Can a 1.7i head be skimmed? (was: help)

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naked_monkey
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Can a 1.7i head be skimmed? (was: help)

Post by naked_monkey » Wed Mar 02, 2005 10:21 am

i blown head gasket on my 480 1.7 but wont to know can u skim the head? as i got told that you can!

edit by coyote1980: gave this thread a clearer subject than 'help' :wink:

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Post by robkendall » Wed Mar 02, 2005 10:34 am

apparently, the heads dont skim very well, but i believe it can be done.
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Post by vins480t » Wed Mar 02, 2005 10:42 am

it can be skimmed, but not much
0.05mm max
Last edited by vins480t on Tue Mar 08, 2005 11:59 am, edited 1 time in total.
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felyx
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3 thou

Post by felyx » Wed Mar 02, 2005 2:18 pm

3 to 4 thousands of an inch would be safe i'm told, or you could just get a big sheet off glass and put P400 grade wet and dry available in A3 size and rub the head around on the wet paper.

Its a good idea to stain the skim surface with engineers blue dye so you can see how its going.

this works very well on most heads.

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Post by The Great Nothing » Wed Mar 02, 2005 2:55 pm

I got mine done a while back when I did my head gasket....£35 (although they didn't clean out the swarf :angry: )

I had heard rumours it was not possible, but I spoke to my local engineers and they said it was fine.

You will need to remove the inlet valves though as they are proud of the face of the head.

Cheers

Matt

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Post by chris1roll » Wed Mar 02, 2005 5:50 pm

Dommets poor old car seems to be taking quite a thrashing.....
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Post by Murf » Wed Mar 02, 2005 7:34 pm

can we get some before and after pics Mr Monkey??
poor dommet really loved and cherished that car..... :cry:
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martinholmesuk
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Post by martinholmesuk » Fri Mar 04, 2005 9:51 am

i blown head gasket on my 480 1.7 but wont to know can u skim the head? as i got told that you can!
How did you blow the gasket? Was it you asking the forum about this before?

No you can't skim the head.
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Post by The Great Nothing » Fri Mar 04, 2005 11:05 am

Martin,

Why do you say you cant skim the head?

I got mine done and all seems well...

Mine is a '93 Turbo - Monkey's seems to be NA - does that make a difference to the skimability?

Cheers

Matt

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Post by martinholmesuk » Fri Mar 04, 2005 11:53 am

ah, Maybe it was turbo engines then this topic has come up before and i'm almost sure it was no no.

lets hope i'm wrong.
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Post by The Great Nothing » Fri Mar 04, 2005 1:11 pm

It's a bit late for me now! LOL

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Post by dragon » Fri Mar 04, 2005 1:21 pm

The "you cannot skim the head" comes direct from Volvo - you can view that cynically so Volvo are feathering their own nest, or you can take it seriously.

As far as I can see I have heard of at least 2 people who have had their heads done seemingly successfully, and 0 who did it and it screwed.

I'm not saying you should, just that some people have. Volvo still say you can't.

Down to personal choice I feel.
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Post by chris1roll » Fri Mar 04, 2005 7:48 pm

Well actually, King_J went through about 3 heads, and each time the gasket went again.
Could have been improper fitting, but it could also have been due to:

The 480 has hardened valve seats, and when the head is skimmed, the tool rides up on the seats, so it won't skim flat.
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Post by dbsvolvos » Tue Mar 08, 2005 11:41 am

seats are recessed , so shouldnt be a problem , and yes heads can be skimmed , not by much tho .
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Dommett
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Post by Dommett » Thu Mar 10, 2005 4:43 pm

Thought I'd come and visit, I moved last November, and I didn't get internet installed, so haven't done much surfing.

I kept a spreadsheet on the various bits and bobs I spent on the 480, and it totalled £1300 and that didn't include buying new tools for doing the work, and consumables, so add another £100 to that.

I was really keen to sell it to somebody young and enthusiastic, but perhaps, a little too enthusiastic, as I see it's been spun and crashed, and now has a blown head.
But I guess at least he's still here (and possibly the car?? Come on - post some photos!), so the Volvo did it's job :)

No wonder insurance is so expensive for young people.
I just wish people would acknowledge the limits of their car and respect that going near the limits is likely to end badly.

Although, I think that's a failing of the system in part, there should be much more access to advanced driver training on airfields, learning how cars handle close to the limit, I think that would really help.

Anyway - Rant over :)

Btw: I still have the T4 - I gave that to my girlfriend (no sorry - wife - we got married 2 weeks ago!!) and I now have a 230bhp Saab 9-3 turbo convertible. both sub-£500 insurance (I'm 24) - it pays to be careful and build up ncb :)
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jamescarruthers
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Post by jamescarruthers » Thu Mar 10, 2005 4:58 pm

May I recommend you investigate one of these:

http://atsearch.autotrader.co.uk/WWW/CA ... 9184493446

And you leave 480s well alone. :kill:

I am aware of the irony in this considering I crashed a 480 recently, however your Boy-Racer attitude really winds me up whenever I see your posts.
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CHESH740R
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Post by CHESH740R » Thu Mar 10, 2005 5:38 pm

I had the head skimmed on my ES, i instructed a very light skim just to remove some stubborn gasket material.

No Problems what so ever.

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Post by Murf » Thu Mar 10, 2005 10:39 pm

Ha, i knew poor dommet would be upset!!

btw monkey, can i have your paris leather interior when you finally total the car??

oh, and why do you post a question, get loads of replies and then never post on that thread again?? you seem to do this quite a lot, at least thank people for their input??
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Dommett
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Post by Dommett » Fri Mar 11, 2005 10:48 am

I noticed that too - Checking out what happened to the car I spent most of my spare time last christmas doing up, I checked through monkey's posts and there is a lack of replying!

Oh well - anyway guys - I feel like a bit of a sell out and a wimp, but I feel like having spare time this summer, and I've always wanted a convertible to spend that spare time in :)

I would have kept the 480 if I had space, but I moved to a house with parking for only one car, and probably upset the neighbours enough having two.
I would have kept the 480 as a project if I had the space. If I move to somewhere with a bigger driveway, I may just get one again!

I think you're all heros the efforts you go to, and I know for sure my 480 would have cost me a lot more and been more frustrating if I wasn't able to get answers and fix stuff myself, it was great fun.

Take care people - there is a Volvo & Saab (performance) meet in April apparantly (on the VOC forum), I'm thinking of bringing, probably the Saab, but maybe some of you should come along and see if your 480's can give the T5's a run for their money!

Tom
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Post by 0603 » Mon Mar 14, 2005 4:07 pm

OY leave young people alone, yes 99.9% are twats in novas but were not all bad!
i have got an insurance quote of £2950 for 3rd party only insurance for one year! :cry:
please dont be concerned for my 480 though, its loved and it wont be crashed!
NOT ALL young lads are boy racers!
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