allow the engine to overheat. This is a long shot, and depending on the climate where you live.....Try replacing the PCV valve (make sure there is a good suction) and change the oil and filter. Infrequent and/or short drives can allow condensation to build in the crankcase as it may not get hot enough with that type driving to evaporate the condensation. You can also check to see if you are getting exhaust gasses into the cooling system with a chemical or with an exhaust analyzer. From the scenario, I'm afraid that HT and Sidom may be right....cracked head. Hope not, but...
Loren
SW WA