Water in the intake manifold and intercooler V70 T5

tnkenmcd · Post by **tnkenmcd** » 28 Apr 2019, 18:50

I have a 2001 V70 T5 that I stopped driving a couple of years ago because it seemed like a blown head gasket. White water smoke out of exhaust, rough idle/stall, horn-like noise from under hood, etc.

Fast forward to now and I'm finally pulling the head. When I got to removing the intercooler & radiator, there was water in the intercooler. Kinda thought maybe I spilled coolant from a hose or something when disconnecting the combo.

But later when I pulled the intake manifold, it had a lot of water in it.

Is this another symptom of a bad head gasket? I've pulled the head and the gasket show a charring on the edge of a piston hole, so I'm guessing there was blow by at least there.

Post by **DeadEric** » 28 Apr 2019, 19:28

Coolant runs to the turbo and the throttle body. If it's in the intercooler and intake, my guess would be a leak in the turbo.

Liquid has a hard time flowing up but boosted air flow could carry a mist of coolant all the way out the tailpipe.

I hope I'm wrong but it would cause the same symptoms as a blown head. Unusually clean cylinder heads and valves would point to this as well. Not just the ones at a head gasket failure but all of them.

tnkenmcd · Post by **tnkenmcd** » 28 Apr 2019, 20:34

I thought about water in the intake possibly being from the turbo but I didn't think you could get water into the intake from failed turbo, only oil from a failed one. Hoping the water was from the cylinder head. Didn't see any noticeable cracks, holes, or chunks missing.

Here's pics of what I found. I'm no expert diagnosing head gaskets. Before taking the head off, we poured some oil in the spark plug holes before turning the crank to set timing. The car had been sitting for a while and I figured there would be rust in cylinder walls... Not sure why #4 doesn't have a puddle like the rest. Almost certain we put oil in all of them, but maybe missed #4. The green is a reflection of the tree above

Gasket on block

Looks like there is blow by charring here

Bottom of gasket

Block with gasket removed

Bottom of head

Post by **RickHaleParker** » 28 Apr 2019, 21:01

1. No water in Intercooler hose from turbo to Intercooler.
2. Water in the:

A: Intercooler Air passage.
B: Hose from intercooler to intake manifold.
C: Intake manifold.
D: Cylinders.

Internal leakage in the intercooler between liquid and air passages.

tnkenmcd · Post by **tnkenmcd** » 28 Apr 2019, 21:17

RickHaleParker wrote: ↑28 Apr 2019, 21:01 1. No water in Intercooler hose from turbo to Intercooler.
2. Water in the:
A: Intercooler Air passage.
B: Hose from intercooler to intake manifold.
C: Intake manifold.
D: Cylinders.
Internal leakage in the intercooler between liquid and air passages.

I guess that's a VADIS TS Q. Not sure if I understand. I believe the intercooler in my car is just air-cooled and a completely separate item from radiator, with only air in, air out.

IIRC there was no water from turbo to intercoolr tube when I removed that. I really only noticed the water when I had the rad/interc out on the ground and then later when breaking the intake mani off the head.

Post by **RickHaleParker** » 28 Apr 2019, 21:40

Look at the weep hole on the bottom of the intercooler, is it plugged up?
Could be years worth of condensation that could not drain out.

tnkenmcd · Post by **tnkenmcd** » 28 Apr 2019, 21:47

RickHaleParker wrote: ↑28 Apr 2019, 21:40 Look at the weep hole on the bottom of the intercooler, is it plugged up?
Could be years worth of condensation that could not drain out.

I'll check tomorrow. It was definitely like a quart of water total between the intercooler flip and then later the intake removal

Post by **abscate** » 29 Apr 2019, 07:29

If it sat for years condensation will build up anywhere air can access. Check the cylinder walls carefully for corrosion before you invest too much in the motor. Intercooler water is surely condensation. The intercooler temperature equilibrates fast, as it’s a heat exchanger.

tnkenmcd · Post by **tnkenmcd** » 29 Apr 2019, 09:44

abscate wrote: ↑29 Apr 2019, 07:29 If it sat for years condensation will build up anywhere air can access. Check the cylinder walls carefully for corrosion before you invest too much in the motor. Intercooler water is surely condensation. The intercooler temperature equilibrates fast, as it’s a heat exchanger.

It sat under a tree since March 2017. From what I can see in the cylinders, there is rust'ish towards the top inside the cylinder but not deep into it. Looks like it almost could be wiped off with oily rag. The water jacket outside cylinders between block has a nice unhealthy orange of rust.

The motor spun easily when we lined up the timings marks. Also, I did spray clean the engine before disassembly so maybe some of that got back into the intake area. Dunno

Can anyone comment on my head gasket pics? Comments or opinions on condition? Does it show for certain a blown head gasket? I think so and the areas between cylinder 2-4 on the exhaust side look pretty bad.

Post by **RickHaleParker** » 29 Apr 2019, 10:40

tnkenmcd wrote: ↑29 Apr 2019, 09:44 Does it show for certain a blown head gasket?

We cannot say for certain that it is blown by looking at picture. One cannot see three dimensions in a two dimensional picture.

It only takes a couple thousands of a inch for water to weep past the gasket. We can infer when the damage is substantial but not a couple of thousands of a inch.

From the pictures, we can infer that the gasket was at least in the process of blowing through but, not if it has blown all the way through.

With your finger tip, feel for a channel of damage between pistons and water jackets.