1998 Volvo S70 Coolant soaked on drivers side floor

roscoerich · Post by **roscoerich** » 01 Apr 2015, 13:20

Help! Well I was able to replace my radiator and S70 was running like a dream, then today white smoke started pouring out the AC vents blinding me so I had to stop in the middle of a busy street with smoke billowing out of my windows. I have coolant that has soaked the drivers side floor, plus leaking out of just under the car by drivers side back door. Has my heater core gone or have I just disturbed some hose that I can't see when replacing the radiator. Please any advice would be greatly appreciated. Thanks in advance.

Post by **abscate** » 01 Apr 2015, 13:22

Its heater core time!! Thankfully, under 100 bucks and doable with hand labor inside car for the most part.

There is a cheaper core out there that works well, but needs careful cleaning or else it stinks up the car.

roscoerich · Post by **roscoerich** » 01 Apr 2015, 13:25

You think that would go right at the same time as my radiator? Hoping it might have just been a hose that came loose.. If it's the heater core I have to pull the carpets right? Any brand suggestions on the core. I see them for about $30 bucks on Amazon.

roscoerich · Post by **roscoerich** » 01 Apr 2015, 13:27

and thanks for the quick reply. If it is the heater core, would it be leaking out the undercarriage as well below drivers side back door?

Post by **precopster** » 01 Apr 2015, 13:36

The Amazon ones will explode within 3-4 years of moderate use. There's 2 sellers on eBay; volvonest and swedishautolampsplus (which are probably the same company), which sell a redesigned core made in Estonia. That's the one that needs a wash. $30 plus delivery.

I've done about 40,000kms on mine. Great heat output.

You don't need to pull carpets at all unless they're wet. Access is just behind ashtray. Undo the torx 25 at the heater core and don't disturb the firewall coupling and you'll get away with a cheap and quick repair. Look on IPD's YouTube channel for instructions.

Post by **E Showell** » 02 Apr 2015, 05:43

I redid my heater core with the Estonian one from Ebay about 3 months or so ago (maybe more now). I rinsed it for hours in a bucket of soapy water and it still stinks unbelievably. I'd say if you go that route, two times through the dishwasher would not be excessive pre-installation cleaning.

Post by **cn90** » 02 Apr 2015, 08:43

Search forum for:

1. Heater Core from ebay for $39.95.

2. Erikv11's post of Gates heater hose (5/8-inch type)

3. Threads on cutting metal pipes and run hose to coupler. And threads on rebuilding engine-side heater hoses (basically cut the crimp and use new generic Gates heater hose) to avoid heater hose rupture, which will dump coolant in a matter of seconds.

I have all the parts and will tackle it this weekend, photos later.

Post by **erikv11** » 02 Apr 2015, 10:03

roscoerich wrote:You think that would go right at the same time as my radiator? ...

I agree this is a suspicious timing of events. How did the radiator die, did it look like cracks simply due to aging or did the side seam burst?

Heater core failure is pretty common so I don't mean to be alarmist, it may just be coincidence, but for peace of mind you may want to test the coolant for hydrocarbons, ensure this engine does not have a head gasket problem. I've never done this test but the kits are like this: https://www.amazon.com/Lisle-75500-Combu ... B0007ZDRUI.

Post by **precopster** » 02 Apr 2015, 15:19

There are 2 metal pipes currently carrying the coolant from the firewall to the heater core. There are o rings which seal these pipes. Generally o rings may leak slowly and you wouldn't see steam inside the cabin. The heater core is the most likely suspect here.

If you want it simple and cheap just undo the torx at the heater core to release the metal pipes (as well as peeling back the black kick panels and undoing some screws on the heater box)

If you want to bypass the heatet core to positively identify the leak and get some time up your sleeve while the part arrives you'll need some heatet hose to form a loop between the inlet and outlet to the core on the engine block.

Just noticed that Swedish Car Parts also have an Amazon listing for the eBay core for $49.95 using part number 9144221

Some crazy Volvo obsessed guy testing heat output on this heater core:

roscoerich · Post by **roscoerich** » 02 Apr 2015, 16:53

The radiator cracked on the plastic part. I believe it was the original so definitely due for replacement the heater core is leaking so I will be replacing this weekend. hopefully that will resolve the issues. Thanks everyone for the replies.