Hi all, i've been reading all over the forums about some occurrences that I should be on the lookout for w/ my 98 s70. the head gasket blowing seems to be the death-wish for many and i want to avoid it.

I read a few places that owners first noticed they had to replace their coolant frequently, then overheating, bursting lines, etc.

How often is "too often" to be replacing coolant? I already replaced my heater core about a year ago and since then, I typically have to replace coolant every 2-3 months. is this somewhat normal?

 

What do you mean by "have to replace coolant"? Do you mean top it off?

Most people have blown head gaskets because they simply do not keep their cars repaired or serviced. Regular oil changes and coolant top offs with coolant (not tap water), will help avoid head gasket failures. The #1 cause of a head gasket failure is allowing the car to OVERHEAT. I had over 400,000 miles on one of my cars and never a issue with a head gasket. If you have a coolant leak and don't deal with it, sooner or later it's going to leak enough to cause the car to over heat. Sometimes you may have a water pump failure, hose burst, t-stat fail closed (very rare), or some other issue that will cause the car to over heat and blow the head gasket when the initial problem failed.

Coolant should NOT be leaving the system. If you put a cup in it every 10,000 miles, I wouldn't really worry about it. More than that and you have an issue.

You are driving a pretty old car, things will break and things will happen. Doesn't help to worry about it, just deal with it when it does.

I would say that you should drain/flush your coolant system as often as the manual says, which is never. I have never drained my system but most people say do it every couple of years. I would suggest every 5 years or 50,000 miles.
https://www.customers.volvocars.com/..._130.htm#pg130

So, if you have a leaking radiator, replace it. If you have see that your car is running a little hot, shut it off before the thing overheats. A water pump failure could cause the car to over heat. DO NOT TRY TO MAKE IT THAT LAST MILE OR TWO. IT WILL LIKELY BE THE DEATH OF THE MOTOR.

Remember, there are/were a lot of these cars on the road. Many still are and are now in the hands of foolish young people that like to take risk and look for someone else to bail them out if the car breaks down. I know, I gave a 960 to one of them. Driving around for months with a leaking radiator and a gallon jug in the trunk full of tap water (probably didn't have an oz of coolant in the motor and yes it did finally overheat one night. Yes it was the end of that car). So don't let what you read scare you. Our S70 looses about 4 ozs of coolant every month or two and we have no idea where it's going (actually most of it was going out of a cracked cap). Just try to find the leak and fix it.

 

Thanks rspi...well by replacing I mean topping off, yes. But it is more than a 'cup'. The coolant reservoir gets rather low if not pretty much empty and the 'low coolant' light comes on, at first intermittently. Thats when I look at the level and see that I indeed need to add fluid.

Sounds like this is not normal or optimal...what should I check next?