1999 V70 Turbo Mystery Coolant Leak

PapaHepcat · Post by **PapaHepcat** » 31 May 2015, 13:00

I'm having trouble finding a coolant leak in my V70. If I fill the bottle, the low coolant light will come on a week later. Sometimes, though, it'll be on the next time I start it, even on the same day.

Then as I'm driving it, the low coolant light will go off after a bit. It might come on again later. That kind of varies.

Also, whenever I fill it, it seems like coolant level is at or just below the bottom of the bottle. I tried waiting a week, once inwaited two weeks after he light went on, and it still seemed the level was the same. Thinking it was the bottle, I checked it and hoses going to and from the it, but I don't see a leak anywhere.

Any ideas? Car runs great.

PapaHepcat · Post by **PapaHepcat** » 31 May 2015, 13:10

I'm tempted to just pull the low coolant sensor and leave it.

Post by **FLXC90** » 31 May 2015, 13:20

Have you been using defroster in the morning? Any coolant smell in car?-heater core common.
Any clean streaks where coolant may be escaping from a pin-holed or split hose or tube?
Take a close look at the underside of the upper radiator hose nipple, common cracking area.
What is the age/condition of your overflow bottle/radiator cap and its seal?
By design, coolant is siphoned from the bottle, not direct-level, so once it is below the bottle bottom, who knows how much you've lost. try filling it, running the motor to operating temp, then topping off, let it cool and rest, try again. May take a couple cycles to fill.
Also, because it is a white-block Volvo, have a compression gas test done on your coolant system. NAPA sells them, and some parts stores loan them out. Use to rule out head gasket.