98 V70 Hepu WP Gasket & Freeze Plug Leaking Topic is solved

[sleddriver]

Here's two photos of "coolant on the shelf" mentioned above:

Is there a "lower weep hole"?

[precopster]

Wahler IS the OEM manufacturer not Behr (who don't even make t stats). All the Volvo marked thermostats are also marked Wahler and Made In Germany.

[rguzz]

Maybe not for Volvo...but Behr makes thermostats.

[erikv11]

Well since we are talking thermostats I will comment too ... recently I have been reading that the Wahler stats often fail within a couple years, while the Stant heavy duty t-stat is much hardier. I might give that one a try for the next stat I need to replace.

[sleddriver]

UPDATE:

I discovered why the WP was leaking: It was loose! Didn't take much effort at all to remove the bolts. Then discovered there wasn't any thread locker on them at all. What WAS on there resembled anti-seize. After removing it, a close inspection revealed the bearing was still tight & quiet, so I'll reuse it with a new gasket. Cleaning up the block face was quite a chore. Access is awkward when working from the ground, I have big hands, tried all manner of tools. Finally got it very clean. I used the clear red anerobic sealant (since I already had it & it works great at filling in micro pores in aluminum) to coat the face of the WP to stick the gasket down, then applied more to the other side. I soaked the bolts in carb cleaner, then brushed then cleaned them up with a wire wheel mounted in the drill press. Then I used blue threadlocker & torqued to spec. This phase of the project took FAR longer than I thought, but it was important to get it ALL clean first.

Someone chimed in and mentioned that the red coating on the WP bolts isn't threadlocker, it's RTV.

While up top with the coolant out, I replaced the upper radiator, lower coolant tank and turbo return coolant hoses with OEM Volvo. The first two had been installed in Sweden in 1997 and were due! Held up well given the heat of Central Tx. I'd previously replaced the turbo return hose. The turbo inlet hose & lower radiator hose will wait while I catch up.

Filled with 50%/50% mix, idled the motor, then waited for the T-stat to open and the air to come out. Carefully watched WP area and upper radiator hose connection to radiator for leaks. Joy! Leak free! I went for a spin last night to heat everything up. This morning there are NO coolant drips on the floor! It's raining today, but expected to begin clearing soon.

[erikv11]

It's over here if anyone is interested in the thread: https://www.matthewsvolvosite.com/forums ... =1&t=75025

[sleddriver]

Update:

Tackled the lower radiator hose & inlet turbo cooling hose last night. The former was easy, the later not so. Found out it holds a good bit of coolant in there! It's truly the lowest point. After fussing with trying to remove the hose itself, I had a paradigm-shift and noticed that I could remove the banjo bolt on the turbo housing: Much easier that way. Do need to be careful to install the outer copper washer though and not lose it! One of the hose clamps had far too long of a metal adjusting "tail" on it (too big of a clamp on a small hose), so I trimmed it off with a MotoTool and deburred the edges. A little silicone grease made it easier to turn the hose on the metal pipe to the right angle when reinstalling to eliminate any torque.

While under there I also replaced the now 17 yr old lower turbo vac line. I'd gone after it before, but gave up due to its vulcanizing onto the metal tube, the small, green, metal clamp kept slipping off my long, angled, needle nose pliers, the tight space & my too-long arms, laying underneath the car. Royal PITA. I'd tried shoving it off with a very l-o-n-g flat screwdriver to no effect.

This time I used a sharp wood chisel to shave the rubber off the bottom. Didn't realize just how long that lower metal tube was. No wonder it sticks on so well. Then used the long screwdriver to pry out the split sections to finally shov it off.

Now the real fun part begins: Getting new silicone line on + the small, green clamp. First silicone hose ID was just too tight for such an awkward access situation, so I went with one size larger + very long angled needle nose. This worked, now the problem was expanding the clamp and sliding it in place. The pliers kept slipping on the tiny metal tabs. The solution wound up being to remove the hose, slide the metal clamp all the way to the hose end THEN use the pliers just behind the clamp to pull the hose on, then grab more hose behind it and pull it on until it's finally all the way on. Very cramped situation for someone with long arms, big hands and working from underneath with the front supported on ramps.

Compared to the above, the lower radiator hose was a piece of cake!

Finally, I did have a chance to look at the back of the WP and low & behold, those some of those bolt holes...are actually holes: They go all the way through! Someone mentioned it above. No wonder RTV is used on the bolts. Makes sense now. Should have used that instead of blue TL'er. I know now.

The heater hoses are the only original cooling hoses left. Didn't notice any aneuresms or buldging.

Filled with coolant, let it heat up, then went for a drive last night to check. This morning there were no coolant leaks on the floor! I topped up the coolant and I can cross this job off my list. Glad this is all in the rear-view mirror.

[theWIFES_S70]

Update:
The heater hoses are the only original cooling hoses left. Didn't notice any aneuresms or buldging.

Congrats sleddriver! But I really hope you don't have to go in there and open and close that radiator drain anytime soon! I opened and closed it a few too many times: coolant flush, then timing belt/water pump, then for a P0116/P0117 engine temp sensor/thermostat update. And after all that opening and closing, the piece broke. But it broke in such a weird way, months later, I look under the car and see that the petcock has a drop of coolant on it, I touch it and it snaps in half! Moral of the story, I think it's best if you try to do everything at once... (Or at the very least, do a thermostat/engine temp sensor replacement when purchasing the car and flushing the cooling system...) I'm going to replace all the hoses and the heater core as soon as this damn cold snap leaves NYC. I don't want to think about draining the car for a while!

[sleddriver]

No worries there WS70 as I always just remove the lower radiator hose.

[theWIFES_S70]

Smart. I wish I'd gone that route!