Oil in water reservoir , 1995 850 turbo, 140K

gmanter · Post by **gmanter** » 11 Jan 2010, 17:47

Following a heater hose failure and loss of coolant car began showing signs of oil in water reservoir and somewhat foamy/milky oil in crankcase.

We had a shop replace hose and do a pressure test- they told us car was OK. Ran car for week short distances only and oil/water seemed stable. Car was run for couple hours on highway this week and clearly we have dropped a 3rd quart of oil and the water reservoir has an inch of engine oil foam on surface. Exhaust does appear slightly white when car is running, so it looks like issue is still with us. Looks like we better do testing ourselves, have some questions:

1) We have a haynes manual for this car yet it does not provide pressure test level instructions. Thinking as we like this car should probably get Volvo Service Manual- Best to get from Volvo or from Forum?
2) In order to do leak down test do we interface directly at radiator or do we tie in elswhere in system - any special fittings required.
3) What pressure do we bring cooling system to for test and is there a specified leakdown rate. If leak is in oil cooler would we likely see bubbles in radiator.
4) If issue is in oil cooler in radiator, can car be run short distance in winter minus this cooling loop as in we bypass cooler?
5) If issue is in head gasket would it be worth pulling spark plugs to see if one of them shows signs of contamination
6) If issue is in head gasket is there any value in checking torque on head retaining bolts
7) When I came into the forum page today I ran accross the add for Head Gasket sealer -"steelseal". Have you ever used this coolant additive?, would you consider trying it on our 95, 850 with 140K miles.

Thanks Gary

Post by **wheelsup** » 11 Jan 2010, 18:51

Sounds like all the classic signs of a head gasket. Was the car run for any length of time w/ no coolant or did you shut it down immediately?

Have you done a compression test? You can buy one for $25 and DIY. Very easy.

The service manual on here is for a 1995 850 so it is a perfect fit for your car.

gmanter · Post by **gmanter** » 11 Jan 2010, 19:30

Car is my sons and he said it did not overheat. I will dig out my compression tester . I am new to site , the manual you mentioned "on here" where do I look. Thanks Gary

Post by **wheelsup** » 11 Jan 2010, 19:56

gmanter wrote:Car is my sons and he said it did not overheat. I will dig out my compression tester . I am new to site , the manual you mentioned "on here" where do I look. Thanks Gary

https://www.matthewsvolvosite.com/forums ... f=1&t=8018

Download and unzip!

As far as not overheating, that might be the case as far as the indicator goes. However I know when I blew my radiator hose and lost all my coolant within 10 secs my temp was pegged in the red. I shut it down immediately. If it was driven for any length of time like that I would suspect it over heated regardless of what the indicator showed.

gmanter · Post by **gmanter** » 17 Jan 2010, 06:25

Completed following tests
Isolated and tested oil cooler loop with air to 55 psi - no drop in pressure over 5 minute span.
Isolated and tested tranny oil cooler with air to 55 psi no drop in pressure over 5 minute span
Compression test results
#1 130
#2 124
#3 134
#4 134
#5 137
Spark plug visual inspection did not indicate any notable variation in between the 5 spark plugs

Car slowly loses oil from crankcase into water system. Oil foam builds up in water reservoir. We do not see bubbles in reservoir, nor does reservoir seem to build up excessive pressure , nor does car seem to over heat. Also since we changed out Crankcase oil we have not seen signs of oil in crankcase oil reservoir

Questions:
1) I recognize that compression levels are below norm (156-180psi) yet they do seem to vary radically from one another. Is it still likely that headgasket is source of oil & water exchange
2) Is there any other engine components we should test prior to concluding that we have to go after headgasket as an example- can this exchange take place in turbocharger. We looked for a cross section of water cooled Turbo but have yet to find.

Appreciate help
Thanks Gary

csbrianp · Post by **csbrianp** » 17 Jan 2010, 10:28

I lost the heater core in my 94 950 turbo and soon had oil in the bottle as well. But my bottle doesn't continually fill up it just gets oil in it that turns to gunk. I spoke with a mechanic friend of mine that immediately said he thought the problem was from a leaky seal around the oil pump. The oil pumps on our cars have a water jack that works to keep the oil the same temp as the water. After years the seal starts to break down and oil seeps in. He said it quite common on Fords.

What I have done since I have no time to get the oil pump rebuilt was to add dish washing soap to the coolant bottle. I know, what a crazy idea. But the fact is the dish soap breaks down the oil, and if you only use water instead of anti-freeze like I do now, it acts as a water wetter. I've been driving it like this for over a year with no problem. I also live in Phoenix so this car knows hot. I only add the dish soap when I notice gunk in the coolant bottle which is able once every 5 months or so.

I know it's a long shot but can't hurt to try.

Brian