I definitely agree with many of the other commenters. It would definitely be worth it to spend the extra few dollars and get some rings. I recently did a 4A-C swap on my 84 tercel. The engine looked nice inside with noticeable cross hatches on the cylinder walls. I wanted to be cheap and not spend the extra time/money on rings. My concern was "well, if I'm doing rings... it'll end up being bearings too, hone job and blah blah blah... it'll be fine" so I put it together and installed it. Well... unfortunately she does consume oil. About 1 qt every 1000 miles. Which is rather annoying. I'm now spending money on various oil additives to try and stop my leak. But hey... I saved $40 on rings 😅

Before rings go get engine stand, it makes your rebuild so much easier.

Compressing that carbon in a redblock will eventually create diamond

You are going the proper way - never force anything and replace, clean anything that needs it. Great content bro!

The oil thing reminded me of my most recent oil change. I put the drain pan under the car but forgot to remove the screw-in bung from it. It overflowed pretty quick and the oil was hot so I couldn't put my hand in to unscrew the bung. Oil everywhere! 🤣

Maybe I should get a Redbock-Volvo again, they’re still pretty available & cheap to get. And I like the easy way to maintain it and they're not mad if you don’t work accurate (had assembled years ago the wrong timing belt on my previous '91 945 B230FB square one on round gears due to early engine swap, the worse was I didn’t match the timing, it was one or two teeth next to it; it ran not good but not too bad. Drove ~250km and a move of my girlfriend/now wife until I corrected it, kept the wrong timing belt and ran 25k kms until I disassembled the car) My wife won’t be happy (again) …😅

really felt the stress when man handling the engine around by yourself on a pallet lol. I had that with the vw 6 cylinder diesel lump lol

I would go the extra mile and replace the piston rings, crankshaft bearings and connecting rod bearings, the cylinder head and have the engine block honed..All in all, a general overhaul of the engine.

You may aswell put rings in it while it's that far striped down

Hmmm, I think I would replace the rings. It will be a new adventure for you (as far as I know) and certainly of interest to the rest of us! Meanwhile, I have my head all shined up and my new IPD performance cam installed, re-shimmed, hushed, sealed, and ready to re- install. I'm currently cleaning the block (still in place) with plans to repaint it. Also, I bought a stainless water pipe that goes front to back (IPD) I always look forward to your videos!

Nice redblock! I’am no engine guru but i would pull the rings! You’re allready so far and Magnus deserves a well running fresh heart 💖! Also very nice content for the channel!

It could also be valve stem seals, which would be super easy since there's no cam in it, unless the guides are worn.

I think regardless of whether or not it was already burning oil, you are so close to the pistons being readily accessible anyway that it would just make sense to replace the rings anyway fella. I reckon it will make a good engine though! Perfect opportunity to really go to town on it. Would that pulley work with an uprated high lift cam for a few extra horsies? It would have to be set up properly but I don’t think it would be a big job for the right place. May be worth dropping a line to IPD in the US maybe? Exciting times and great video

I´m anything but an expert but I´d go the extra mile and do the piston rings now that you are half way there anyway. You should hone the bores if you replace the rings, shouldn´t you? Magnus seems to become your biggest project so far 😅👍

Could be valve seals leaking by, but since you’ve pulled the head and there’s no cam in it, perfect time for valve seals, hushers, and rings.

If it were mine, I'd do a "Fluff & Buff". That is hone the cylinders, new rings, new bearings (yes, B230 bearings hold up good but it is cheap insurance), then touch up the valves and seats and while you have the valves out, new valve seals. You are probably well past this now, so I will check your newer content to see how things went.

Definetly oil burner engine. With that amout of carbon it has burnt oil way too much. While you are allready there with the engine dismantle. It would be nice oppoturinite to learn to use bearing clearance string (I don't know do you know how to measure bearing clearances) and make an video about it. Since this is oil burner engine, it has done some miles too. So do the rings and possible new bearings too. And of course all of the seals and through cleaning.

Looks like you will have a busy few months working on Magnus. I know that you will get him running again Sledge that's for sure.

Dude, if this block still has signs of honing in all of the bores, you can put it back together. Don't forget the crankshaft bearings. This engine looks very black on the inside, the oil wasn't changed often enough. However, in terms of wear, it looks much better than what i have been coming across looking for an engine lately (mirror walls, but these could still be good for 50-100Kkm burning some oil), so this baby has potential.

That oil was thin!!!! Love the 2 smoking barrels clip. As it's stripped so far I would change rings and bearings maybe even glaze bust it too. I have no experience on volvo engines but have rebuilt a few in my time, from ford crossflows, ford v6 to vw golf 16valve turbos. You will need a full gasket set so might as well do rings ( clean out ring grooves as with that much carbon they will likely start to pinch), if you have pistons out then very little extra work to do bearings. Of course there is additional costs but you will be keeping the wagon so worth the investment and content for channel!

M-cam is really mild, i think 112hp on a B230. You can always upgrade later: T-cam for low rev torque. A-cam for a bit more reviness VX3 even more: 130hp on a B230. The K-cam and the rare H-cam ( are only suitable if you have higher compression flattop pistons. There is probably a valve stuck open. Head needs to come off.

You could do a basic leak test on the pistons and valves to see how good they seal. If necessary, lapping in the valves would probably be a DIY job and make a good video. Can you do a check for end float on the crankshaft? If all this goes ok, I’d go with the engine as it is. I’m sure you’ll encounter plenty of issues getting the car back on the road, so I wouldn’t get too carried away with the engine at this stage. Loved the video.

I’d probably re-ring it and hit the bores with a dingle-berry hone.

Magnus the Blue, hopefully a better end than for Magnus the Red. Someone might get it...

If you're planning on keeping Magnus for a long time, I would do it properly and change the rings and hone the cilinders.

I guess a re-ring depends on how touchy the inspections are on oil burning. If it is enough to be sniffed by the emissions probe during testing (I think it would elevate CO) then it makes sense to do it since you're at this stage as opposed to doing it after it is installed in the car. You will find getting an engine stand will make it easier. Since it is not a huge engine you can probably go with a small one or even a used one.

O mestre das volvos 👏🏻👏🏻👏🏻👏🏻👏🏻 abraços do Brasil 🇧🇷🇧🇷🇧🇷

And the M cam bites. Lol

You might aswell do it all now you have stripped it down to save work at a later stage !

Do you know if a compression test had been done? The cylinder bores look in reasonable condition for the age and it made me think that the oil would more likely come from the stem seals. That being said you may as well do the piston rings anyway as the engine is pretty well stripped and you dont want to take the engine back out of the car again for a very long time. You'll also get to see if the condition of the bottom ends, etc.

Just do the whole shabang rings,valve stem seals,guides and chuck a rear main and crank seal in.

I would certainly undo the rod caps and remove the pistons now you have it this far apart. If the rings are free in their grooves you could just remove a couple and check the end gaps. If the oil rings are gummed up you will know where the carbon came from (you will also know that it will probably fail an emissions test).

I would take the engine apart at rebuild it. Its not such a big job. If you choose to do it then take pictures during the hole process.

That engine is worth every penny that you paid for it! Just think of it as more content! 😉

I would get it done while it's out. No idea on how to DIY, so would drop block and head at refurbishers. Be bad to put it in and smokes.

Can an oil burner pass the TUF? I think you should replace the rings and you'll have a much better idea of engine condition.

I'm betting if you done a video on replacing the piston rings on the volvo you would get your money back from KZfaq. As there isn't many videos on this.

Привет! Вынимай пришни, меряй зазоры и всё станет ясно р порядке действий. Ну и конечно: биение распредвала, и все расходники по голове.

DUDE SHIPPED AN ENGINE WITH OIL IN IT?!?! THE HECK?!

Now you've gone that far it would be a shame not to at least lap the valves and fit new stem seals

Wait.... you were also babysitting through all this?

If this is going to be a keeper, I'm afraid you are going to have to go the extra mile and do a top end rebuild.. Otherwise you will have no peace of mind half expecting it to "go wrong". That is my tuppence worth. 🤔

My bet would be valve stem seals

car names are female, but volvos are male. I mean even the old Volvo emblem says: I am male!" (the spear) But... also Volvo is latin for I roll. Which is the most fitting name for a car. So mine is called Björn and it rolls. =)

I think the engine block is very good but i think the valve seals are bad