94 850 T COOLANT STILL MIXING WITH OIL

mta58 · Post by **mta58** » 24 Aug 2005, 21:09

I recently drained/changed the coolant in my 1994 850 Turbo. I closed the system abd added fresh new coolant to the overflow tank. I tried to start the car but as soon as I cranked it I had to shut it down because it sounded like a tank motor without any baffles. The engine will crank but it sounds terrible.

I had it towed to my mechanic. He believes that it has to do with the timing. He has checked the timing and serpentine belts and everything is OK.

My question is: How can changing the coolant have anything to do with the associated problem of starting??? They seem completely unrelated.

However, prior to this event my car had died/stalled while running. This had happened 4-6 times in the last two weeks. Once while parked on an incline (forward) I had a rough time starting the car and had to rev the engine so that it would not stall/die.

My mechanic is stumped at this point and so am I. I am thinking of getting a OBD II code reader but I don't know which will work on this model. I have checked and this car has a small OBD port sitting just ahead of the coin tray. The port looks too small to accomodate most code reader wire adapters I have looked at.

Can anyone shed light on what is going on or give advise on a reader that will work?? I long to renew my love affair with this great car (my 2nd).

Thanks!!

dpauto.com · Post by **dpauto.com** » 24 Aug 2005, 21:54

Guess,

I believe when you filled up the coolant into the reservoir, you might have spilled coolant or water onto the serpentine belt or the tensioner. Then when you tried to start the motor, it sounded quite wrong, like "timing belt came loose". That happened to me all the time. But not to worry next time, changing coolant should NOT effecting any mechanical component on your car...of course, UNLESS you don't put coolant back into the motor.

As far as your stalling problem, I think you might have a defective idle control valve. You can at least clean out the throttle body and see if that helps.

Regards,
Dave

seamansteph · Post by **seamansteph** » 29 Aug 2005, 19:36

I had the same problem if you look for the Crazy girl thread you will find that replacing the fuel pump relay is the fix cheap too 40.00 or so.

mta58 · Post by **mta58** » 03 Sep 2005, 05:07

Well, it's been an interesting week. So far, I have had the cyinder head gasket replaced along with all the associated checks and parts replacement that go with it. However, the coolant is now still leaking into the oil.

When I started the car for the first time today the engine sounded relatively good but there seemed to be a knocking or pinging noise. But as the car ran it seemed to quiet a little.

The oil has been flushed/changed twice now but with no change in the mixing problem. The Check Engine Light that had been on is now out and the mechanic is pulling no codes for the car.

Is there something that needs to be done further or has the mechanic forgotten to do something in addition so that the problem will be corrected ?? Also can I drive the car home (approx 10 miles) without damaging the engine ??

If anyone can reply with an answer it would greatly be appreciated. The mechanic thinks that the car will not last much longer but this is not my experience with these great cars. I hope that I have not turned my engine into an expensive boat anchor.

White850Turbo · Post by **White850Turbo** » 04 Sep 2005, 12:38

A new radiator will solve the problem, guaranteed; at a much lower price too than a head gasket. The radiator is used to cool coolant, motor oil, and ATF. Over time, the barrier between the coolant section and motor oil section has a tendency to break down, thus allowing the two to mix. This is not a real uncommon problem.

mta58 · Post by **mta58** » 12 Jan 2006, 21:33

Well I'm back with an update on my 850's problem. Since I had the head gasket repair the coolant & oil have been mixing. I purchased a sealant from Advance Auto that was to take care of this type of problem. I drained the coolant and flushed out all traces of the coolant & added the sealer with some water. When the process was finished, there was no trace of the coolant in the oil (which I also changed afterwards).

However, now I have an oil leak from the head gasket area that is dripping on the exhaust pipe and creates a nasty smell and slight smoking. I'm wondering if the mechanic either did not tighten the bolts with enough torque or he might have used the wrong type of gasket. Does anyone know what the proper torque settings are for the head gasket bolts??? I'm going to ask him what he used to replace the old head gasket with. I know there is a gooey type liquid that hardens and also a cork type gasket. I don't know which Volvo uses or recommends for this type of job.

I have been adding 2 qts of oil/week and this is getting monotonous to deal with. Also the car is running a little rough and does not seem to have the usual amount of power it did before the incident. The idle speed is low (@ 500 RPM) but he might not have reset it after the repair. It seems that it used to be @ 800 RPM.

If anyone can give me some insight into what is going on I would greatly appreciate it. The mechanic told me to get rid of this car but I just love it to death.
When it is running well it hauls A$$.

Thanks to all !!

Post by **MadeInJapan** » 13 Jan 2006, 20:06

Dude, if you had your head gasket replaced and it's leaking now you need to take your car back to where you had the replacement done and complain very loudly! You may however have pressure building up in your PCV (positive crankcase ventilation) hoses adding to the reason for the leak. Get that checked out too and clean/replace the hoses if they're clogged. Good luck.