So about 2 weeks ago I purchased my first Volvo, a 1998 C70R. Well supposedly R. Did some research and apparently there is no such thing, so must just be an R badge. Any-who, this weekend I took my buddy for a ride and he wanted to see what it could do so I took him on some back roads and let loose, a little too loose... Wound up loosing traction and spun out into a field. But from the road to the field is a little embankment (sp?) and on the way down (backwards at this point) my front end dug into the dirt/grass. Well here is the aftermath; my heat stopped working, it still blows air but cold. and i cracked my radiator, but i filled it back up and is no longer leaking. Wierd thing is though when i run my motor at temp i don't think the radiator is working, if you squeeze the radiator hose it doesn't feel pressurized at all. And if i drive for a little while smoke comes out of my hood and if you pop it and look in the engine bay it seems to be coming from driver-side of the motor. Also check engine light is on. Its about to be winter so i definitely want my heat back, but of course I am most concerned about the fact that my cooling system doesn't seem to be working. Please, any help is VERY much appreciated. Thanks in advance...

 

I suggest you take it in and have it inspected from the air (lift).. Sounds like it took a beating

 

I will bet the radiator is still leaking. If the hose gets soft after a little while that is normal. When the thermostat opens the hoses get softer again. But the thermostat might also be stuck open causing no heat.

 

Thanks for the feedback so far. I have a mechanic friend who is gonna take a look at everything tomorrow, but in the mean time I still want to figure out some ideas... The radiator is definitely not still leaking, I used some stop-leak for a temporary seal (probably should've mentioned that) and the reservoir is staying full. And my motor will get up to temperature, wouldn't the motor stay cold if the thermostat were stuck open?

 

Little update here... I have it at my local Volvo specialist now. Good news- they say its nothing they can't fix. Bad news- my car needs to be fixed, lol. So apparently i have a leaky turbo line/seal. I twisted my radiator bad enough that the mechanic looked SHOCKED that the plug i put in was holding a tight seal. And the check engine light is because somehow i damaged the coolant temp sensor. Now this is just what they gathered from a "once over" looking at everything and running diagnostics. I am praying that its nothing more than what i've mentioned here... PRAY for my baby!

 

Doesn't sound too bad...... I bet you won't be Hot Rodding like that again when you get it back!

 

Wow. Glad you guys weren't hurt.... or the car wasn't more seriously hurt. The first time I put my foot in the C70 and it started to walk sideways I realized the car could get away from you pretty quickly if you weren't prepared for the torque steer. This coming from a guy that rides an 1800cc V-Twin bike! Hope they don't find anything more.... Good luck!

- Goat

 

Wow dude... sounds like you don't really know how lucky you were to walk away with only a busted radiator!

 

Yeah, def no more hotrodding unless its on a straitaway that i know or on the autobahn Also bad news, turns out the sealer I used on the radiator got clogged in the hose before it even made it to the radiator (hense no visual leaking after that). So I was driving for about 3 days thinking everything was fine, all the while I was driving with NO COOLANT Well, there went my head gasket!

 

Ouch. Hope she gets healthy and back on the road soon.

- Goat

 

Well finally got her back last friday... WOOHOO! She's running like new and now i can start saving to do the things that i actually WANT to do to her.

 

Moral of the story: Dont use stop leak!!