Hello,

I'm about to buy a 1997 volvo 850r with ~180000 miles. I'm buying it from a dealership and they let me test drive it for a few days for half down(refundable). There are a few issues with it, but it runs and drives good.

The 2-3 things I'm worried about -

The dipstick smokes - definitely smells like coolant. I've read this is probably the PCV kit and could be fixed for less than 200, but I've also read there are a number of people who have done the PCV and still have a smoking dipstick issue. How big of an issue is a smoking dipstick on this car, and how easy is it to fix?? Is the common issue I'm reading about supposed to smell like coolant??

The radiator fan doesn't ever seem to come on - drove it for 20 minutes accelerating pretty hard and checked under the hood. Fan isn't running. Coolant reservoir sounds like its boiling and there is a pinhole that leaks coolant.

There is coolant/oil everywhere on the bottom of the engine.. like its covered.. I'm assuming its from the leak in the resevoir and coolant coming back up the dipstick.


All that said, the car drives pretty well for a 16 year old car.. Accelerates smooth with no strange noises, brakes are in good condition, 4 decent tires.. The transmission is a "little" rough under full acceleration, but that's about the only noticeable driving issue.

I'm going to take it to a volvo shop tomorrow but I have to make a decision tomorrow on it so I'm trying to get as much info as possible.

Price is 1400, I probably only have 6-800 on top of that to fix anything.. Do you think its a good deal??

 

Dipstick smoking when it's off, or on?

Coolant smell actually coming from the crankcase could be very bad. What does the coolant look like? Is it milky? There should be no coolant in the oil!

Get it checked by a Volvo tech like your doing..

 

Smokes while on and shortly after its off

Coolant is a little low and a little milky.

It doesn't look like there is coolant in the oil, it looks just like brown oil on the dipstick and a paper towel, but it definitely smells like coolant is burning from the dipstick..

 

A good rule of thumb is when it's running and puffing- PCV system is clogged. When it's off and does it, that's pretty normal because of the vapors and blow-by that haven't been removed by the PCV hang out.

If you can take pics of the coolant and post them that would be best

 

I'll get pictures in a second.. Do you think the fact that the smoke coming from the dipstick smells like coolant is a bigger issue than the PCV?

 

I'm not an expert by any means so take my advice with a grain of salt. But it COULD be a head gasket issue. That's why you really need to see if there's coolant in the oil for sure. Get a leak down test done at the mechanic you're going to see

 

here are some pictures of the coolant.

 

I am no Volvo expert (very new to Volvos), but yes coolant from the dipstick would be a MUCH bigger issue.

 

Ya when I first noticed it I said to myself "head gasket" and was ready to walk away... Then I read online about the pcv thing being kinda common, and didn't know if it was supposed to smell like coolant and if volvos have some weird evap system.

And then I drove it (hard) for 20 minutes and it didn't even think about overheating.

And then I think I may just be getting overly attached to it(something about a turbo station wagon that just gets me) and making excuses for something that seems very wrong.

 

It could still have a very very small leak, just enough to put a little coolant into the crankcase. But hey if anything get that HG problem on paper, and show the dealer and tell them you want it for dirt cheap, then fix it up.

 

That looks fine, not milky.

Running straight Ethylene glycol I see. No huge biggie but you really should use genuine volvo stuff if you do buy it..

 

either that or all the water boiled out already..

 

Hi and welcome to the site.

There is no reason that you should smell coolant in the oil dip stick. These cars have strange head gasket leaks. We drove with one bad for over a year and it finally over heated when it leaked all the coolant out. Lot of work and cost us $850.

 

 

 

Thanks for the videos.

Timing belt - 153k
Suspension mounts, CVs, engine mounts look good
Ac compressor clicks on and off every 3-5 seconds with ac on. Going to test drive it in a little to see if it shuts off and kicks on like you describe, but I think its low on freon. Will also let it idle and check for smoke.
Pcv is obviously shot.

Checked the RMS.. there is so much coolant and dirt on the bottom I can't even see if oil is leaking. It did leak something in my driveway - not sure if oil or really dirty coolant.

 

The coolant leak under the car may be what you are smelling. I would drain the oil into a pan and see if it looks like coolant is in the oil. It should look like creamy coffee if coolant is mixing in the oil.

You do need to figure out where the coolant is leaking from. That is playing engine roulette.

 

I agree I definitely wanna find the leak.

One more update, no smoke after 20 minute test drive and revving after idling.

 

Good.

 

Ok. So when I was checking for smoke in the exhaust, I checked the dipstick one more time, and you might be right. The actual smoke coming from the dipstick smells a little sweet, but that might be from the coolant leaking elsewhere. The oil on the dipstick and oil under the cap definitely looks just like oil, no coolant, definitely not like creamy coffee.

The leak in the coolant reservoir runs towards the engine, and leaks down the left side of the engine block. I think this combined with the gases coming up the dipstick might be what most of the leakage under the hood is from.

From everything i can tell there is no oil in the coolant and no coolant in the oil. Hopefully its just the PCV kit, coolant resevoir, and maybe another small coolant leak and she'll be good to go. At this point I'm gonna wait and take it to the shop tomorrow - if I spend anymore time under the hood checking stuff out I'm gonna have to buy it just on principle.