[2001 V70 2.4T] Coolant Wars: The Coolant Strikes Back

[prwood]

I was able to get a borescope and locate the leak - it is coming from the area of the clamp indicated by the circle in this photo:

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It appears that the pressure on the hose has caused the clamp to wear through it and begin leaking. The hose came as part of an aftermarket PCV kit from IPD Volvo (not Genuine Volvo) which I've already had to replace several hoses on. I had already replaced the other hose marked with an X a year or so ago. That one I was able to do in place, but I don't think I'd be able to do this one that way. I might actually still have some hose left from the replacement I did on the X hose, and I've got plenty of Oetiker clamps. The biggest hassle would be getting access. Either the alternator has to come out to get to it from the side (and I've never been able to get the alternator out without at least taking the power steering pump out), or the intake manifold has to come out to get to it from the top. Any other ideas?

And of course there's the possibility that after fixing this, the next thing starts to leak...

[abscate]

I would pull the manifold amd get genuine Volvo parts there. It needs good EDPM rubber to live in that environment. My original on my T5 went 14 years /150k miles. Life is too short for crappy rubber parts

[prwood]

This weekend I replaced the faulty aftermarket PCV hose assembly with a genuine Volvo assembly. Also included in the job was new hose clamps, banjo bolts, copper washers, throttle body gasket, intake gasket, and a thorough cleaning of all components involved. (Side note: the pintle caps on all of my fuel injectors are gone now, without any appreciable difference in performance.) One of my kids helped with reinstallation - I had them hold a long pry bar to lift up the engine a few inches while I got the front banjo bolt installed. Everything seems to be working well so far - no leaks yet, but I'm cautiously optimistic because i haven't taken it on any extended trips.

Unfortunately, towards the end of the job, I accidentally severed the tiny wire going to the alternator. The car starts up ok, but I do get a 'low battery voltage' message on the dash initially, but it goes away after a minute once the engine revs above idle RPMs. I am not sure what the purpose of this wire is, but from my past work near it, it has seemed pretty corroded, and I have had voltage issues for the past few years as well, so it's possible that it hasn't really been working correctly to begin with, let alone after being severed. I'm not sure what's involved in repairing or replacing this wire, but I am assuming it would probably be good to fix it if possible. I'd appreciate any input folks have on whether to make this repair, and if so, how best to do it.

[abscate]

I believe that wire triggers the alternator light but also provides field excitation current, so it needs to be fixed. A splice is fine.

[prwood]

Here’s the connector for the exciter wire. The wire got sheared off right at the base and the remainders of the end of the wire are still crimped inside. It doesn’t seem like it’s possible to reuse it. Is this type of connector commonly available, and if so, where would I get it?

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[02V70]

Those connectors are commonly available. They have them on amazon. Im not sure what size it is exactly, so maybe you can get one of those kits that have lots of them.

[jonesg]

any parts store sells spade connectors, gold plated is best or smother with dialectric grease.
cut the wire back to good copper and crimp a shrink sleeve with new wire.
Without that connection the battery will slowly run down.

[abscate]

Hardware store or even a big box home store like HomeDespot or LoweQuality in the electrical section

[prwood]

Alright, so I got the connector, wired up the exciter wire, and everything is all good as far as the alternator is concerned.

HOWEVER, yesterday we just had coolant boilover from the reservoir yesterday, accompanied by a "High Engine Temp See Manual" message on the DIM. In one sense this is great, because this is where it's supposed to come out (not leaking from some other component. In another sense this sucks, because clearly there's still something going on in the system that is causing the coolant to boil. In this case, the boilover happened just after the car had climbed a particularly steep hill. I am wondering if there *is* a head gasket leak at some level that's only being aggravated when the engine pushes above a particularly high level of load (i.e. going up a hill or something of that nature).

I am considering trying one of those head gasket sealant additives just to see if it has any effect. I know they're supposed to be a short term fix, and have a reputation for gunking up engines, but at this point "short term" is what I'd consider the life of this car anyway. I definitely don't have any interest in replacing the actual head gasket at this stage, I'm just trying to stretch a few more months or maybe a year out of what I've got.

[02V70]

If your problem doesn't end up being the head gasket, and you use the sealant, it can mess things up, and potentially actually blow the head gasket.