ok, so this 96 turbo brick i bought for $900 is starting to **** me off. Went to the mechanics to pick up the car today, he did a timing belt and water pump ( i don't have the time to do it myself). I live over an hour away from this place too. He finished about 15min before I arrived, apparently they like to procrastinate, they have had the car for two weeks, and the engine fan was not working and the engine was overheating when I got there. While the vehicle is running, when I squeeze the upper coolant hose, it is very pliable and doesn't feel like much coolant is running through it. Also, there is a high pitched, consistent whine in the engine, (this was also there before the work was done) which makes me think he installed the water pump backwards??? The vehicle has 170k on it, and I know the previous owner bought it with 30k and never did the timing belt and water pump. When i turned the heater on full heat and blower, i could also smell coolant in the vents. and the engine fan does not turn on at all. Anyone... any ideas? I don't want to get had on this, because I think the mechanic has no clue. I left it there for now and told him to try to figure out what is wrong and let me know. What do you think?

 

Usually a whine is due to one of the belts or the tensioners.

Regarding the coolant, have him check the hose connections at the firewall and the heater core.

The fan relay is probably screwed up, or the coolant temp sensor is not working. Does the temp gauge on the instrument cluster show reasonable temps? I so, the coolant temp sensor is ok,

These problems are pretty standard. Don't worry, just post here and you will solve them at minimal cost.

Good luck!

 

ok ty axel. No, the coolant temp gauge shows nothing.. Here is the kicker.. The temp gauge and engine fan worked before i brought it to the shop.... are the two failing related or a wEIRD coincidence?

I did check the hoses at the firewall in the engine compartment and the heater core. No leaks. I guess the overheating could be due to a stuck closed heater core, correct? However, I was getting heat through the interior vents...

 

The coolant hoses should have some pressure to them when hot-not so much when its cold. The service shop should have a pressure gauge tool that connects to where the radiator cap is. It pressures the system up and from there you can see if there are any leaks and what not. I just had this done to my jeep.

 

This car does not have a radiator cap.

 

I think the ECU receives the temp signal from the engine coolant temp (ECT) sensor and turns the fan on when necessary. If your there is no ECT signal then I suppose the fan won´t work and the temp gauge will be minimum. But then again, I am not a mechanic.

 

You should have a code stored if the ECT is dead. Code 1-2-3 means ECT signal faulty/missing.

 

>ok, so this 96 turbo brick i bought for $900 is starting to **** me off.
OK, welcome to the club[8D].


>He finished about 15min before I arrived, apparently they like to procrastinate, they have had the car for >two weeks,
Ridiculous, Avada Kedavra[8D].


>and the engine fan was not working and the engine was overheating when I got there. While the vehicle >is running, when I squeeze the upper coolant hose, it is very pliable and doesn't feel like much coolant is >running through it.
A good hose is actually pliable (flexible). However, if you do not feel heat on the upper hose after running the engine for 10 minutes or longer, something is wrong.

Squealing is probably from the belt or one (or more) of the pulleys, as Axelm has noted. Timing belt should not squeal, as it is a cogged belt and if it were slipping, your engine has already been toast.

>I know the previous owner bought it with 30k and never did the timing belt and water pump.
I call them "Average Drivers"[8D]. They never follow scheduled maintenance.

I would forget the mechanic you've been using.

How is the coolant level in the expansion reservoir? If low, there is a leak and keep topping up with 50:50 mixture of coolant & distilled water until you have located & repaired the leak. Some coolant temp sensors have to be immersed in the coolant, otherwise they register at the coldest position.

If you can find an adapter, you can still pressure-test the cooling system with a pressure tester via expansion reservoir, where the cap is installed.

Installing the water pump backward is nearly impossible, unless one really dares to force it[8D].

For cooling fan diagram, see: https://volvoforums.com/m_73056/tm.htm

I hope this narrows down the problem.


JPN

 

so.... could all this be from just a leak? The upper and lower hoses are both leaking slightly... but if it is just a leak would it be overheating? BTW, the upper hose does get hot, so there is coolant running through it.
or.....
are the coolant temp sensor and heater core bad? Either way.. I think i'm just going to have it towed back to my garage and work on it.
and yes, jpn is right, one of the pulleys need replacing, which is the cause for whine. thx again for all the help.

 

Did they change the thermostat?

 

Can UV reactive be added to the cooling system to see where it is leaking?

 

A black light will pick up on the coolant just like it would dye.
So no need to add the dye just use a black light and look for GREEN.

 

Popular causes of OVHT:

1. Low coolant level.

2. Thermostat stuck closed (though they often get stuck-open and cause over-cooling).

3. Inside the radiator has gone south with corrosion/gunk, due to neglect (coolant should be changed at every 3 years /30,000 miles. Not sure about the long-life version that seems to go for 10 years/100,000 miles; I still would change it a lot sooner than those figures).

4. Incorrect ignition timing (code(s) should be stored in the ECU if this was the case, as the ignition timing on modern cars is not adjustable; it's all in the computer's memory).

5. Faulty cooling fans.

6. Excessive load on the engine (going very steep uphill in low gear, with A/C on).

7. Faulty water pump.

Now that Tech is back, the problem would be fixed soon.

Best of luck,


JPN

 

Being stuck open will cause a overheating issue on the highway.
The coolant will flow to fast through the radiator and will not get cooled off causing the overheating.

 

yeah my bet is on the thermostat, happend to mine

i would get it changed quick it's only a 5 dollar part that you can get almost anywhere, and takes about 2 min to install. mine stuck and caused my heater core to explode. ( no fun)

does it bubble allot in the resivior?

 

Thanks Tech, I'm learning something new everyday.


JPN

 

no, they haven't changed it.... i'm probably going to have it towed today, so i'll definitely be working on it within the next few days.

 

Well, I finally have the wagon back, after the mechanic screwed me... AGAIN!!! At least I am finally getting somewhere with this thing. New timing belt/water pump, new sway bar links, new coolant temp sensor/t-stat. Now I just need to do the heater core (can smell coolant coming from the vents inside) and I believe the steering pump pulley is shot because that is where the loud whining noise is coming from. After that, the upper spring seats/strut mounts and she SHOULD be good to go......