1999 V70R AWD Auto - Smoking from hood only after revving past 5k.

[HollinPitcher]

Hello,
I was driving my V70R particularly hard one morning, and after I got off the thruway, smoke started coming from my hood.

I went and checked and it was coming from the bottom passenger side of the motor. The car did not overheat at all, the needle stayed in the middle the entire time. The coolant resevior was almost empty! I let the car cool off, and topped it off with coolant and drove it home with no issue whatsoever afterwards.

I was scared and decided to drive the car like a grandma for the next few weeks, and checked the coolant level every single time I started the car, and it always remained the same for weeks without dropping at all. people thought I was crazy.

It went another 2 months without any issue whatsoever until recently, some lady was tailgating me and i floored it to get away from her. Once I got off the thruway, again, the smoke started. Parked the car and went to work for 8 hours. Came back, topped the coolant off, and then noticed it started pouring from the bottom where my wheel was and down into the gutter. Had it towed home. we opened up the wheel well area and noticed it right by the water pump there was a coolant leak where it was dripping fast. I ordered another pump and belt. Decided to do some more poking, started the car, and white smoke came from the exhuast and it smelled bad, but went away after 10s. Checked the oil, theres no oil mixture it looks a dark oily brown no hints of condensation or water in it at all.

Now I am starting to worry, is it just the Water pump, or is the headgasket gone?

[volvolugnut]

The water pump will make greatest pressure at highest RPM. This may be why your experienced 'smoke'. What you saw may have actually been steam from a coolant system leak at high pressure. Leaking coolant will often boil or burn and leave little residue, especially if it only leaks when running.
There are commercial testers for exhaust leaking into coolant.
volvolugnut

[scot850]

From what volvolugnut is saying, this current thread has a head gasket testing unit mentioned:

viewtopic.php?t=104355

I would also look for lose hose clamps, cracked coolant tank and even check for a sticking thermostat.

Neil.

[MoVolvos]

.
Don't want to jump to conclusions but the sweet smell and smoke from the tail pipe is not a good sign. Not sure if it's pressure, age or poor installation that is causing the water pump leak. Even if it's a small head gasket leak you might be able to get by after a water pump or gasket replacement.
.

.

[abscate]

Don’t panic about a head gasket. Check the water pipes and hoses behind the engine and up to the reservoir for leaks.

The water pump job involves the timing belt, too, so think about that while you are into that labour.

Timing belt, idler, and tensioner get replaced as a set