Volvo 850 heater core replacement 2

Post by **taxidad** » 11 Aug 2011, 03:48

Excellent, the UK partsforvolvosonline mob looks like good value for money, only about $140 for a swedish made aftermarket blower. I called the parts section of a Volvo dealer here in Melbourne today, gave him the part number for the blower - $873

. I nearly fell off my chair. One second-hand blower was $165 with a no refund policy. Not good enough. Thanks for the links, much appreciated.

Post by **precopster** » 11 Aug 2011, 06:59

At last I have a source of RHD parts for my Volvos! Thanks Valvster! Which second hand dealer gave you a $165 blower quote?

Usually I shop with FCP groton for most things.

I also use Swedish Wreckers in Keilor (03) 9336 2028 but be ready for a stinging!!
I purchased a used 2002 XC70 OEM drive axle for a whopping $275 today.

VolvSaab used to be a full-on parts and repair place where value for money was great.

There is also the Berry Motor Group http://www.berrymotorgroup.com.au/ Ph: (03) 9874 5544 for new and used parts but again, price is not right!

Post by **taxidad** » 11 Aug 2011, 15:32

Volvparts, http://www.volvparts.com.au/index.php. They are a volvo wreckers down Eastlink in Keysborough. I've bought a coolant recovery tank, & some other parts there before. They were very helpful actually. I even saw the wheels I have on my V70 XC & filed that away for future reference since I haven't seen them online anywhere yet.

Even though they are a wrecker, they're prices are still a bit high for second-hand parts. That's the advantage of being in a smaller local market I guess, not as much demand or competition as the European or North American markets.

Thanks for the above references, I've added them all to my 'Volvo repairs' folder, great to have an expanded source of supply for my growing hobby

Post by **taxidad** » 16 Aug 2011, 05:27

I fitted my new heater core today. When putting it back together I had trouble mating the coupling with the plate in the firewall with nothing behind the coupling to keep it in place. I also dented the fins on the core in one spot getting it back into it's casing. I hope this doesn't cause any problems. I notice in the pics above on the 850 you seemed to have plenty of room to undo those screws in the engine bay. I had a round disc shaped item in the way & wasn't game to undo it. I managed but it took a while & a bit of skin off the knuckles lol. I got it all back together & started it up to check for leaks. First thing was - yes - I had warm air. Then, right at the point where the pipes enter the core - slow drip, even though I had cleaned up & put new O rings on the end. So I undid the casing, gently pulled the core down and pulled it sideways as best I could because it appeared to be leaking from the least accesible torx screw on the yoke that the pipes run through. I had unscrewed them before realising I didn't need to. I tightened all the screws again & got it back together. Ran for 5 mins with no leaks. I turned off the engine & started to pack up. Just before I put the kick panel back on I had another quick look. It had dripped, oh (%$#&^%). I think it's a VERY slow drip. It might even seal completely when everything is up to operating temp. I don't have time to go in again for a few days, so I hope it's slow enough not to cause concern. I drove the car about 5 K's & can't smell any coolant. I'll be keeping a close eye on the water level until I can go in again.

Anyway, I feel good that I had a go, & appreciate all the advice & your helpful tutorial precopster. At least when I go back in to try & stop that drip I know the terrain, & I saved the $1000 odd dollars my mechanic said it would take because they would take a day to pull the dash & disconnect/regass the air con etc.

More power to you! Taxidad.

Post by **precopster** » 16 Aug 2011, 07:02

Sorry to hear it leaked. Were your pipes aluminium? My wife's 850 were cast iron and very rusty. I swapped them with V70 pipes from the wrecking yard.

On both my installs no dripping at the heater core end so I must have been lucky

The torx screw may need a retighten in your case.

Post by **jblackburn** » 16 Aug 2011, 07:05

Which O-rings did you use? The FCP ones suck and do drip; if you didn't get your hands on the real Volvo ones, that's what you need!

Post by **taxidad** » 17 Aug 2011, 05:20

Aha, I bought the green FCP O rings when I bought the heater core from them. I remember they were not as snug as I would have expected. No O rings came with the OEM heater core, which surprised me. The drip is very very slow, only when it cools down. At operating temperature it doesn't drip. I've tightened the yoke till I'm afraid I'll break it. Even a very very slow drip is not good enough in this spot - I need to get some volvo O rings. Thanks for that info.

JPMATRIX · Post by **JPMATRIX** » 23 Aug 2011, 18:03

Do you need to flush all the coolant from the system before doing the exchange? or does it have some kind of valve that prevents the coolant from coming out from the radiator or engine?

Thanks

Post by **taxidad** » 24 Aug 2011, 00:50

Welcome to MVS. No you don't have to drain all the coolant. If you are replacing the coupling in the firewall as well (which is advisable) then just unclip & remove the pipes on the engine bay side & tie them upwards. You will lose a little coolant & can place something underneath the car to catch it. You can use it again if it's clean. If you're not replacing the coupling & don't wish to remove the pipes in the engine bay (they clip in and out) the Haynes manual advises to clamp the pipes before undoing the heater core. You will still have some coolant in the aluminium pipes inside the cabin & possibly the heater core when you disconnect the pipes into the heater core, so have plenty of old towels in the footwells to soak any up. Be careful in case it's still hot.

When it's back together you will need to top up your coolant a little. There's some good advise from Precopster earlier in this thread. All the best with your heater core replacement!

Post by **fiore67** » 11 Sep 2011, 07:21

Can someone tell me why everytime my wife gets in my car something happens. Well my core spewed coolant all over the floor. Have to pull the carpet and pad up and clean it up. Managed to pull the core out with no problems. One thing i noticed was the center screw as noted in pic # 6 was not tight....is it possible that i was leaking coolant from there. The screw was all the way in just not tight. Wondering also what anyones thoughts are on just doing the core itself versus the core, coupler and heater hoses. Funds are a little tight right now. On the other hand i was thinking of just bypassing the core for now and picking up a cig lighter plug in heater for my short winter commute (20 miles) to work.

Volvo 850 heater core replacement 2

Re: Volvo 850 heater core replacement 2