Building 2 350/650hp 16v B230F redblock Volvo engines

[Fred]

This is going to be my diary of an engine build for the blue 740 sedan, a record of what I buy, what I do, thoughts, experiences, the works. And so it begins, with the basics, cleaning the block. Actually it began some months ago when I pulled the engine from a car at the local self help yard and brought it home in the 240 wagon :-)

Original acquisition: https://twitter.com/FredCookeNZ/status/ ... 2431704064

EDIT: Inlined:






Today's block cleansing exercise:

DIRTY: https://twitter.com/FredCookeNZ/status/ ... 4749988864
Cunning: https://twitter.com/FredCookeNZ/status/ ... 3026318336
Protection: https://twitter.com/FredCookeNZ/status/ ... 2831602688
Clean exhaust side: https://twitter.com/FredCookeNZ/status/ ... 4644367360
Clean intake side: https://twitter.com/FredCookeNZ/status/ ... 3518143488















Next up, B234F head goodness.

Start a comments thread, if you wish. I'll lock this one to keep the flow continuous.

EDIT: Comments thread now open: viewtopic.php?f=15&t=2771

EDIT: Title change to reflect plans. Apparently the block gives way after about 700whp or so, maybe less. Though mine will be max strength with no overbore.

~350hp = maxed out TD05HR-16G for the gold 240 wagon mild setup using stock pistons of some sort.
~650hp = forged/built bottom end with cams and a bigger turbo of some sort, etc etc etc for the blue 740 sedan.

[Fred]

The head for this thing, with the old block still attached, is now stashed neatly at the back of the garage: https://twitter.com/FredCookeNZ/status/ ... 1565508608

EDIT: Inlined:










Sadly, this project, and all others requiring any funds, is on hold for the time being!

[Fred]

On hold, but slowly progressing, all the same.

A while back I tried to space the block off the stand slightly to give the trigger pattern clearance so the crank could be freely turned and not under any stress (JUST touching, no major bind). But it moved when I undid the first one, and I couldn't get it back together without the crane. So tonight, finally, I got the crane in, and lifted it up, and redid all four with more spacing, and now it can turn freely with 2mm or so of clearance. Yay.

Obligatory photo: https://twitter.com/FredCookeNZ/status/ ... 9381725184

EDIT: Inlined:









Need to pull the bottom off and clean a few more things on the outside/inside, then turn it upside down and clean the remaining stuff from the yard out of the top ring area... Which I can't do until I know there's nothing bad in the sump waiting to run up the bores... and there will be something... So...

May get onto that this week, as it'd be nice to have it clean and able to be spun freely without scouring/gouging/scoring the bore.

[Fred]

Tonight I undid the dozen or so 12mm head flange bolts around the sump and dropped it off.

Here's the crank, rod big ends, oil pump, pickup, block flange, and oil air separator drain tube: https://twitter.com/FredCookeNZ/status/ ... 1014599680

Closer shot of oil pump, pickup, drain tube: https://twitter.com/FredCookeNZ/status/ ... 2262645764

Damaged oil pump pickup: https://twitter.com/FredCookeNZ/status/ ... 8291690496

And the reason for it: https://twitter.com/FredCookeNZ/status/ ... 1867865088

Damaged pickup inlined:






Pretty clean inside: https://twitter.com/FredCookeNZ/status/ ... 0854607872

Inlined:





EDIT: Hey! There's the oil squirter in the background of the photo, unintended shot :-D I should try to get another one of these to build up for the gold car, rather than using the clean SOHC engine in it. Maybe keep that for a good low-output spare?

I might finally get around to finishing the clean up of this bottom end later this coming week. That'd be good!

[Fred]

Cleaned the sump: https://twitter.com/FredCookeNZ/status/ ... 3309368321







And the fasteners, and bolted it back on gently. Next up, roll it outside, put a tray under it, spit it up side down, and clear out those ringlands! Compressed air, degreaser, brakeclean, CRC, gentle wire brush ah la chinese pick set, etc. Whatever it takes to get them clear, then back up the right way and on with the action.

[Fred]

Did a bit of pump and pulley research today, results are here:

Freeze plug discrepancies:

https://twitter.com/FredCookeNZ/status/ ... 8176642048
https://twitter.com/FredCookeNZ/status/ ... 2388094980






Pulley size/style on the B230F in the 240 wagon:

https://twitter.com/FredCookeNZ/status/ ... 9654471680
https://twitter.com/FredCookeNZ/status/ ... 1646926848







Same three-groove 156mm OD lower pulley/damper on all four engines.
Single groove 137.8mm OD water pump pulley on both B234F engines.
Double groove 135.8mm OD water pump pulley on the B230F in the 240 wagon.

https://twitter.com/FredCookeNZ/status/ ... 3928687620

[Fred]

Water pump drive shenanigans:

The ute engine has a pump with impeller OD 59mm, ID inside fins 46mm and is driven 1:1 from the crank sprocket with 25 teeth each.

https://twitter.com/FredCookeNZ/status/ ... 7890285569






These Volvo engines have an overdriven water pump by a ratio of about 1.13 to 1.16, and a diameter of? Not sure. Maybe I'll go and find out now...

And the answers are in, 70mm OD, 35mm ID, and straight non-swept fins, with some seriously sharp edges inside the block feeding it.

https://twitter.com/FredCookeNZ/status/ ... 6721341440
https://twitter.com/FredCookeNZ/status/ ... 0192485376

[Fred]

Last night I finally got around to cleaning the grit out of the ringlands of this bottom end. Clean and silky smooth!

[Fred]

A bit more done on this today!

All pistons and rods out
All main caps removed, and replaced gently.

Goals: Examine journal and bore condition.

Result: No scoring in bores, no scoring in journals, clean, polish, reassemble with the right parts! :-)

Measurement of the "big" Volvo B230F rods, AKA 13mm rods: 13mm thick (front to back on engine), 24mm wide (side to side on engine), parallel for around 70mm before descending to the big end.

Small ones are supposed to be a mere 9mm thick, with a 4 or 5mm smaller journal.

Comparing this with my prior measurements of F8 and FE3 rods, with the FE3 rod at 15.5x22-27 tapered before descending to the big end, and the F8 rod at 14.5x20 non-tapered.

I would say the FE3 rod is a bit stronger than the 13mm redblock rod, but not much. It's also dealing with a longer stroke, but smaller bore. The taper minimises weight where it's the biggest issue, and maximises strength where it's needed most. The F8 rods were not appropriate for what I put through them. Not close. 400whp is common on these Volvo 13mm rods, and has been common on the FE3 rods, too. Both will fatigue with time at that sort of power level, though.

Pics/tweets/etc:

https://twitter.com/FredCookeNZ/status/ ... 4753131521
https://twitter.com/FredCookeNZ/status/ ... 9160864769
https://twitter.com/FredCookeNZ/status/ ... 1144583169
https://twitter.com/FredCookeNZ/status/ ... 5819003907

Tweets/pics/etc:
















On another note, I'm glad I didn't use this bottom end as-is. It's all fine, but the effort of assembling and using it would have been wasted on something that was near end of life. For example, the bearings are worn. Not terrible, but not good! Not for someone that drives like me :-D Also, although the rings were all free in the pistons (due to CRC soakage?), the oil rings were all clogged up with carbon deposits and unlikely to be working effectively. Not to mention the creatively repaired pulley! LOL.

Why was I checking condition of the block and crank? I'm placing an order for some go-fast goodies in a week or two, and needed to confirm/deny oversizes. Stay tuned for more progress :-)

[Fred]

This thread just got serious! I just put through a decent size payment to Josh at Yoshifab for the following parts:

• Arias forged pistons 80mm stroke, stock bore, "light duty" variant, 0.010" over deck
• China forged H-beam rods with USA ARP2000 fasteners
• Volvo main bearing set, stock journal sizes
• Glyco rod bearing set, stock journal sizes
• Breather oil return tube
• Elring lower gasket set
• Volvo freeze plugs, 8 of
• ARP main cap stud kit

That's the bottom end stuff covered, next order will be for the lower-power 240 engine and the top end of this engine.

Plan is to pick all of this up later in the year and do some other awesome FreeEMS stuff at the same time.

Just stock piling parts, for now! :-)