Ok, I'm puzzled here. I posted back in april about a coolant leak. Seems coolant is leaking into combustion chamber when engine is hot. I was told to check to see if steam was present out of intercooler which it was. Smoke disappears when intercooler is disconnected. I believe the turbo has coolant leak. I brought the unit to a local shop that rebuilds turbos. He told me the turbo can't leak and drew a little diagram and insisted it was impossible. He said the only way coolant could be escaping through the turbo shaft seals was if it was mixed with oil. This is not the case. He said I probably had a blown head gasket or cracked head. I spoke with a guy with the turbo shop in Houston referenced on several volvo sites and he said it could have a crack in the bearing housing. Now who is correct here??? I believe this local guy is full of BS. But how does he not want to make a sale by at least checking the problem???

Oil is clean, coolant is clean. No cross contamination = good head gasket, right???

 

Ok, I'm puzzled here as well.

It is not common to have coolant leak from turbocharger, as far as I know (but Tech or other members might have seen it). My service manual does not have a cut-away of the turbocharger, so I am not sure where the coolant could leak within the turbocharger. But it is true that the turbocharger on 850s is water-cooled, so there are some small coolant passages. And the only way for it to cause leak is, well, a crack within the housing.

You could perhaps try following:

1. Disconnect compressor outlet piping from the turbocharger.
2. Disconnect the turbine inlet piping from the turbocharger.
3. Pressurise the cooling system with pressure tester.

If the leak is from turbocharger, then you would see coolant dripping from somewhere on the turbocharger. If this is the case, you may want to find a used/rebuilt turbocharger (preferably with some warranty on it).

>Oil is clean, coolant is clean. No cross contamination = good head gasket, right???
I believe it is.

Wait to hear other members' opinions as well, as they might know something I don't. As to your local mechanic, I really don't know what to say. Is he specialising in Swedish/European makes, and is he privy to Volvos? If not, he may need to update his service info.

I hope this gets you started. Wish you luck.


JPN

 

Hi Kanji,

Good to see you back.

John

 

Hi John,

Thanks, I'm really glad to be back.

It took the ISP a month to set up my DSL connection. Many people are now switching over to fibre optics connections so I guess DSL is becoming obsolete.

I now work at Narita Airport in Japan. I'd have to bear life in Japan a bit, but hopefully not too long. I do pretty much the same stuff I did at O'Hare; line maintenance. I'm feeling that newer cars are more sophisticated than airplanes in terms of electronic control systems. One reason, I assume, is that there is a stringent emissions regulations imposed on automobiles, while airplanes can still emit non-regulated exhaust.

Anyway, I hope you're well.


Kanji/JPN

 

I found a great deal on ebay on an oem turbocharger shipped for under $300, so I'm going to try that. Cheaper than a rebuild. If the head gasket is bad (don't believe it is) I'll cross that road when i get there. A new turbo wouldn't hurt, anyway. Next question, is there a good cleaning agent that will remove coolant and buildup in the intercooler and related hoses? I'd like to get all that mess out of there before reinstalling everything.

 

and answer came there none. Did you find out what the problem was? I have very similar symptoms on my 850 t5R.

 

Since someone brought this back to life. Yes you can have a bad headgasket and have no cross contamination between fluids. Sometimes the gasket will fail between cylinders with no fluids involved just very low compression readings side by side. They can also leak in only one direction such as coolant or oil to cylinder. Having the oil and coolant mixing is only one sign of a bad gasket.

 

Hi Thank you very much for your help, much appreciated.

It will be investigated next week, bracing myself for major expense!!