a quart of coolant leaks out every 7-14 days

jnelissen · Post by **jnelissen** » 05 Apr 2012, 11:33

Hey guys, I'm so frustrated. I just bought the car from church, it runs great. 2001 s80 t6 with about 189k on it. Every 1 to 2 weeks it will empty about a quart (about the size of the coolant reservoir tank) behind the engine block. There is no radiator leak, it leaks out a puddle behind the engine block. What do you think the problem could be. There is no coolant in the oil, there are no cracked caps and the car does not over heat. It just drops that coolant out every 7-14 days.

please help.

Post by **JDS60R** » 05 Apr 2012, 15:42

oil cooler on back on oil pan (uses coolant to cool oil) or that brass drain valve in the line to the cooler they no longer put in Volvos

Post by **boosted5cyl** » 06 Apr 2012, 09:30

There's quite a few places for coolant leaks back there. There's a pipe that goes the length of the block, and has another pipe thats attached to the head, the brass nipple as pointed out. Oil heat exchanger and pipes as well as the coolant pipes that go into and out of the two turbos.

jnelissen · Post by **jnelissen** » 11 Apr 2012, 23:25

Would either of those suggestions cause it to leak every 7 to 14 days, or would there be a small leak all the time? A pressure test was done and showed no loss of pressure. Would it be better to take it to a Volvo dealership or a Volvo mechanic?

electech · Post by **electech** » 12 Apr 2012, 00:48

Hmm, Depends. (Sounds like it needs a diaper!)

Welcome to MVS. Sorry you are so frustrated. The dealer will know the usual places to look, and will charge you for their expertise. If you don't mind getting your hands dirty, we will help as much as we can.

With the complexity of the cooling system on oil-cooling twin turbo engines, the old standard pressure test might not find an intermittent leak. The only real answer is to get the car up and start looking for signs of a leak. It is at the age where any rubber hose is suspect. The brass nipple is definitely a good place to look. Generally hot coolant leaves a white stain. If you can trace it back, you might find something easy to fix.

The intermittent failure bothers me though, it sounds like what a sticking thermostat would do. The other option could be a failing cooling fan, but that is rare and a sticking thermostat is common. Keep a close eye on your temperature gauge, it should stay pretty rock solid in one place.

Post by **boosted5cyl** » 12 Apr 2012, 06:31

jnelissen wrote:Would either of those suggestions cause it to leak every 7 to 14 days, or would there be a small leak all the time? A pressure test was done and showed no loss of pressure. Would it be better to take it to a Volvo dealership or a Volvo mechanic?

How long is a piece of string? It could be anything from an ooze to a huge-ass leak. There's a lot of plumbing at the back. I wish I had a pic for you.....

I had trouble isolating coolant oozes from my S80 as well. I found that if you do the pressure test with distilled water in the system, rather than coolant mix its more likley to show the leak. In my case there was no major loss of pressure as the leak was so small. I don't think taking it to a dealership would be worthwhile, but a good Volvo indy might be worth a shot. In my case I found a small ooze bu the radiator and one by the heater core. Reseated the pipes/clamps and have been good to go for a over year since that.

Post by **JDS60R** » 12 Apr 2012, 10:03

Time for leak dye so you can find the source of the leak.

Post by **fazool** » 12 Apr 2012, 11:02

Sorry but a clarification is needed:

It doesn't leak at all for 1-2 weeks, then spontaneously dumps 1 qt of coolant?

What other details can you provide. How long does the 'dump" occur (is it dumped over an hour or in one second?)

Does it happen only when the engine is hot and as soon as you stop ?

jnelissen · Post by **jnelissen** » 12 Apr 2012, 16:28

I found the coolant dumped on my driveway one time and that the car was parked but i don't know how long (wife's car). The dump spot was behind the front tires which would put it behind the engine block. One of the mechanics that looked at it said that there was coolant residue against the back of the block but he did not know why (that was the guy who did the pressure test). the other (3) times the coolant dropped a quart was when the wife drove it and I don't believe the car was running when it happened. She would start the car and then see that the info system on the dash said "replace coolant immediately." It appears that the dump is all at once since there is no other leaks coming from the vehicle at all until that dump occurs. I check the coolant reservoir each day just to be sure, no loss of fluid in there until the message comes on to replace coolant immediately, then the reservoir tank is now empty. This has occurred as far as 2 weeks and as short as 7 days.

Post by **chrism** » 12 Apr 2012, 17:07

I don't know about the FWD cars, but the old RWD's were notorious for leaking water pumps, not when warm, but after they cooled down. Maybe check out the pump.