Greetings. I was gifted with an S80 - 2000 Volvo, by my daughter, following a head-on collision in my 2001-S80 Volvo - Fly, who saved our lives. I love this 2000 S 80; although she possesses some eccentricities that I'm getting accustomed to. However, lately, there is a tapping noise which has increased. It was suggested that it is the lifters causing this issue, and I was sent to purchase Marvelous Mystery Oil which worked exactly for 5 minutes and then was told that when I return for an oil change, another thicker oil would be used to, hopefully, resolve this problem???

In addition to this new issue, I have attempted twice to get an alignment at Town Faire Tires which resulted in no effect. I was refunded the cost less my time and travel wasted.

The last issue which is frustrating is that my I need to add about one quart of coolant about every two weeks depending on mileage. The mechanic initially claimed to find a loose strap and tightened it. This soon also made no difference. When I returned again nothing was diagnosed as a further problem, and as I was leaving the mechanic suggested that the coolant was burning faster due to probably this Volvo having twin turbines or something similar??? My 2001 had no issue with coolant or anything else for that matter and took alignments without an issue. If anyone comprehends my problem, I would appreciate a response. P.S. Also, I have only one key, and the Volvo dealer in my area also could not download a remote and key for my car. They stated that they did not understand why this was the case, except that a previous owner removed the Manufacturer's radio and replaced it with a Valor Multimedia Center which also I struggle to operate. HELP!

 

Ohh many many congrats to your daughter.

 

there's only so many places coolant can go :-)

1. hoses - feel around for spongy hoses and signs of chafing by the clamps and look for any staining. Any signs of drips on ground or wetness on chassis? look around the engine front and rear as well as there are some smaller hoses.
2. Radiator - typically the seams fail first but you could have a pin hole in the core. again look around for staining
3. overflow reservoir - look underneath to see if any drips or signs of a crack
4. heater core - any sweet smell when first starting up in the AM (try turning on the heater first thing) - may require a visual by opening the driver's side of the console
5. turbo seals - any white smoke in the exhaust? any sweet smell in the exhaust? Any oil consumption (say more than 1 Q/1000 miles?)
6. head gasket - any oil foaming on the dipstick or filler cap? any sludge in the coolant reservoir? tests include a coolant HC test, compression/leakdown etc.