Jesus. Here's another car-scrapper. So let me get this straight. You've got a leaking heater core. That's where your drip is coming from - there's no coolant going back there. You overheated once, probably because some moron gummed up your ride w/ some kind of easy fix stuff. There was no damage fr...

While this probably isn't relevant to the overheating, I noticed on the passenger side, between the front and rear seat under the car there is a gash/hole and coolant is very slowly leaking there. Probably a single drop every few seconds . I don't see any hoses, and it almost seems to be coming from...

Well, maybe frustrating because of the cost of the test but still that's good news. So to make sure I am following: - the basic symptom is an erratic gauge, right? - you have swapped the t-stat, bypassed the heater core, and tested for exhaust gases in the coolant. Is it possible the actual temp is...

tryingbe wrote:Test the coolant system for exhaust gas.

Purchased a block tester, and according to the test, there is no blown head gasket.

Is the system pressurising ok? Carefully crack the cap before it gets hot to see if the system is closed to atmosphere. It needs to be. The other area to consider is the water pump. The impeller can break up on these cars, and then you have no coolant flow and it will quickly overheat at revs. That...

Bypassed the heater core, and just like expected when revving to 2,500RPM, it begins to run hotter than normal. Cut it off before going too high. Any suggestions as to what to check next?

I am plenty mechanical, I have just never owned a Volvo, although it doesn't seem too difficult so far.

A broken heater core will mean no pressure in the system, which will overheat under load. A new core will fix your problems and I doubt you will have any engine damage since you paid attention to it. Remember to wash the Dickens out of the cheap eBay heater core if you go that route. I am getting a...

Today it ran okay, with the gauge rising and lowering, I assume from the system burping. However I believe my heater core failed as steam started to come out of my vents with the smell of coolant. Pulled the carpet down and saw fluid everywhere. I am going to order a new heater core and bypass the h...

Did a flush of the system and it seems to run without overheating so much. Every now and then the gauge jumps a notch or so but quickly returns. Could be the fan kicking in at that temperature, or the cooling system burping. Fluids are lower as I drive it, so it is probably letting air out, and I wi...

The coolant capacity is about 7 liters and I get about 4 liters out by draining the radiator with the cap off. If you only get one liter my guess is somone used stop leak, aka 'new engine' on your car in the past and has gummed it up. Until you get that coolant out and refreshed, don't drive it. Vo...