Hey all,

I have a 98V70. Last night I came back from a 3500 mile trip. The car behaved mostly fine, except for a couple of problems.

1. when I was almost home, the radiator started to leak. It looks like it's leaking somewhere along the edge of the radiator on the passenger side. I noticed some steam coming off when parked at a stop light. At this point I was still about 400 miles away from home, and I just pressed on since I needed to get home for work. I just bought some coolant and kept on refilling it every 100 miles or so. I have the theory that the radiator failed due to increased pressure inside the cooling system, due to problem #2 below. But before we get to that:

Do you guys know how difficult it is to change the radiator, and what else is needed, besides the radiator itself? Any write ups that you know about?

2. This is a problem that I thought I had solved, but that apparently came back. In point of fact, it might be the cause of the radiator leak. A few weeks back, I thought I had a leaky reservoir, and replaced it. During the aforementioned trip, I realized that the new cap and reservoir were still leaking when the car is under a heavy load, like at highway speeds. I think that the coolant was coming off the cap. So, I just bought some coolant and added it every now and then. I also smelled the coolant in the reservoir (which I hadn't done before) and realized that it smelled of exhaust gases or something similar. I am thinking head gasket, but there is no water in the oil, and no oil in the coolant; the spark plugs are not fouled up; the car does not overheat, and it works fine. So the questions here would be:

Is there any other way for exhaust gases to get into the cooling system, besides the head gasket? In other words, is there anything else that might be causing the increased pressure inside the cooling system?

3. Also yesterday, towards the end of the trip, I heard a noise that I hadn't heard before. When idling, theres is a noise that seems to be coming from the power steering area, and it sounds maybe like a wheel bearing going bad or something metallic rubbing against something else. Additionally, this morning the car almost stalled twice, briefly, and the TRACS OFF and ABS ligths came on for a second twice (it coincided with the car almost stalling). There is no check engine light on or anything.

Can the ABS or related issues stall the car, or was this just maybe that the lights came on as though the car was stalling?

 

I'll discuss your purported head gasket failure. Short answer...........head gasket is A-OK. Most often when the gasket fails you will trail a plume of white smoke out the tail pipe. What occurs is the coolant/water is drawn into the cylinder and when that cylinder fires the heat turns the liquid to steam and it exits as such from the tail pipe. I am sure TECH will discuss your other issues.

r.

 

Reg,

Thanks for the answer. That's the thing, I don't really see any steam or white smoke coming out of the tailpipe. And like I said, outside of the increased pressure in the cooling system as well as the smell (with the corresponding expelling of coolant through the reservoir cap), there is no other sign of a head gasket failure.

 

You couldnt be more wrong, i have NEVER had a headglasket be blown and cause it to (burn the coolant while running) I know that they will do that, but i've never seen it on a volvo, so dont assume because it isnt smoking it isnt the headgasket.. you need to pressure test the cooling system, a dealer will charge you like 40$ and tell you what all is leaking..

 

thanks for your response. Just a follow up question. Can a pressure test tell you whether you have a blown head gasket?

 

absolutely, The easiest way if you have multiple leaks, example, the expansion tank, or the radiator, would be to put some tracer dye in the coolant, and drive it for a day or 2, then check it with the black light, it will show all the leaks also..

 

i guess i also failed to mention, if the headgasket is leaking internally you wont see coolant on the outside of the engine, the pressure gauge will still drop, but you wont see the leak, This could cause it to smoke on startup until the cylinders burn the coolant off, OR it could be leaking coolant into the engine oil, causeing it to look like a milkshake, if thats the case, that is bad and could ruin your engine.


Another thing, does the car seem to overheat?

 

Volvotechy,

The car does not overheat, and it doesn't have coolant in the oil. The only symptom I have is the increased pressure in the reservoir, to the point that it expels the coolant through the cap, and the burnt smell.

If it were a head gasket, what am I looking at here? Can I drive it around town? How much can I expect to pay for this? Any additional advice?

Thanks.

 

I have seen many White engines with the head gasket blown into the chambers making them smoke like crazy.

The second (see first thing below) thing I would do is stop by local auto parts store and see if they carry a Block test kit. It tests for exhaust gasses in the coolant system.

It is a tube with a rubber end. You pour some liquid into the tube and start the car. Then let it sit for a few some even have a rubber plunger type thing to squeeze like a turkey baster to help things along.

If the liquid turns from Blue to Green/Yellow the head gasket is blown.

But I think what is being missed in this entire post till now is a simple main part to the cooling system.

How old is the thermostat?

If it is broke that can very well explain the excess pressure in the system pushing pressure out of the coolant bottle and also causing the radiator to split due to way to much pressure.

If the thermostat is old I will bet that is the cause of all the problems now.

 

I seriously doubt its the T-stat. If it was it would either get hot, and he'd see that on the temp gauge, or it wouldnt get hot at all, and thus it would throw the infamous ECT 1-2-3, for the ECT sensor..

Your also forgetting the fact that the radiator cap is set for 22psi, it will pop off (not the cap but the part in the cap, like a blow off valve)and allow coolant to come out of the jug before it blows hoses or damages other parts of the car..


Sounds to me like you have multiple issues..

All could be caused by 1 problem, or not maintaining the car. I have seen ALOT of radiators leak and the pass side on the bottom, And as for the coolant res. Replace all of the clamps..

usally the hot/cold cycles reak havok on the types of clamps volvo uses..

 

Yes the cap is set to do that but it doesn't always release.

I have seen to many broken thermostat's lead to a ton of problems in the rest of the system.

 

Sounds to me TECH that in my 50 years of auto repair and your Volvo exclusive repair knowlege of many years "just ain't up to par". I guess we'll have to sit back and let the expert teach us.............

r.

 

What the hell is that suppose to mean?

i guess my 10years of volvo exclusive knowledge doesnt mean anything either..

50years of auto repair doesnt mean anything to me, i work with guys that have toolboxes older than me, and they cant fix a sandwich.

 

Another thing that was totally missed in all the explinations was that the car had never overheated at any time so there would be no reason for the headgasket to blow. They don't just fail for no reason.

For weird problems like this I have seen way to many broken thermostats be the cause of problems.

The only headgaskets I have seen blow were because the cooling system failed causing the motor to overheat and blow the gasket.

Thats why I still say thermostat.

 

Could be the t-stat, But headgaskets can leak without being overheated. Although rare, i have seen them leak, with no overheating and no smoking on startup or at anypoint, just the occasional few drops on the ground..

But i still think the t-stat either would cause it to overheat, or not get hot at all..

 

First, my apologies for not answering sooner - I was at work. I also want to thank you for all your responses.

Second, indeed the t-stat has not been changed since one of the bolts is stripped. I asked about how to get it out elsewhere in this very same forum, and TECH gave me some pointers on how to do it, but I have been busy with the trip and work. Any additional suggestions on how to get it out would be greatly appreciated.

I think that I will first try to change the t-stat and obviously the radiator, and see what happens. In my short ownership of it, the car has never overheated. I have dealer records up to 2006, and then the previous owner (who seemed like an honest, decent person, but who knows ) said he had kept up with all the maintenance with a local mechanic and that's why he didn't have any records. He had recently changed the timing belt and the MAF sensor.

I asked a local Volvo mechanic who changed the trans fluid and cleaned the TB, and he said that he had almost never seen a blown head gasket in a Volvo (and I live in Tucson, which gets pretty damn hot during the summer). Like I said, the car performs fine, no misfires, not loss of power, no water in the oil, and no white smoke. During the trip, it accelerated just fine, and it never felt underpowered or anything.

So I guess the only sure way to know would be to find a kit like TECH suggested. I am a natural pessimist, so I am bracing myself for the worst. If I were to have a blown head gasket, what price range would I be looking at to repair it? I really like the car, so I would be sad if I had to junk it.

P.S.1 What is the name of that Volvo dealer somewhere in the Midwest that sells reasonably-priced parts? I have read about it in this forum, but I can't seem to find it just now. I wanted to call and ask about the radiator.

P.S.2 Does anyone know of a good write up to change the radiator?

 

Well, the more i think about this the more i am a little pissed at reg's comments, that i beleive are directed twards me. So, ill put it this way, If a customer brings you a car, that according to them, has never overheated, and runs fine, BUT there is enough pressure in the cooling system to cause it to exceed the 22psi and boil out of the cap, how in the hell will a thermostat cause that? IT CANNOT. now, the t-stat could be the main source of the whole intire problem, but it is not the current problem causeing the coolant to still come out of the jug. If the t-stat is broken it will A: cause the car to overheat, B: cause the car to not get up to operating temp. Which in turn will cause driveability issues, such as Check Eng Light with ECT-1-2-3 codes. However, this person mentions no check engine lights, with car running at normal operating temps. The person he bought the car off of, probably had a bad t-stat, that overheated the car, causing it to blow the Headgasket, He changed the T-stat and stripped the bolt. and now this guy has his current issues..

But a thermostat alone will not cause this problem..
So. Since you have 50years expeirence in auto repair, you explain to me, how a thermostat is causing the excessive pressure in the coolant system..

 

I am trying to stay out of the argument since I don't really know one way or the other.
On the other hand, I did not change the t-stat nor did I strip the bolt.

So, I'll rephrase: what am I looking at, in terms of money, to repair a potentially blown head gasket? ballpark?

Also, does anyone know that dealer I am talking about, that sells parts over the phone?

Again, thanks for all your help.

 

To replace the headgasket alone would run you close to 1500$ if not a touch more, BUT if it has been hot, and warped the head, which could also be the cause it could cause double that..

 

Sorry but I have seen the thermostats do that. They are stuck almost all the way closed causing excess pressure in the system but it is still moving enough to not overheat the motor.
Seen it way to many times on all hte models from the 240 all the way up to the S80.

rmendoza Maybe the Dealer you are thinking about is http://erievovo.com/ I know there was another one out there to. I know they list alot of parts on e-bay as well.