1990 240 wagon running hot??

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lolo

Hello, my 1990 240 DL wagon's temperature gauge gets up near the red
zone after idleing on a hot day for 20 minutes or so. I have flushed
out the coolant, and after suspecting there was an air bubble in there,
tried to "burp" it through the upper radiator hose, but it was
completely full of coolant.

I should say, I am using regular green coolant and not the Volvo stuff,
because I have a hard time believing there is a difference. Also, I
have no idea if it is original, but the radiator is the Volvo plastic
one. There are only a few things I can think of.

One being the radiator has accumulated gunk or rust along most of the
fins, and is not cooling the coolant properly.

Two, the fan clutch needs to be replaced, but I just swapped mine out
with a different used one, both of which seemed OK (did the "turn off
the car- see if it turns after engine stops" test).

Three - its the temperature compensation board - although the times
that it gets hot make sense because it's always after driving and then
idling for a while in 95 degree weather - although the inside if the
dash could be hot, too, and causing the temp. comp. board to
malfunction. It goes up steadily and slowly, and then I usually shut
off the vehicle, because I'm scared of it overheating. When I start
the vehicle again a few minuted later, it has usually cooled off a
little, but goes right back up close to where it was near the top red
area.

If I go look under the hood while it says it's so hot, though, nothing
feel hotter than normal to my hands. the expansion tank is not
leaking, nor is anything else that I can see. The air blowing into the
cabin gets a little warmer (I think), however. It hasn't happened when
the AC is on, but possibly always when the dash is blowing air at me.
The blower doesn't sound all that great, but, could it be causing
this??
 
lolo said:
Hello, my 1990 240 DL wagon's temperature gauge gets up near the red
zone after idleing on a hot day for 20 minutes or so. I have flushed
out the coolant, and after suspecting there was an air bubble in there,
tried to "burp" it through the upper radiator hose, but it was
completely full of coolant.

I should say, I am using regular green coolant and not the Volvo stuff,
because I have a hard time believing there is a difference. Also, I
have no idea if it is original, but the radiator is the Volvo plastic
one. There are only a few things I can think of.

One being the radiator has accumulated gunk or rust along most of the
fins, and is not cooling the coolant properly.

Two, the fan clutch needs to be replaced, but I just swapped mine out
with a different used one, both of which seemed OK (did the "turn off
the car- see if it turns after engine stops" test).

Three - its the temperature compensation board - although the times
that it gets hot make sense because it's always after driving and then
idling for a while in 95 degree weather - although the inside if the
dash could be hot, too, and causing the temp. comp. board to
malfunction. It goes up steadily and slowly, and then I usually shut
off the vehicle, because I'm scared of it overheating. When I start
the vehicle again a few minuted later, it has usually cooled off a
little, but goes right back up close to where it was near the top red
area.

If I go look under the hood while it says it's so hot, though, nothing
feel hotter than normal to my hands. the expansion tank is not
leaking, nor is anything else that I can see. The air blowing into the
cabin gets a little warmer (I think), however. It hasn't happened when
the AC is on, but possibly always when the dash is blowing air at me.
The blower doesn't sound all that great, but, could it be causing
this??
Big clue that it heats up when idling rather than when you get going. That
rules out the radiator itself, which is worked harder when the engine is
working harder.

Focus on the air flow, but don't forget the coolant flow. The easiest thing
to do is to wash out the radiator fins with an air hose - doing that from
the engine side toward the front is best.

The fan clutch should be pretty solid when the engine is hot. Even though
not freewheeling, it may not have enough moxie to turn the fan. Let the
engine get hot, stop the engine and turn the fan with your fingers. There
should be quite a bit of resistance, so that if you try to spin the fan it
stops dead as it leaves your fingers.

Do you have an auxiliary electric fan? If so, is it running when the engine
is hot?

Mike
 
Michael Pardee said:
The easiest thing to do is to wash out the radiator fins with an air hose

Water hose. I should go to bed. Or maybe take an air shower....

Mike
 
AAAArrrgh! of course! There are about a million bugs stuck on the
front of the radiator, and I never once thought that it could be
interfering with air flow. I looked at them a bunch when I first
bought it two months ago. DUH. I will also test the fan clutch, but I
am 99% sure that if I do as you suggested with the air hose, it will be
fine. That makes so much sense! The gauge very slowly gets hotter and
hotter when idleing, but never quite goes over the top. Damn
dragonflies.

Thanks, that was exactly what I was looking for.
 
Consider switching to a "cooler" thermostat.
Actually, if the temperature is building up a hotter thermostat works
better. More heat is lost as the hotter coolant enters the radiator, so the
radiator output is cooler. Once the system is overheated it doesn't matter
at all, of course.

Mike
 
lolo said:
It hasn't happened when
the AC is on, but possibly always when the dash is blowing air at me.
The blower doesn't sound all that great, but, could it be causing
this??
Thinking outside of the brick:
I have an electric cooolingfan in my 242.
You might consider swapping for an electric one (junkyard), then a
thermoswitch, an relay and use the thermoswitch as the "remote" for the relay.
Ps. the problem might also just be your instrument-cluster! I would also
consider putting an larger radiator. I would think the diesel-cars come with a
better one, or you might consider the radiator from an A/T car, if your car has
manual, as I think that one is all-alu and therefore cools better.
 
I was thinking that the current thermostat, whatever its temperature
range may be, could be sticking intermittently.

Consider removing the radiator and taking it to a radiator shop for
testing.
 
The thermostat is brand new, forgot to mention that... Testing the
radiator is a good idea, it could be that some of the fins are clogged,
so when I am driving it, the working ones are sufficient, but while
sitting in the heat, it ain't.

I hope it's not my cluster, I hate electrical problems....

thanks for the good suggestions!

loren
 
Just went and took a closer look at the front of the radiator.
rediculous. I'd say 60 to 70 percent of it was clogged with bugs and
hay. I forgot the previous owner lived in the country... How was the
air shower Michael??

I cleaned it out partly with a (don't laugh) barbeque brush, gently of
course, and I will hose it down tomorrow when it's light out. I
believe that will prove to be the only problem...

It's always the simplest things that get overlooked in my world.....
oh, well, that's what ya'll are for. "does it have gas in it Loren?"
"uuuhhhhhhhh. do what now???"

thanks

loren
 
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