98 S70, N/A Replacing broken radiator drain petcock Topic is solved

Post by **kahl** » 13 May 2016, 19:58

A rest stop on I70 pilfering Vols with NY tags but lately I couldn't get them unscrewed so I have been getting them from bone yards.

Post by **theWIFES_S70** » 13 May 2016, 22:33

kahl, I have one of those! I ordered it from FCP with some order, but it doesn't fit into my aftermarket radiator... No clue what brand it is, by the way. I went through all the Dorman replacement radiator drain petcocks on Rockauto and found another M10... (There aren't that many!) I wish that radiator drain valve fit my radiator.

Post by **MadeInJapan** » 14 May 2016, 07:07

For some reason I have about 3 of the Volvo ones in a box...don't know why. They all fit so if anyone breaks, loses or somehow needs one, shoot me msg and I'll send it to you for the price of shipping. That said, I've always drained from the petcock and never had a problem. I think the trick is not to over-tighten them. I like being able to drain without making a mess! LOL

Post by **rainman** » 23 Apr 2018, 19:05

Good evening MadeInJapan, I have a 2000 v70 SE and had replaced the radiator about two years ago. Upon trying to use the plastic drain cock today,... it snapped off flush with the bottom. The radiator was a replacement and had been doing fine for 2 years and everything fit accordingly was it was installed. I have to assume it was OEM, but was not genuine Volvo. So if you can shed some light, I believe you stated that the genuine volvo replacement drain cock fit your radiator and I was wondering if you feel that it might fit mine? I have already ordered some volvo parts because I felt that would be my best chance , but that was the easy part, as I have not yet been able to remove the broken off draincock from that same replacement radiator. I will try the needle nose, and then the drill to try weakening the frozen bond to the threads, as otherwise it means a new radiator to boot.

If you can offer any additional ideas as to the removal, or any other, it would be very much appreciated, Thanks Ray

Post by **abscate** » 23 Apr 2018, 20:30

Ray...best plan is to put a bead of JB weld on it and leave it in place. Drain radiator from lower rad hose. These things are just too easy to snap.

Post by **theWIFES_S70** » 23 Apr 2018, 23:23

abscate wrote: ↑23 Apr 2018, 20:30 Ray...best plan is to put a bead of JB weld on it and leave it in place. Drain radiator from lower rad hose. These things are just too easy to snap.

+1

Post by **rainman** » 27 Apr 2018, 07:07

Well, I know this topic has been around for a while but I don't think these plastic drain valve problems will ever go away. It happened to me a few days ago and I would like to share my remedy and one that was successful. I do have to give credit to "the someone" on youtube who has a short video about this.

First off, never try to loosen the valve until the radiator has completely cooled down.
If you over tighten cold, and the rad gets hot, it might create a fault/weakness exactly where the overtightened valve seats? It will twist off like a well chewed piece off Bazooka?
As far as removing the broken piece that has broken off flush, you can carefully start either a self tapping screw to give you a center point and/or, use that as a starting point for your drill tip. Use a 3/16" to 7/32" drill bit and drill up carefully no more than one half inch.
Then take a small 7-8" flat head screwdriver with a tip 1/4" wide, and heat the top 1" of the screwdriver blade with a propane bernzomatic until cherry red, about 30 seconds. After that push the screwdriver up into the hole that you drilled noting that the screwdriver tip will melt up slightly beyond your drill hole and "you don't have to kill it?" Press firmly up and hold for approximately one minute while trying to keep it still. After that, leave it for about one half hour (could be less) so the melted plastic bonds to your screwdriver. Make sure it stays up there by itself before you walk away.

When I came back to mine, it unscrewed like butter, success!....And saved a pile of money and time.

If your not comfortable with a drill bit, you can use a shorter self tapping/drilling sheet metal hex screw to make your center.

Post by **theWIFES_S70** » 11 Aug 2018, 12:44

Finally got around to doing something about my weeping petcock... Only took me two years to fix... Sheesh...

: jb_weld_petcock.jpg (55.6 KiB) Viewed 1374 times

Sufbug · Post by **Sufbug** » 11 Oct 2021, 09:33

Ok, so you mean don't touch this little drain plug on the radiator of my v70 1998 fwd GLT?

I'm in NC and driving to FLA as soon as I'm done with a TB replacement, so I don't want a whole bunch of new monkeys!

I guess I will wait till I get safe and settled to do a coolant flush.

What happened to your drain plug, and why did it self destruct?

I think this is the drain plug in the following pic. Correct?

And glad ya finally got it sorted. Yeah a video of 7 hours of cursing and yelling! Lmao! Yeah I feel your pain sir!

Al

Post by **scot850** » 11 Oct 2021, 12:02

Where is the clamp on the intercooler pipe?

May be easier to remove the lower hose is you want to drain as possibly less likely to break anything!

Why doe the pipe lower radiator pipe looks damp under it? Is it residue from something or the pipe getting porous?

Neil.

98 S70, N/A Replacing broken radiator drain petcock Topic is solved

Re: 98 S70, N/A Replacing broken radiator drain petcock