coolant leak center rear engine

Volvo4all · Post by **Volvo4all** » 13 Sep 2016, 19:35

I have a 98 Volvo V70 GLT turbo. Recently I was pulling a boat home and started seeing white smoke and exited the interstate and shut down the car. The water gauge read just below red line and the oil light came on.
I have since investigated and found no coolant and the oil is about 1/2 quart low with a burnt smell. I have a water leak(without starting the car, just pouring water in the reservoir) is large and seems to be coming from the center of the rear of the engine, just under the exhaust manifold which also shows coolant residue on the surface.Checked all hoses and the pump are fine, I also removed the water tube and pressure tested it thinking originally that it was the source of the leak but it is fine. The oil shows no signs of water intruding just very black and smelling burnt. When this happened the motor was purring like a kitten. The motor has 105k and I did have to do the HG about a year ago. To my knowledge there is nothing water related near this leak except a haed gasket maybe. If anyone has any ideas what I could be missing to find the way to fix this water leak I would appreciate any input.

Post by **kahl** » 13 Sep 2016, 20:48

There is a turbo coolant hose that is often overlooked. If this hose came apart coolant could appear to be coming from the middle of the car.

Post by **Ozark Lee** » 13 Sep 2016, 20:50

Chances are it is the coolant line at the turbo. That line is awkwardly placed and a real bear to change. It is also oddly shaped and sized and it needs to be specifically made, you can't just use a piece of line.

As difficult of a job as it is to replace it I would recommend that you use OEM parts only.

...Lee

beigg · Post by **beigg** » 14 Sep 2016, 04:25

I've done the turbo oil and cooling lines thus far, two different ways for 97 and older 850's.

One way was just in the configuration it is in with minimal parts removed.
Other way previously entailed removing the rear engine mount with bracket away from motor and unbolted from rack. The later option proved to not shave any time off the repair, but it did lessen choice words during the process.

Grease accumulation to self was as expected under both ways... ugh.

Post by **cn90** » 14 Sep 2016, 06:12

There are 2 Turbo coolant hoses, use only Volvo OEM hoses!

https://www.matthewsvolvosite.com/forums ... hp?t=55306

Volvo4all · Post by **Volvo4all** » 30 Sep 2016, 18:27

Thanks, for these replies. To update this project the Head Gasket was blown center rear, upon further investigation there was coolant in the oil. The turbo lines oddly enough were the few to survive the cylinder blow by which blew the front hoses, radiator etc.
Had the head surfaced, replaced head gasket with new bolts, replaced the cooling system, radiator, hoses thermostat, etc.
Now the engine is hard to start and runs rough when it does shows the symptoms of clogged pvc (steam out of the dipstick tube), however I replaced the pvc lines and the box and double checked the routing of the vacuum lines. I am going to replace the plugs cap and wires. One other thing I noticed was condensation in the distributor cap, the seals seem fine.
This site has made a big difference in my ability to keep the four Volvo's we own on the road, my Thanks to all.

clifford06 · Post by **clifford06** » 04 Oct 2016, 16:19

Greetings. Well , I seem to have the same leak. Center of engine . I removed my heat shield and checked turbo hoses. All were good. Stumped, I checked rear of head. Bingo ! Damn Damn Damn. !! Leaks down the back of block. Light white smoke from exhaust when I started it last night. Haven't seen water in oil since I parked it last week.
I don't feel like redoing a headgasket job . My patience has worn thin and tired of turning wrenches on this car. It's starting to look like its time to start looking for the Corvette dealers. Anybody tried Blue Devil Headgasket Repair ?

Post by **sleddriver** » 05 Oct 2016, 13:58

Clifford: Bummer....Am I correct in reading this is the 2nd HG to go out?

Haven't experienced any HG issues yet (knock on wood, scratch a stay). I'll keep an eye on this area while underneath.

Post by **scot850** » 05 Oct 2016, 15:46

I haven't used their HG sealer but did use their RMS sealer and it appeared to work well.

At this point it is worth a try.

Neil.

clifford06 · Post by **clifford06** » 06 Oct 2016, 18:16

Greetings. Thanks for response. This headgasket was installed after a valve job after water pump lockup .. This was my first headgasket replacement. It may have been to my rookie install. Who knows. LOL . Not crying about leak , just bad timing . Don't want to gum up cooling system with a temp fix. If it was a oil leak ,I wouldn't stress about it. Top it off and sprinkle dry sweep in the driveway. Engine never overheated . Temp gauge stays calm.
Just curious , if no overheat , do I need to resurface head ? Can intake/ exhaust gaskets be reused ? After doing head/ valve job , HG replacement would be a day job.
I agree its worth a try, but this car will be a daily driver , to keep new car " safe". Thanks . Thoughts and opinions always respected.