Heater Core from Swedish Car Parts Price

[Eddystone]

Just a note regarding the price of the Estonian heater core from Swedish Car Parts. Recently, the ebay price jumped from $39 to $69, but they are currently selling for $35 including shipping as of 4 January 2018.

https://www.ebay.com/itm/Volvo-Heater-C ... 1438.l2649

This is a bargain. I installed one of these over the summer and can report that I am getting TONS of heat out of it in the current single digit F winter temps where I live. It is constructed using a metal crimp as opposed to simply being bonded, and it is the bonded joints that fail in factory cores and cores constructed exactly like the factory core. If the factory core lasted 20 years, that's great, but many made this way do leak before their time and some WAY before their time. At any rate, I am sold on these low cost Estonian cores from Swedish Car Parts and feel that they are not only an improvement over the original design but an incredible bargain as well. I would encourage Swedish Car Parts to keep this item at the present price cost if it is profitable for them because eventually no one will be buying anything else.

Final notes: I don't have any connection whatsoever with Swedish Car Parts aside from being a satisfied customer. As some have reported, there is some sort of manufacturing residue on these that will produce an odor if these are not prewashed, but it completely disappears after two or three good heat cycles based on my personal experience. I have no reason to believe that the supplied o-rings are not perfectly reliable, but I installed my core using the cheap aftermarket o-rings available from FCP which appear to be well made and work great.

[wizechatmgr]

Toss it in the dishwasher for a cycle before installation - you'll be glad you did!

[June]

I've posted this before and keep in mind this advise came from a Volvo Master Technition who worked on mom's Volvos at the same dealer in the as far back as the 70s. My 98 V70 had endless seepage problems with the heater core. I owned the car from new until traded in fir a 2002 S80 so four years or so. After replacing the core, than the in dash piping later the coolant still was leaking enough to constantly smell through the vents. At that time he said they were having problems with the cars with the higher pressure radiator cap (green cap).

So he put the black cap on my car that went to a older model like the 240 which is half the pressure. It worked like a charm and before I drove the 2002 S80 T6 and the 2004 S80 T6 off the lot I went straight to the parts counter and bought the black 240 cap and tossed the factory green cap away. Every since I have experienced no heater core trouble or any overheating ever. I still am driving the 2004 S80 14 years later without issue. No coolant smell yet in the heater.

So I suggest replacing the cap with a black cap at the same time. One of the moderators figured the math on how much lower the boiling point with the less pressure and it was like a 20° difference still giving like a 260° rather than a 280° boiling point. Running a engine at 260° would be a catastrophe I'd predict. June

Added a couple photos of the tank which is factory still and notice clean after all these years and 151K.

[abscate]

Ive seen lower pressure caps work successfully on the BMW E83 forum too. This has a complicated coolant system with lots of known failure points and a step down in pressure also helps.

[theWIFES_S70]

I wish rspi would chime in on this issue.

He says in one of his videos, "I've never had much luck with the black cap..." I cannot recall exactly which video he says this in, but I know he's said it.

And ever since June brought up the black cap, which makes sense to me, I've wondered, why does our guru not believe in the black cap? I'm going to install a black cap when I get stateside to see if it stops my coolant weepage.

[abscate]

I still think thats your car crying that it isnt a turbo..

[wizechatmgr]

It really depends on why you're installing the black cap...

If you're installing it to fix something already leaking you have at best a 50/50 chance. If it isn't already leaking - it will likely prevent it from doing so until the mechanical seal has failed.

I think I did the calculations - I too was a non-believer until the math informed me otherwise.

[abscate]

Stumbled onto this thread this morning.

Does anyone have a part number for the black low pressure radiator cap?

[RickHaleParker]

Does anyone have a part number for the black low pressure radiator cap?

It is the cap from the 200 series. Part Number 1357775. ( 0.75 Bar, 10.9 PSI ) .

Boiling point Black Cap ( 0.75 Bar, 10.9 PSI ) 196.93 °F. ( 91.63 °C ) .
Boiling point Green Cap ( 1.5 Bar, 21.8 PSI ) 232.73 °F. ( 111.52 °C ).

The black cap does not increase pressure and the boiling point. It just keep the boiling point from dropping too low as you climb in Altitude above ~ 7000 - 8000 feet, depending on what the barometric pressure is that day.

Keep in mind you don't have much of a reserve in temperature with the black cap. If the engine temperature starts climbing over normal. Shut down right away to prevent coolant loss and runaway engine temperatures.

[abscate]

Thanks Rick

Presently $7 at FCP

https://www.fcpeuro.com/products/volvo- ... ck-075-bar

That boiling point data is a little suspect - a 50-50 coolant mix will boil well over 100C at atmospheric pressure, let alone 0.75 bar.