Steam in exhaust '93 940T

I have about 80k on a rebuilt B230FT engine (rebuilt by Volvo) in my 940T
wagon. It¹s been running great. Suddenly, I lost power, engine temp. went
way up and I began blowing huge clouds of steam out the exhaust, definitely
not smoke.

A couple of uneducated guesses:

-blown head gasket
-blown turbo

There doesn¹t appear to be water in the engine oil or vise versa. No leaks
in hoses.

What¹s causing this? Any guidance on possible causes would be greatly
appreciated.

TIA,
Felix

 

Steam in exhaust '93 940TI'd bet money on the blown head gasket as well.
Has the coolant level decreased?

Tony
I have about 80k on a rebuilt B230FT engine (rebuilt by Volvo) in my 940T
wagon. It's been running great. Suddenly, I lost power, engine temp. went
way up and I began blowing huge clouds of steam out the exhaust, definitely
not smoke.

A couple of uneducated guesses:

-blown head gasket
-blown turbo

There doesn't appear to be water in the engine oil or vise versa. No leaks
in hoses.

What's causing this? Any guidance on possible causes would be greatly
appreciated.

TIA,
Felix

 

Steam in exhaust '93 940TSorry mate it does sound like the head gasket
I have about 80k on a rebuilt B230FT engine (rebuilt by Volvo) in my 940T wagon. It's been running great. Suddenly, I lost power, engine temp. went way up and I began blowing huge clouds of steam out the exhaust, definitely not smoke.

A couple of uneducated guesses:

-blown head gasket
-blown turbo

There doesn't appear to be water in the engine oil or vise versa. No leaks in hoses.

What's causing this? Any guidance on possible causes would be greatly appreciated.

TIA,
Felix

 

Yes, coolant level went down. TONS of steam out the exhaust.

Thanks,
Felix

 

Steam in exhaust '93 940T
I have to concur. It's either the gasket, or even worse, a cracked head. Hope it's only the gasket. Very sorry.

Sorry mate it does sound like the head gasket
Felix

 

Steam in exhaust '93 940TSounds like a blown head gasket. Don't drive it if possible. The water may be partially removed by the heat of the engine and not be condensed in the oil. Wait until cold weather, and that could change. You don't want to warp the head though by cooking the engine. Remember, aluminum doesn't take a lot heat very well...
I have about 80k on a rebuilt B230FT engine (rebuilt by Volvo) in my 940T wagon. It's been running great. Suddenly, I lost power, engine temp. went way up and I began blowing huge clouds of steam out the exhaust, definitely not smoke.

A couple of uneducated guesses:

-blown head gasket
-blown turbo

There doesn't appear to be water in the engine oil or vise versa. No leaks in hoses.

What's causing this? Any guidance on possible causes would be greatly appreciated.

TIA,
Felix

 

Blown head gasket for sure.

 

That's highly unlikely, there aren't any coolant seals, just oil seals. The
coolant is in a jacket surrounding the oil cooled center housing.

 

A big thanks to all who helped me diagnose this problem!! I'll now get to
work replacing the head gasket and hope there was no serious damage done
from the overheating.

Regards,
Felix

 

good luck mate let us know how you get on
Graham

 

Well, the head came off. I didn't see any problem with the head gasket but
when I showed it to the machine shop tech he saw the flaw right away. A
very small spot around the cylinder ring on the gasket had given way. This
was the #1 cylinder and the top of the piston had been washed clean by the
incoming water.

You guys nailed it!

Many thanks again,
Felix

 

It's amazing how clean that'll get it, I bet if you look at the cylinder
wall and the combustion chamber on the head they'll all be squeaky clean.

 

Yep, looks like new. Washed clean by the water.

Head has been resurfaced and is now back on the block. Will fire it up
tomorrow and hope for the best.

Thanks again.

Felix

 

Head is on and she runs like new! Took awhile to blow out all the water
accumulated in the engine and exhaust (tons of white vapor) but after that
the engine just purrs along. Lucky there was no (or minimal) engine damage.

Thanks again to all who helped with this diagnosis.

Felix

 

another happy ending.
glad you got it sorted