240 Leaking Antifreeze/Coolant
 

I've had my 1990 240 DL for about 3 months and today noticed a small puddle of coolant under the engine on the passenger's side. It doesn't seem to be leaking while driving (or leaks very slowly) but only after running. I did a quick search and read this thread (https://volvoforums.com/forum/volvo-...onfused-51126/) and it sounds like it could be the water pump. It's certainly in the right area. I searched for the coolant trail and it's everywhere, so it's hard to track down the origin.

My questions are:
1- Is the waterpump seal/ coolant out the weep hole a common problem on this model?
2- From one (low) to ten (high) what's the difficulty in changing the pump? I consider myself handy and don't mind swinging wrenches but have never changed a water pump before. I'm looking at these instructions as a guide (Replacing 240 Water Pump at Swedish Auto Parts).

Oh, and it's -30 C where I live so I want to make sure I'm diagnosing this correctly. Any tips? No sense making extra work for myself. Thanks.

If the water pump is 20 years old or has more than 200,000 miles on it, it's over due, for any car. When a water pump is going bad, it usually starts to leak from the weep hole. Hard to say how long it will last, I had one last 2 months before I replaced it. It's also a good idea to wipe it all down and find the spot it's leaking from. I chased a leak for about 2 months once and it was the thermostat seal, $1.53. Hurrah!!!

As for those instructions, search www.MatthewsVolvoSite.com or youtube or somewhere to make sure you are looking at instructions close to your model year. It didn't say if those instructions you linked to were from a 1976 car or what. I can't remember if my B230 motor had the water pump wrapped in the timing belt like the 850's and 960's.

If you are only leaking a little, you may have a little time to replace the pump. Get the part and wait for a warm day or use someone's garage to do it. Brrrrrrrrrrr!!!

Water pump swaps are the same on all the red block motors from 76 to 96. Not terribly difficult. Peculiarities on the Volvo are the 2 rubber seals on the back side. It's important to place them on the coolant pipes rather than the rear of the water pump. Otherwise you'll cut them for sure when installing. HEPU or genuine Volvo are the best. GMB used to be a good name but have a high fail rate these days.
As mentioned, it's important to locate the source of the leak. We use a UV dye at the shop, but the tried and true method is to clean the crap off the motor with a few cans of brake cleaner and wait and watch. Where coolant is on the pavement can be misleading as it can hit a frame rail and land 3 feet from the actual leak.

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Originally Posted by swiftjustice44 (Post 303246)

. Where coolant is on the pavement can be misleading as it can hit a frame rail and land 3 feet from the actual leak.

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Too true. I had a hard to find coolant leak in both my 240 and my 740 last year and they both turned out to be from the same spot: The heater hose had split around the hose clamp where the hose attaches to the block, up under the manifold. I never did actually see the leak; I had to stick my hand up in there and feel it. Both were a real PITA to change, the 740 being slightly less so..

The water pumps on these cars can't get any easier. It really can't. Nothing gets in your way. If you ever changed a water pump on any front wheel drive car you'll appreciate how mechanic friendly your car really is.

Thanks all. I walked through the procedure and it looks simple enough. But I'm going to take rspi's advice and wait until the weather gets a bit warmer. I'll top-up/monitor the coolant levels until then and hopefully it won't get that bad.