Also check the thermostat.
They are known to break and cause excess pressure and crack the radiators.

 

yup, i already did


thanks for the reminder though

i got it pieced back together and drove it home, it drank some fluid but i think thats just do to the radiator filling back up. hopefully i can call it problem solved

i'll let you know if it acts up again

 

What about epoxy? Shouldn´t that hold?

 

i used this stuff called marine tex i would highly recomend it, it's a sort of paste that drys hard

the stuff is rated for 8000 psi and you can even sand and paint it if you wanted to

i gave it a good hard drive last night after i got it put back together and the radiator seems to be working fine, so i think i can call it job done.

next i really need to tackle my pcv issue, should be interesting

 

Regarding your post saying that you are still losing coolant even if the radiator has been fixed, apparently your are having too much pressure ( i.e. heat) if the coolant is dripping through the breather.

Your thermostat was stuck closed, and you had too much pressure, that is why your radiator cracked. Now that you have fixed the thermostat the extra pressure is being relieved through the breather.

Is your engine fan working correctly? Maybe the fan relay is faulty.

What about temperature readings? Are you sure the engine coolant temperature sensor is ok? That reading is used by the ECU to turn the fan on and thus control the temp. A bad ECT sensor in summer is not very nice on the cooling system or the engine.

 

hmm.... interesting

well i replaced the thermostat like a day before i pulled the radiator so it should be fine (it was already replaced after it blew up my heater core). the fan relay sparks an idea because the fan has been kicking in allot, but on the other hand it is summer here in maryland and it's been is the 90's almost everyday so i really can say for sure that the relay has gone bad. i don't really have any temp readings besides the one in my dash which ever since i fixed the thermostat when the heater core exploded has always read half way when running (which i have read is normal) so acording to that i'm not running hot.

so you are saying maybe the coolant temp sensor? are there any ways i could check those things like the sensor or the relay?

i apreciate the comment, i'm leaving for work now but i will be back on later to see if i can figure this thing out

 

Tech,

What do you think the problem might be? The fan apparently works ok. So does the temp gauge and thus the ECT sensor.

Why is his car spitting coolant out?

 

Not really sure I would have to be there with my pressure tester to look it over.

I think he is saying he sees the coolant coming into the bottle through the little hose.
Which that is also normal.

A laser temp gun would also come in real handy now to see exactly what temp it is running after the car warms up.

 

I was thinking a bit more about this post and I think I was wrong. It´s a closed circuit, so there can´t be a breather. The coolant expansion tank is designed to accomodate the extra pressure, within certain limits of course. Is that correct, Tech? How does it work?

 

ok guys, sorry for the confusion this thing had me stumbled but i now got it. i finally got agrivated enought over the coolant dissapearing. so i jacked it up and pulled the underbody off and sure enough there were puddles of coolant. after further examination i saw the my patch has held completely and done it's job, but the side case has split at the bottom and had been letting coolant out into the underbody but not letting it drip down to the ground (making me puzzled as to where it was going). and with it being so low on the radiator, from uptop you couldn't tell that the sytem was leaking at all. at this point i was totally done screwing with this radiator and went up to autozone and bought a new one for about 200 dollars. so i spent a couple hours swaping them (went by without a catch seeing as i had just taken it out to patch it a week ago) filled her up with coolant and it has been running fine all day.

now the only things i have to fix are my oil leak, replace my heater core, and i really need to do my pcv system soon it's getting pretty bad and i think my engine wouldn't leak as much oil if i can do the pcv, what do you guys think?

as of now i have: swaped my door, patched my radiator,swaped my raiator, fixed my air conditioning, bypassed my heater core, fixed my stereo, put new tires on it, put new exterior trim on it, replaced the washer fluid resivior, replaced the tail light, fixed myodometer, and i'm probably forgetting something

thanks for the help guys

 

Great to hear the problem is fixed. Let´s see what Murphy has to say about that.

 

yeah we will just have to wait and see

 

Hi all -- this thread is HUGELY useful to me - but pls bear with a Brit new to this Forum. My beautiful 850 Volvo 2.5 estate is using oil for the 1st time in its 11 years -- a gallon (5 litres) in a few weeks! I was about to send it to the garage (and take out a 2nd mortgage) when I read about "a blocked breather" as being a possible cause. Yes, the dipstick smokes and oil is spattered across the rocker box cover and around the sipstick. Weirdly, the dipstick had some condensation prior to this - but there is no sign of water loss or usage.The car nowsmokes on heavy acceleration BUT - it does not look as if a seal has gone. So - help pls. Is the breather something I could replace (given reasonable competence)? And any thoughts as to it being this breather? Any help much appreciated... Thanks David

 

do some searches regarding pcv replacement, that might solve some your problems

 

Hello mate,

Greetings from Narita, Japan.

Yes, do some research on the forum regarding the PCV; Volvo's PCV system is unique as compared to the rest of the industry and your 850 may as well need the entire system replaced as a kit.

See attached pics to determine what are involved within the system; different systems are used for Turbo & Non-turbo, as well as model years. http://www.fcpgroton.com/volvo.htm#850

EDIT: Also, check for visible leak; clean the engine and see if there is an external leak. After having replaced the PCV system, replace the oil cap gasket & dipstick O-ring as well. Then, try using full-synthetic 10W-30 for once.

Cheers,


JPN

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Many thanks to JPN and, to Green 850, also thanks...

I will try, and let you (all) know how I get on. Thanks. David