Warning, Replace your cooling system hoses ASAP

[j-dawg]

ben, did you use the ipd silicone hose for your turbo coolant line? i saw it after i had replaced that with the volvo oem hose. the silicone might be smart since that hose gets a bit of an oil shower from the turbo.

someone had thought of wrapping that turbo coolant hose in foil, and i'm considering doing that next time i'm under the car. the oil cooler lines on 99+ cars are (from the factory) wrapped in some corrugated foil insulation; whether it's for heat, abrasion, or drips i dunno, but it's not a bad idea.

[mecheng]

It was rather amusing to read the entire thread; I agree for the noob some good info and scare tactics work.

For guys that open their hood more than once per month (most people on here). These are my observations:

* Turbo coolant hoses, they are important; both of my hoses were bulging. I posted pics and some advice in CN90's write up. I might put some silver foil tape on the lower hose to help it last. I was too dirty during the job to do it. Don't overtighten the clamp and buy high quality rolled edge clamps.

*Two main rad hoses: I don't see any evidence of bulging or cracking on my hoses. In my experience, before failure you will see one or the other. I'm at 130k miles. Personally, for hoses, I replace based
on inspection and I know if they blow, I will catch it. For my wifes car, I make sure everything is replaced because she will probably ignore the warning light lol

For the heater hoses, does anybody have a write up? Is it just all accessed from above? I can't really see them well to access how well they are holding up.

[mtd240]

For the heater hoses, does anybody have a write up? Is it just all accessed from above? I can't really see them well to access how well they are holding up.

To inspect them, pull the intake accordion hose out (for a turbo). Pretty easy to touch/see after that. I did all the replacement work from above, didn't need to go under the car. You will wish your wrists were swivel joints.

There are a lot of write-ups on how to delete the coupler, but not much on how to do the hoses. I kept the coupler design, and replaced both hoses AND the coupler (OEM parts). The failure mode for a rubber hose is ... explosion of ~200deg coolant. If/when this happens to the hose you used to bypass the coupler/metal lines, the searing hot coolant will dump on your legs (my wife's legs, in this case). And I would rather keep her legs in good shape.

[Ben850]

ben, did you use the ipd silicone hose for your turbo coolant line? i saw it after i had replaced that with the volvo oem hose. the silicone might be smart since that hose gets a bit of an oil shower from the turbo.

someone had thought of wrapping that turbo coolant hose in foil, and i'm considering doing that next time i'm under the car. the oil cooler lines on 99+ cars are (from the factory) wrapped in some corrugated foil insulation; whether it's for heat, abrasion, or drips i dunno, but it's not a bad idea.

I bought the turbo coolant hoses from an e-bay seller.

http://www.ebay.com/itm/Volvo-850-S70-V ... b8&vxp=mtr

You would probably be better off getting them from IPD at half the price though.(before shipping)

I replaced the upper tube when I changed out the radiator and replaced all the others in March. I finally attended to that one that needed it most.
I believe it is the heat in that area more so than the oil.

[j-dawg]

probably true. either way, some sort of heat- and oil-repellent covering could help - that hose seems to be the subject of the largest number of pictures of horribly-deformed hoses

[Adler]

I was losing coolant a few months after a volvo shop replaced my leaking radiator. It was leaking at the upper hose to the radiator, lower radiator hose, thermostat housing and the heater core. I decided to change all the hoses and the core myself after watching rspi's video. It was super easy and I was able to see why I shouldn't trust a shop with my car, they didn't clean the scum off the connections after changing the radiator so the hoses never sealed well. Also changed the thermostat and glad I did, there was some no name one in there and the gasket was falling apart. The new thermostat reacts so much faster, I can tell by watching the temp with the scangauge.

So a few weeks after changing all that, the one piece I didn't change started leaking! The firewall junction on the inside. I had it apart and cleaned it up and reassembled it but I guess the o-rings weren't sealing well after moving it all around to reconnect everything. Put a new one in last weekend and all is well.

[powaqa]

Robert I like these kind of basic heads-up (especially since you have the same car I do) since life just gets so busy, it's not like hoses are going to cross my mind. I like my car and want to keep it for a long time.

[rspi]

Thanks and you are welcome.

I'm at the point now that I believe everyone should replace their heater core if they don't know the history, especially if they have the OEM type that has the yellowish bottom, that has turned dark brown in the middle.

[dosbricks]

The revival of this thread is a good reminder to us who did our hoses at around 100k but are now past the 200k second lap. So time to replace everything from front to back on our S70. So far I have done the radiator and overflow tank and its lower hose. Now waiting for this hot weather to give me a break to dive into the heater core, et al.

So thanks, Robert!

[erikv11]

I've never had a coolant hose burst, in any car I own or maintain. Knock on wood. Leaks at the connections, yes. Once had a small hose from the expansion tank spring a pinhole leak. And I've had heater cores leak, but never explode or anything like that.

I'm going to just keep on inspecting them regularly, and replacing them as needed and/or as convenient, the usual stuff. I maintain four cars, replacing everything wholesale would get crazy expensive and seems like overkill.