Hi,
I've just purchased a 99 v70 Cross country with 2050000km on the clock.

The low coolant light keeps comming on. when I check under the bonnet the fluid is below the min mark but when I loosen th cap coolant flows back into the resevoir, However the is also some loss of coolant as the level is lower than before. It seems to be getting progressively worse as this afternoon the resevoir was completley empty even though I topped it up only 80 km before.
What's really baffling me is that I can find no sign of a leak or any puddles under the car and I'm wondering where the fluid could be going ?

Does any one have any Ideas ?


P.S. the engine management light has also come on could this be related ??
Looking forward to your replys

 

Hello, How recently did you buy this car? Cold weather makes white "smoke" at the tail pipe, which is evidence of water, more visible. That would point to a bad head gasket which is, I believe, not a common problem - but it does happen. If you have air and a compression gauge blow out any dirt from the spark plug recesses, remove the plugs and do a compression check. Everything seems dry you say? Remove the RF wheel and peel back the plastic fender liner (remove 2 or 3 nuts) and look above the lower right engine mount. You'll be closer to the water pump and it's worth a look. If tha'st your "Check Engine Light" you're referring to; get it read and look up the code. Also, check the oil for a "creamy, tan colored goo". This can be found on the inside of the oil fill cap and sometimes on the dipstick. That's evidence of a gasket leak. Kira

 

+1 to what George suggested.

In addition also ck for damp carpet inside; i.e. leaking heater core.

And ck the CEL for codes; they're there to try to tell you what's wrong..

 

Thanks for the replies guys.

George/gdog, I bought the car in February and have put around 3000 kms on it since then. I did notice a slight mist from the exhaust on start up, but it doesn't do it all the time. I also forgot to mention that the car has never started as well as my previous 850 which fired up first time everytime. The Cross Country needs to be cranked for a couple of seconds in the morning and generally takes two bites of the cherry before firing up. it then runs rough ( like a cylinder is not firing ) for a moment or two before settling down. It will also do this some times when hot.
I spoke to a mechanic who works on Volvos this morning and told him about the coolant loss and the first thing he asked was if it was slow to start ( which it is ) and he to thought it might be a leaking Head Gasket as well. He thought the engine management light ( I'm not sure if this is the same as the check engine light, which my car doesn't have.) might be coming on because the emission sensors may be detecting water vapor in the exhaust gasses ?? . He quoted me $3000 to replace the head gasket and all cooling system hoses.
Anyway the car is off to my mechanics in Sydney in the morning so I'll Find out what's going on and I'll keep you all posted.
I just want to get it sorted before any major damage occurs and the repair bills get any larger.
Apart from this annoying problem I am extremely happy with the car and as much as I loved the old 850 the Cross Country is far superior in performance and handling. I just don't want to see any more warning lights glowing on my dash.
Sorry for the length of this post, but thanks for your interest and suggestions.
Will let you all know how I get on.
Cheers,
Dean.