98 V70 T5 Replacing the Coolant Hoses in Pics

[songzunhuang]

Spent 5 hours today replacing hoses in my car. I must say that some of those hoses are the biggest PITA to get off and onto the car. There's just no freaking room!

So after a ridiculously hard time trying to purchase OEM heater hoses (read earlier in this post), I just thought - TO HECK WITH IT! I'm tired of the price gouging difficulty of getting real OEM hoses. Seriously, I spent a week trying to get them. Even the Volvo dealer didn't have them. They offered to order the 2 hoses for almost $200!

I decided to replace the lines with a blue silicon hose that I found at a local shop. For $4.33 a foot, it was hugely cheaper than any other option. I spent $25 for the hose and clamps. I cut the fittings off of the original hose and used them for the blue silicon hoses.

Since the silicon isn't pre-bent and you don't want to kink it, I just ran a little longer piece using a different route for the inlet. The outlet hose was a simple "U" shape and that didn't kink the silicon hose. It all looks good so far. Tomorrow I finish up the job of changing all my hoses and I'll fire her up to see if it all works.

[songzunhuang]

You made the mistake of ordering "Volvo OEM" parts from an online vendor, it is a hit-and-miss thingy.

If you want it done inexpensively and simply, please read my posts above:
* Get generic 5/8-inch heater hoses locally.
* Get and angle grinder or dremel, remove the crimp and you are all set.

The factory design is a piece of junk.

So, I did get the generic (although it was blue silicon) hose from a local shop. I used a dremel to remove the crimp and create my own hose for a fraction of the cost of any other option. I hope all will be well tomorrow when I finish up the job.

[songzunhuang]

OK, I may has well post the pictures of the hoses I created.

First, I took a dremel and cut a slot in the crimp from the original hose. I'm going to use the brass ends on the new hoses. After cutting a slot, I used a screwdriver to pry it apart. One of the hosed was fused onto the brass. I had to scrape it off.

After cutting off both hoses and cleaning up the ends, I approximated the silicon tube length I would need and cut the shorter one first.

Hose02.jpg (162.91 KiB) Viewed 2968 times

Here's a close up of the ends and the new clamps I got. The clamps are blue so I thought it would be a nice complement to the hose. I cleaned up the ends with some 400 grit sandpaper.

WARNING - note that I am using the old yellow clips off my car. I order new clips from IPDUSA, but they were not the same! I tried to put them in several times at different angles and couldn't get them to fit. Finally in a fit or frustration, I put the old ones back on. It was then that I noticed that the replacements they sent me were taller than the original clips! What a pain.

Hose03.jpg (125.5 KiB) Viewed 2968 times

After mounting the end on the hose, here's what we have before I snake it through. Attaching the end without the brass fitting to the metal coolant line was a major PITA.

Hose04.jpg (169.48 KiB) Viewed 2968 times

Here's what it looks like after both hoses are attached. If I recall, the factory hoses point at the 6 o'clock position whereas these new hoses point at 3 o'clock. This was due to the routing to prevent kinks.

The route I used for the inlet hose (longer one) was longer than factory to prevent any kinks. The factory hose goes under the air inlet as it's got a tight molded bend. As you can see, I went around the air inlet. There was plenty of space.

So these were the hoses I replaced today. It was interesting to note their condition in each case.
Here's a few thoughts form top to bottom.
* Turbo coolant hose - definitely was ready to go. I pulled on the hose trying to separate it from the metal coolant line and the hose just split and broke off! Although not leaking, it was not long for this world.

* Heater outlet hose - replaced with blue silicon. Attaching to metal coolant line was major PITA. The original was a bit swollen, but didn't seem to have obvious areas that were emminent for failure.

* Heater inlet hose - replaced with blue silicon. This was the hose that failed and started all this mess. This hose was bulging and the end going into the engine block had a hole that was spurting coolant when under pressure.

* Lower radiator hose - the lower portion was a pain to reconnect. It's tight in there. The original hose was probably serviceable. There was no obvious areas of stress or failure on the hose. I replaced it anyway since it's been a while.

* Upper radiator hose - Super easy to change. The original seemed in great shape. I probably didn't need to replace this one.

OldHoses.JPG (104.57 KiB) Viewed 2968 times

[cn90]

Good Job!

This is exactly what I mentioned above. When you think of it, it costs Volvo (or whoever the maker is) about $10 to make the hose, and they charge us $80-$100, what a rip off.
All it is: metal elbow, hose, crimp, not rocket science.
By going this way (generic heater hose or the blue silicone), you save a truck load of money.

I replaced my ATF cooler lines using generic trans cooler hoses and I paid $10 instead of $200 ($100/cooler hose!).

Now it is time to get rid of the that yellow plastic clip, just cut the pipes near the heater core, run another short hose and you are done. No more O-ring, plastic clips, firewall coupler.

[songzunhuang]

Yeah, I thought about that when my darn yellow clips didn't fit. IPD is definitely getting those back. They charged my $32 for the clips and O-rings.

I replaced my heater core a few months ago and that would have been a good time to get rid of the coupler, but I didn't know about it then. If my O-rings at the firewall ever leak, they will be disposed of. I do have a bit of the silicon hose left...

Thanks for the tip.

[cn90]

Search forum, there was an instance (cmblackburn if I remember correctly), the yellow clip broke, all coolant gone in minutes.

This is why I say this is the time to get rid of all the knicks knacks. Go to the cabin, get the pipe cutter (same stuff plumbers use) cut the pipes (search for erikv11 photos) about 4-5" from the heater core. Run generic heater hoses + clamps.

The car will be good another 1,000 years. By that time, we will be all gone from this earth.

[j-dawg]

Now it is time to get rid of the that yellow plastic clip, just cut the pipes near the heater core, run another short hose and you are done.

Time for me to chime in!

I hacksawed off the aluminum tubes to the firewall coupling and cleaned up the edge with a Dremel tool. 5/8" heater hose slipped over the pipe and was clamped in place.

I got these beauties in the mail a few days ago from McMaster-Carr (item 91355K55, 5/8" barbed hose elbows).

In the engine bay:

The system uses a total of eight hose clamps: two at the engine, four at the firewall junction, and two more at the heater core. Except for the two at the block, all are fairly easily accessible.

This is probably overkill, but I had already ordered the elbows by the time I was told the factory elbows were safely reusable, and they felt nice in my hands, which is obviously the best way to make decisions about what parts go in your cooling system.

Everything works nicely. It's nice to have heat again.

[cn90]

@j-dawg,

Your setup is what I have been saying all along, it takes a little bit of work and about $10-$20. You will never do this again.

Just beautiful. In fact, many cars come from the factory the way you modified it. Only Volvo engineers did this goofy design.

[mecheng]

Nice work, that's what I had in mind for the heater hose.
Looks like you missed one of the turbo coolant hoses; the short one on passenger side. Not to worry it's the easy one but it is failure prone. The dealer hose is specially reinforced

[Ben850]

@j-dawg,

Your setup is what I have been saying all along, it takes a little bit of work and about $10-$20. You will never do this again.

Just beautiful. In fact, many cars come from the factory the way you modified it. Only Volvo engineers did this goofy design.

Needs to be Blue. Ha.