XC 90 2005 T6

mainul18 · Post by **mainul18** » 27 Sep 2012, 10:57

Hi All:

My 2005 Volvo XC90 T6 currently 126K mile in it has been very good, recently I was losing coolant about 1/2inch after every 100 mile driving. Coolant low warning light came up few times because of driving more them 100 miles. Few time "check engine" light came up and the issue was spark plug #3 miss-fire during start up.
Could not found any leak anywhere, check for micro-crack on the expansion tank, cap, but could not see anything.
Took it to my nearest but very expensive dealership, they found issues,
1. Coolant Pump.
2. Ask to change the timing Belt, tensioner, and pulley.
3. Replace Thermostat
3. Tune up,

Estimate was $3100+, I could not spend that right now, and continue top-off coolant reserve tank each morning.

But other Volvo friend suggests replacing the expansion tank cap.
So, I did and worked great, but today large amount of white smoke coming out of tail pipe, check engine light gone.
But looking at coolant reserve is almost to the low mark.

Friends any suggestion, regarding what is going on?
Advice what should be done at this stage?

Thanks in advance for your help.

Main18

Post by **boosted5cyl** » 27 Sep 2012, 16:51

you might have blown a head gasket. Does the white smoke go away at all? What does it smell like? If its kinda sweet you have probably blown a head gasket, or have cracked a turbo housing....

mainul18 · Post by **mainul18** » 28 Sep 2012, 15:08

Hello:
Thanks for reading my problem. White smoke normally on cold start, and its sweet smell in the morning, after driving for 5 minutes it disappear, at least visually. Reading from everyones posting I hope it is not blown Head Gasket! Our area Volvo dealer did the pressure test and saying Coolant Pump leak, is it true?
Any suggestion to fix it?
Thanks,
Main 18

Post by **boosted5cyl** » 28 Sep 2012, 16:14

Hard to say but at the very least you might have to replace the water pump and timing belt etc. $3100 is a joke though you best shop around for quotes. Time to find an indy to see if the head gasket is leaking or if its just extra visible condensation due to the weather changing. Because you have a possibly leaking water pump we cant use the coolant level as a symptom of a blown head gasket. How do the oil and coolant look? Any signs of mixing? Any mayonayse-type stuff under oil filler cap after a 30min drive? How much of a DIY'r are you?

mainul18 · Post by **mainul18** » 28 Sep 2012, 19:19

Hello Again!

And Thank you for the questions. I just checked the Oil and it is dark amber color, no sign of coffee with creamer.
Coolant reserver is almost close to the loe level mark again, just checked again nothing look like oil, it is homgenous
lemon yellow coolant color.

I already purchased timing belt kit, waterpump with gasket, serpentine belt from the e-euro parts. Friend of mine refered to an indy mechanic he will take look on Monday.
Please let me should I asked him something to see for sure that there is no Head Gasket issue.

Thanks again.
Main18

mainul18 · Post by **mainul18** » 20 Oct 2012, 14:22

Hello:
Wanted to give you update. Finally changed the water pump, timingbelt, pulley, tensioner, serpentine belt, cao of the reserver tank. It cost me 1000 $, I think it is very reasonable. But the sad news coolant leak still there, for a 90 mile/day use
of this vehicle needs 1 time per week refill the coolant it goes from the max to just below min marker.

All the expert comments it is, "head gasket leak". I would like to hear your suggestion, what should I do? where should i do it?
How much it going cost me, how much assurance that this will fix the problem?
Again, I can not Thank you folks enough for your support and suggestions.

Best Regards,
Main 18

Post by **boosted5cyl** » 22 Oct 2012, 07:02

Cooling system pressure test needs to be done. If a leak is NOT found with that then I would maybe entertain the idea of a HG leak but there's an abundance of places that you can "ooze" a little coolant on a T6.
One trick I found is that you might not find the leak with 50/50 coolant in the system due to its viscosity, in that case switch to distilled water and try again. I found two mystery leaks in my '99 using this technique. One leak was by the radiator pipe and the other was a pipe at the heater core. Reseated the pipes/clamps and was good to go.

mainul18 · Post by **mainul18** » 28 Oct 2012, 19:01

Hi boosted5cyl:

Appreciate your feedback. I was out of town for the job. I would appreciate if you could give some work instructions on how to reseated the pipes and clamps.
Like tro try the least expensive one. Also Volvo dealership would have told me if the Head Gasket blown, when I took the car for check. They charged me $150 fpr letting me know that the collant pump was the cause!!

Thanks,
Main18

Post by **boosted5cyl** » 29 Oct 2012, 10:00

I had to pressurize the cooling system to 20psi with this and then check for pressure drops and visually inspect for leaks. Pressureize to 20PSI, let it sit for 10mins to settle, then repressurize to 20psi. Then look for pressure drops and leaks.
Once you find your leak(s), depressurize the system, take the hose clamp off at the offending joint and reposition the hose somewhere it feels like its making a good seal. Then, retighten the clamp and retest the system.
Sometimes just turning the hose clamp a quarter of a turn is enough to stop a leak. If the hose looks pretty cupped and you don't think you can get it to seal, sometimes you can cut the hose back to reveal some "new" hose and use that instead. Check the routing of the hose you cut and make sure you have enough excess to do it though.