Smoke and Coolant
 

Couple of things going on. I have noticed smoke coming out from under my hood but have never been able to spot where it was coming from, today it happened again and I checked right away and it is coming from the dip stick tube. It's not a lot of smoke, just enough to be visible. I don't know what it could be. Any suggestions or ideas on where to start?

Also, after finding out where the smoke was coming from, I had noticed that there was coolant sprayed over half of the top of the engine. I could tell that the source of the spray had come from somewhere on the driver's side front half of the engine. I could not see anything as it was almost dark out. I am going to take a closer look tomorrow, but if anyone has any ideas about that it would be a great help.

Thank you very much in advance.

smoke bellowing from the dipstick tube means you have to service your vent (pcv)system.it is clogged and overpressurizing your engine.as far as the coolant i am clueless and curious to find out what it could be.did you check all hoses from the radiator?

if its on the driver side front half of the motor its almost gotta be from the coolant hose that comes from the radiator to the back of the motor i would think. unless it is one of the coolant plug bolts on the side of the motor and it is spraying just right....

That's what my dad was thinking. If the vent is clogged on the pcv system, is that something that I can clean, or would I have to replace it?

My first thought was that it would be a coolant hose from the radiator, but looking at where the source of the spray was isn't by the radiator, there is coolant that was sprayed in the direction of the radiator, so I don't think it was coming from there. I'll check today once I'm done with work now that it's light out.

alot of ppl. try to clean all the hoses and the oil trap but i always suggest replacing all components.the biggest reason why is because you need to remove the intake manifold.if you dont clean something right or miss something you are going to have to redo the process,which is a pain.but alot of ppl. have been ok just cleaning it.so its up to you if you can afford it replace it

They don't look like they're too expensive to replace, only about a hundred bucks. How difficult is it to replace the pcv system?

I did find where the coolant was coming from, the upper radiator hose had a crack in it, and it was spraying coolant over the engine to the driver side. That was an easy fix, hopefully I can get this pcv system taken care of.

Thanks for all of your help though.

Do the 850's even have a PCV Valve? Or do they just have the oil trap?

just oil trap and associated hoses.i see you have a turbo so you also want to clean the ptc real good. its not a hard job,just a pain in the neck..the intake manifold needs to come off.once that is done the rest is really simple.

heres a great write-up with pictures...

http://www.lakesidedp.com/uploadpics/pcv/

What is the PTC? I got a date set next weekend to replace the oil trap and clean all of the associated hoses and openings. I think this oil trap is the culprit for a few oil leaks that I have as well. Hopefully this clears things up. Thanks for all of your help.

PTC Valve, PCV system
 

Hi, The PTC valve is situated at the bottom of the hose that connects the Air Filter Box (TURBO written on it) to the turbo (17 in diagram). It has two Rubber hoses attached (PCV Hoses) and a electric plug (o2 Sensor, check this as if it comes loose you'll get a Lambda light come up on your dash).
Its better to take the whole hose off, then you can get to the PTC Valve, pull it out as its inserted using a rubber gromit, and give it a good clean.
Sometimes this will cure your smoking dipstick, in my case, nope, i have to get my whole PCV system changed, like someone else said, no point cleaning it, i agree, no point as oil will only get clogged up again so best to change whole system. Volvo quoted £360 for whole lot, incl. parts, vat and labour. Its not hard to do yourself but you need to buy the whole kit, plus spare tubes incase any other ones split when theyre being handled.
Instructions on how to do it are out there in forums, good hunting.
have included a picture of the PTC system for a start.
(many many thanks to the people who do this, lifes so much easier with pictures! lol)

Anyhoo I snapped the main PCV breather hose when i cleaned my PTC valve as the hose was made from hard plastic with a soft heat protector outer cover. I did a leg it and bodge it job for now by connecting both pieces back together with a piece of garden hose! lol. took it out for a spin, in other words ragged it, no probs. But am definately going to change the whole PCV system before my rear oil seal starts leaking.

(Proud owner of a 1994 850 T5 Turbo Estate Auto, a few problems with it but still better to do up then chop in, my 3 kids love it (room and power), Dog loves it (loads of room for him, big old german shephard), misses loves it (knowing we're all safe) & I love it, specially that button thats says 'Sport mode' he he

Haha, thanks, but this has been long taken care of. The coolant was a cracked hose, replaced the PCV system, didn't help, it's probably the piston rings.

Hate to say it but this is exactly what I saw on mine when it overheated.

The coolant was a cracked top radiator hose, so it had nothing to do with the engine overheating. And the seal on the dipstick was bad allowing smoke from the dipstick tube to find its way past the dipstick. Everything has been taken care of...except the smoke from the dipstick tube.

Guess i was tempting fate cos my rads now blown.....oh well, time to get the cheque book out...again. :0)

I would still get the PCV changed as soon as you can. A clogged PCV is not something you want to just let go. If it gets really bad, you could blow a RMS.

Who are you referring to?

I was referring to you gilber. That is the cause of the smoking dipstick.

I have replaced the PCV system, cleaned the PTC system, fixed the radiator hose, I have bad rings hence the smoke. Everything that has been talked about in this thread has been taken care of.

Me i guess, have a blocked PCV system, not too bad as im only getting a bit of smoke coming from dipstick, but i have a few more probs, blown rad for one, went to take it out today and noticed some drops from bottom left of rad, tried bar leak, didnt work, tried metal epoxy, worked until i slammed the bonnet! oops, guess that stuff isnt as flexbile as stated. Just gonna have to dig deep and get a new radiator,
Is there anyway i can lift my radiator out of the volvo without having to drop it out of bottom, get it on ramps, stands etc..
Plus Ive been looking at V70 T5's to maybe buy as another car, dont know wether to keep my old 94' 850 (and totally repair it) or chop it in (once rads repaired) for a V70 T5? Opinions?

oops guess not me then i guess lol