Rescuing Geronimo the 2000 V70

[scot850]

It looks like at least it has that small bypass which is a good thing. This is a service part my now retired Volvo foreman friend advised swapping every 3-4 years.

Neil.

[FireFox31]

Thanks, I'll replace the thermostat during the timing belt and cooling overhaul I'm planning.

What could happen to the car if the thermostat fails? When stuck open, too much coolant circulates, engine takes longer to warm up, but is it harmed? When stuck closed, does the engine overheat quickly? Thanks Neil for pointing out the pass-through hole; seems designed to minimize the stuck closed problem.

The engine always feels quite hot though the temp registers in the middle of the gauge. I also feel heat swirling up from under the car even after brief drives. The coolant was electric blue, might be the wrong stuff, so I'll do a full flush with distilled water before adding Volvo coolant.

I always use new bolts on the housing if they are over five years old, Ni antiseize

Is that nickle antiseize? Permatex 77134 Ni is good up to 2400 F / 1316 C. The Permatex 80078 Al/Cu which I currently use is good up to 1600F / 871 C. Do the thermostat housing bolts really require Ni or could I use Al/Cu?

[abscate]

Al/Cu is fine there. Clean clean clean the metal surfaces to surgical smoothness. I think a lot of us get into trouble overtorquing those bolts to stop leaks caused by bad gasket surface prep

Torque value is ….17 Nm, about 11 ftlb

[scot850]

The under hood temperatures, especially on turbos. is quite high. I your cooling fan is running then you are good.

Olde Volvo coolant used to be an electric blue color. They changed the formulation about 4-5 years ago and it is now more of a green/blue. Apparently they added more prevention chemicals to the mixture.

Neil.

[FireFox31]

Geronimo continues its long commutes while my girlfriend who drive it continues putting up with its problems. A woman driving a P2 struck up a conversation about how hers needs work but she wants to keep it going. Now she sees how driving an old Volvo gets you old Volvo buddies.

A clunking in the front right appears to be the engine mount under the crank pulley which is totally separated. The left inner tie rod boot filled with fluid and burst, spraying the transmission and axle with old fluid. I'll evaluate dropping the subframe to replace the rack and all of the engine mounts at the same time. I'll keep the old rack to try replacing the leaking seal and bending/flaring new parallel lines which are very rusty.

I did my first free FCP oil change since buying the car. It's burning / leaking oil much faster than I expected. I missed one of my monthly oil checks, letting the level drop embarrassingly far down the dipstick. It would be nice to someday fix the engine internals to stop it from burning so much, but that's a long way off. Until then, check and top off every month.

The muffler got a rust hole in only three years so I'll buy a Starla from FCP during Black Friday / Cyber Monday sales. Unfortunately, Bear River Converters is out of stock of their 1.75" repair flange so I can't easily install it yet.

I left the transmission fluid level shockingly low after a fluid flush. I only found out months later when it had barely any power in any gear, which thankfully resolved itself quickly. There may be a valve body cover leak so that might need replacing; another good thing to do with the subframe off. I'm planning another drain and flush since the fluid in there looks very dark, replacing the trans dipstick while it's empty.

I still critically need to change the timing belt. I also must replace the front suspension before getting an alignment. But first, I need to swap the rack. So much to do.

[abscate]

We are coming on four years since you started the rehab. Is Geronimo still in service? That’s paying back a lot of work you have done….