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I wonder if anyone can help me with a project I have to achieve over the summer. I have acquired a 1998 phase 2 Renault Safrane with 259,000 km on the clock and I have service history from just 2011.

It is a left hand drive which I plan to use in the continent, can anyone help me with what tasks to do to build engine so I can extend the engine life.
I am thinking of timing belt, a/c and water pump, gasket etc. Do I need to do rings and valve seals?

Regards
Bih

As it's a PH2, if it's a 2L or 2.5L I wouldn't bother refurbing the entire engine. Just do the belts, water pump, tensioner and roller and put it all back together.

Why would you want to do the head gasket - have you bought a car with a known gasket failure? (possible if yours is a 3L - we never got them in the UK).

Hi Saffles, Thanks for the advice and much appreciated. Do you know if the 1998 PH2 had the volvo engines or Renault ones?

Regards
Bih

Hi Bih
All Safrane engines in 2.0/2.5 form are Volvo based,a good strong engine,as Saffles said i would do a full cambelt kit/Aux belt kit,water pump and go over things like the breather system and a good coolant flush.
Is it a 2.0 or 2.5?

2.5 and 2 are volvo 5 and 4 pot engines respectively. There is a PH2 3L in europe though and that beast does use a Renault engine. If thats the one you have and you want to refurb it then have fun with that project lol.

If its the volvo lump you have just the belts would be good unless you have a known head gasket failure. If thats the case.. good luck.. those heads are a pain to get off - the bolts are exceptionally tight. I have to have a very long bar on the end of my 24" breaker bar to undo them lol!

If you're an engine rebuilding enthusiast then fair enough.. take it to bits and start over but from my POV it's nothing but hassle. I took out a 2.5 engine in 2010 to overhaul and it went badly wrong. Hopefully this year i'll get it on the road again but i've still got a duff ECU, possible head gasket failure and one or two other gremlins to deal with first...

Thanks to all your inputs and I am ever so grateful. It is a 2L RXE and no known head gasket issues, all I want to get is get car in such a state as to get more life out of it and since I only have service history from 2011, I want to minimise any future issues.

If its the 2L then it's volvo. Take off the engine cover and you should see sweden stamped on top of the rocker cover somewhere..

As for the head gasket, if its not failed then leave it. A couple of years ago I took one of the 2.5 engines to bits.. the head was a real pain to remove but I eventually got it off. When I took the head gasket out the gasket wasn't far from new looking. Keep in mind it was 11 years old when I dismantled the car and then the engine sat there for two years on a pallet exposed to all the elements so it wasn't really bad going.

Actually I have photos of it here:






As for the bearings and other engine internals.. When I took that engine apart it literally looked like new inside. I took it up to a farm to some of my engineering friends so they could have the metal (and a play) and they disected it further and were amazed at how well it had kept itself.

Volvo are known for making solid engines.. unless you're an idiot like me who can break anything then I wouldn't worry too much about it. Just get your belts done and all the usual service things and carry on running it.

Hi Saffles,
A very thanks to you and all those who have given me advice and yes I like to thinker, but will definitely leave all that is well really well. Indeed the gasket looks really in good state and no wonder they say Volvo engines can attain a million miles and I have seen one with such high mileage in a Volvo showroom.

Thanks
Bih

Couple of years ago there was a safrane on ebay with over 480,000 miles on the clock - with just one owner! Just about run in i'd say..

Now that is some way to demonstrate how good maintenance can prolong the life of a car engine