Those little green O-rings

Post by **vjaneczko** » 31 Dec 2011, 13:46

I'm in the middle of replacing the tranmission & oil cooler lines and I'm stumped. I can't seem to get the hose connected to the bottom of the transmission because the O-ring seems a bit too thick. The hose came with the ring on it so I thought I could wiggle it in, but no luck. I pulled it off and tucked it inside the hole but the pipe won't get in all the way. Should I coat it with trans fluid to make it slippery? Does the fact that it's about 40 degrees and it's reacting to the cold temperature have anything to do with it?

EDIT: To make matters worse, FCP ships two green o-rings with their oil cooler hose kits which are different sizes (same diameter but one is thicker than the other) but don't indicate which goes on the thermostat end and which goes on the radiator end. Anyone know which is which?!

Post by **vjaneczko** » 02 Jan 2012, 18:31

As you can see, the inner diameter appears to be the same. Due to the shadow, the one on the right looks odd but it's perfectly round - just thicker than the one on the left.

Post by **JDS60R** » 02 Jan 2012, 20:48

lubricate with trans fluid and try to install. If it won't go in then get proper o ring from Volvo

Post by **Choguy03** » 03 Jan 2012, 11:05

The thicker one I believe is for the dipstick. FYI, the Volvo dealership in Lisle is really good. Wayne is the guy who helped me out a bunch while I was rebuilding the head.

Post by **vjaneczko** » 06 Jan 2012, 17:01

I talked to FCP today about the rings. It looks like the thin one goes on the radiator end and the thick one goes towards the engine. Now my problem is getting the frickin' thing on!

: Bad O Ring.JPG (25.18 KiB) Viewed 2581 times

This was my first attempt (the second one was even worse). I slid this onto the pipe after coating it with tranny fluid and the darn thing wouldn't play nice with me. I gave the pipe bracket a few taps and it popped in but I noticed a little green was showing underneath. Pulled it out and this is what I saw. Luckily I have an extra; it's just so frustrating to deal with this in the cold after work!

So the question I now have is this: if my 'backup' O ring should get chewed-up just like this first one, should I replace it or will it be good enough to work? I'm really not in the mood to spend 3 bucks per ring to practice on this, but I don't want to lose my transmission either! I think my brain stopped working because this repair job is just pissing me off so much...

turbozutek · Post by **turbozutek** » 06 Jan 2012, 17:35

If at all possible, try and 'screw' the pipe in while pushing on it; that is to say twist it a little (back and forth is ok) as it goes in. This helped me a lot when I was re-installing my cooler lines, without it I'm sure they would have caught as yours seem to have.

Good luck!!

Chris...

Post by **vjaneczko** » 06 Jan 2012, 18:04

This is the ring at the transmission, so there's no way to twist it in

Oh, and this is the ring that came on the Volvo hose so I'm pretty sure it's the right one!

turbozutek · Post by **turbozutek** » 07 Jan 2012, 08:02

Ah nuts!

Last suggestion then;

Try hitting the transmission side with a heat gun for a little while (not a blow torch, just like a heatgun or hairdryer!) as if it's truly super cold where you are the metal will have contracted considerably, but the more temperature stable o-ring will not.

Can't hurt to try?

Chris...

Post by **vjaneczko** » 07 Jan 2012, 10:15

My thought was to drop the ring in some really hot water for a few minutes to soften it up. Wish me luck; I give it a go in a few hours.

turbozutek · Post by **turbozutek** » 07 Jan 2012, 12:52

Yeah if it's brittle with the cold that could help.

/fingers crossed!