coolant loss

mc4457 · Post by **mc4457** » 17 Mar 2011, 14:56

I recently replaced the head gasket on my son's Volvo 850. I had the head milled, as it was warped. The oil and coolant were clearly mixing (chocolate milk). After the repair, all was fine, but it started to slowly lose coolant. There is no external leak. It seems to be an internal leak, but no coolant is showing up in the oil. Is there a crack in the block or cylinder? How do I check? I did strip two bolts that holds the upper half of the head or cam/tappet cover, right by the spark plug hole but have no oil leak. Is it possible that coolant is leaking into the cylinder here? Thanks for the help.

VolvoVieve · Post by **VolvoVieve** » 17 Mar 2011, 15:19

How long ago did this happen? have you refilled the coolent since? Did you check the hoses? One goes down from the coolent resevior and one connects to the radiator, check the resevior itself. if its not any of those three, check the ground underneath the car and verify what side the leak is coming from..It may be a leak in the radiator.

mc4457 · Post by **mc4457** » 17 Mar 2011, 15:34

No. There is no external leak. The reservoir hoses aren't leaking. It is only after the car has been running and system is pressurized. I checked the heater core. I have added coolant several times over the last 2 weeks. At first right after I finished putting the car back together, I drove it back and forth to the office with no problem for about a week. After about a week, I got a fan light warning. I topped off the coolant thinking it was just a bubble working it way out and the coolant dropped by the bubble amount.

VolvoVieve · Post by **VolvoVieve** » 18 Mar 2011, 10:52

it is possible that its leaking into the cylinder. you can check the castings on the cylinder for cracks/ wear and look for stripped heads. . Step by step instructions are in your haynes manual. If your not seeing anything volvo has special equipment to check for cracks.
for checking yourself this link may help-good luck
http://www.volvoclub.org.uk/tech/servic ... vin_55.pdf

mc4457 · Post by **mc4457** » 17 Jan 2012, 11:31

Does the web site you gave me have other instructions? I would like to get more details about pulling the axles out of the transaxle. Is it a volvo club site?

Post by **rspi** » 17 Jan 2012, 11:43

Did you ever solve your coolant loss problem?