Is The Volvo B8444S The Most Reliable Euro V8 Engine? This Is "Bad" But How Did It Fail?

Comments · 1.5K

• PC

  @pclayton5063 · 7 months ago

  I had a really nice 2007 Volvo S80 V8.  Bought it for my wife and she loved it.  The car ran flawlessly.  The only major mod I did was a complete stainless cat back exhaust system with the quad tail pipes.  Sounded wonderful.  When I first purchased the car (90k miles) I had done a little research and it was recommended to replace the accessory belt and two tensioners as a preventive maintenance step.  I bought the parts and had my local Volvo dealer do the work.  When I picked up the car they gave me the new lower tensioner back and said the tech didn't want to replace that because he had to jack the engine up.  A couple of years later guess which one failed?  Right, the one that wasn't replaced.  When it froze up it busted the tensioner mounting boss off the front cover which required a new front cover.  $3500 later it's back together and running fine.  At least all the valve cover and intake gaskets were done in the process as they can also leak a little.  Wife got t-boned in the car a few years later.  Hit hard right in the drivers door.  The Volvo saved her though with good build quality.  I looked for another V8 and couldn't find one acceptable at the time.  Hated to lose that car.

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• NI

  @nickthompson3432 · 8 months ago (edited)

  Owned one (2007 XC90 V8). Maintained it for 17 years. Sold it with 298,000 miles on it. It consumed only 1/4 qt of oil per 1000 miles. It got 22.5 mpg on freeway going 75mph. I did lots of maintenance on it during those 17yrs but the damn thing was SOLID.

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• VA

  @valengreymoon5623 · 8 months ago

  All those nice metal parts instead of plastic.

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• CA

  @CacheRAM · 8 months ago

  <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pPhC5JmcYNQ&amp;t=2765">46:05</a> &quot;These ... are good engines, and after taking this down, I ... ... I kinda ... want one&quot;.<br>GREAT NEWS: you have one on your bench right now, fully disassembled, ready for cleaning and careful inspection before replacing wear items and reassembling it.

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• GH

  @ghostwrench2292 · 8 months ago (edited)

  I am very familiar with that engine from my 8 years in Volvo dealerships and now I own an XC90 with that engine, because I learned to love it so much. &nbsp;The 2005 and early 2006 engines had issues with the rear bearing on the balance shaft failing due to it being exposed to water from the pocket behind it. &nbsp;If owners noticed the noise soon enough and brought it in, we could save the engine by replacing the balance shaft and the bearing along with drilling a hole in the pocket behind that bearing for water to drain out and then recommendation to NOT wash the engine. &nbsp;I have done 5 balance shaft replacements in my time in the dealerships. &nbsp;The balance shaft in this engine WAS NOT the original balance shaft that this engine was built with. &nbsp;Original balance shafts would have a light coating of rust on them. &nbsp;This balance shaft looks nearly new, completely rust free and I could see that rear bearing was not original either. &nbsp;I wonder if someone replaced the balance shaft and did not know to time it or mistimed it which would cause the engine to shake and not run smooth at all. &nbsp;Perhaps whoever did the work did not know how to do this repair properly and when it shook after restarting, they assumed the engine was bad? &nbsp; <br><br>I know one technician who did not know the balance had to be timed and after all the work, when he started the engine, it was horrible. &nbsp;He was furious when he realized he would have to redo the job. &nbsp;The job involves removing the front cylinder head.

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• DA

  @danza1847 · 8 months ago

  This engine is easily rebuildable - someone should save it

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• PA

  @PaulG.x · 8 months ago (edited)

  Not manufactured by Volvo:<br>The B8444S is an automobile V8 engine manufactured in Japan by Yamaha Motor Company for Volvo Cars.<br>The engine block is also used for the Yamaha F300V8, F350V8, and XTO Offshore outboards. The displacement ranges from 5.3 to 5.6 litres.

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• HO

  @hokehinson5987 · 2 days ago (edited)

  That 5 cylinder in-line was also a great engine...

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• FU

  @fuller9x · 8 months ago

  Fun fact, the B8444S went racing with PoleStar Racing in the V8 Supercar series down-under with GRM Motorsports and Scott McLaughlin

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• Y.

  @Y.T.Learner · 8 months ago

  I expect calcium stones would not be present if the owner(s) utilized distilled water for mixing or adding instead of tap water.

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• JA

  @Jasminethelovelycat · 8 months ago

  You were right… an engine we haven’t seen before!

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• EL

  @elliottb7009 · 8 months ago (edited)

  its refreshing to see a euro engine with metal coolant pipes. the you remember it was japanese engine.

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