Cause of coolant leak in the 850 cabin

  • Thread starter Thread starter Fred
  • Start date Start date
F

Fred

Dear All,

I need help!

I was cleaning my 96, 850 car the other day and noticed some spillage
on the floor carpet of the drivers side. At first I thought it was due
to melting snow but that was not the case, because the color was
greenish. On close scrutiny i realised this was engine coolant.
However, this leak has not affected the engine temp which is normally
at the 3 pm position. I checked the coolant level in the reservior and
its also ok.
I also opened the hood and touched the two hoses that feed the heater
core and they are not that hot..you can hold on them for a minute
without being burned!



Qn: Do I need to replace the heater core? Why do I only get heat after
the car has warmed up?

Thank you for your advice and help.

Frederick
 
In an earlier contribution to this discussion,

Why do I only get heat after the car has warmed up?
What do you expect?!
--
Cheers,
Roger
______
Email address maintained for newsgroup use only, and not regularly
monitored.. Messages sent to it may not be read for several weeks.
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Fred said:
Dear All,

I need help!

I was cleaning my 96, 850 car the other day and noticed some spillage
on the floor carpet of the drivers side. At first I thought it was due
to melting snow but that was not the case, because the color was
greenish. On close scrutiny i realised this was engine coolant.
However, this leak has not affected the engine temp which is normally
at the 3 pm position. I checked the coolant level in the reservior and
its also ok.
I also opened the hood and touched the two hoses that feed the heater
core and they are not that hot..you can hold on them for a minute
without being burned!



Qn: Do I need to replace the heater core? Why do I only get heat after
the car has warmed up?

Thank you for your advice and help.

Frederick
Click to expand...
Yes the heater core is on its way out this is what supply's heat to the
cabin since you do not really say how long the engine was running before
you touched the heater hoses they should be hot you may have 2 problems
if you never have had the thermostat replaced now is the time along with
the heater core there are still another 2 months of winter & if you live
in a cold climate then you really do not want to be without heat now
Glenn K
Volvo Certified Technician
ASE Certified Technician


--
"*-344-*Never Forgotten"
Is for the New York City Firemen who lost their lives on September 11,2001.
The official count is 343, but there was also a volunteer who lost his life
aiding in the initial rescue efforts. And I will never forget them as
long as I live,
nor should any American.
 
Roger said:
In an earlier contribution to this discussion,

Why do I only get heat after the car has warmed up?


What do you expect?!
Click to expand...

It's not that unreasonable a question. I get heat in my 850 before the
temperature gauge has even moved, in only about 3/4 mile to a mile.
It's got heat incredibly quickly, faster than my Hondas were, faster
than my BMW is, much faster than anything I've ever owned before, in
fact. (Hey, ya don't think it gets cold where it was built, do ya?)

And...once the car is fully warmed up, the heater will not-so-slowly
cook you in your own juices here in upstate NY.

JRE
 
Hi Frederick,

I hope I'm not too late with this warning:
Don't try to dry out the coolant soaked carpet within the car by applying
hot air from e.g a hair dryer.
I've just experienced a similar leak in our '93 240 Classic and, like you
assumed it was water. I pulled out all loose carpets and mats and propped
up the main carpet in the driver's footwell. I then placed a hair dryer
under that carpet to dry it and the floor below. This had proved effective
on previous water leaks. The loose carpet and mats were hung up to dry
indoors. The result some hours later, despite having all the windows ajar,
was a coating of antifreeze on the inside of all the windows and other
surfaces of the interior and this has proved to be very difficult to remove
completely. (The car was outside in frosty weather. The antifreeze on the
carpet had been vaporized by the hot air and had then condensed on the cold
surfaces in the car.) The loose carpets failed to dry. The retained an oily
coating of antifreeze.

The only solution seemed to be to first thoroughly wash and rinse the loose
carpets and mats and then allow them to dry. The main carpet was washed and
rinsed and mopped up, with difficulty, in the car and then dried.

Lesson learned.................................

Good luck with your repairs.
Andy I.



: Dear All,
:
: I need help!
:
: I was cleaning my 96, 850 car the other day and noticed some spillage
: on the floor carpet of the drivers side. At first I thought it was due
: to melting snow but that was not the case, because the color was
: greenish. On close scrutiny i realised this was engine coolant.
: However, this leak has not affected the engine temp which is normally
: at the 3 pm position. I checked the coolant level in the reservior and
: its also ok.
: I also opened the hood and touched the two hoses that feed the heater
: core and they are not that hot..you can hold on them for a minute
: without being burned!
:
:
:
: Qn: Do I need to replace the heater core? Why do I only get heat after
: the car has warmed up?
:
: Thank you for your advice and help.
:
: Frederick
:
 
In an earlier contribution to this discussion,
JRE said:
It's not that unreasonable a question. I get heat in my 850 before
the temperature gauge has even moved, in only about 3/4 mile to a
mile. It's got heat incredibly quickly, faster than my Hondas were,
faster than my BMW is, much faster than anything I've ever owned
before, in fact. (Hey, ya don't think it gets cold where it was
built, do ya?)
And...once the car is fully warmed up, the heater will not-so-slowly
cook you in your own juices here in upstate NY.

JRE
Click to expand...

OK - sorry - it sounded like you didn't realise that the hot water in the
heater comes from the engine - which has to be hot before you can get any
heat out of the heater.

But it now seems as if there is a delay in the engine heating up. This is
most likely caused by a jammed open engine thermostat. The stat is supposed
to stop the water going through the radiator until the engine is hot. If
water goes through the radiator from the outset, it takes a very long time
to get hot - which is probably what is happening.
--
Cheers,
Roger
______
Email address maintained for newsgroup use only, and not regularly
monitored.. Messages sent to it may not be read for several weeks.
PLEASE REPLY TO NEWSGROUP!
 
Roger said:
In an earlier contribution to this discussion,



OK - sorry - it sounded like you didn't realise that the hot water in the
heater comes from the engine - which has to be hot before you can get any
heat out of the heater.

But it now seems as if there is a delay in the engine heating up. This is
most likely caused by a jammed open engine thermostat. The stat is supposed
to stop the water going through the radiator until the engine is hot. If
water goes through the radiator from the outset, it takes a very long time
to get hot - which is probably what is happening.
Click to expand...

You're confusing me with the OP, who might or might not understand how
the system works.

In any case, I agree that if there isn't heat very quickly it's probably
thermostat time. My mom gave us the 850 (she was tired of it after 11
years and they didn't want to give her anything significant if she
traded it in). We drove it home from FL, stopping in Raleigh to replace
the thermostat...which had apparently forgotten how to close after
living in FL for a few years. ;-)

JRE
 
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