1998 S70 T5... coolant gone... I have some questions

[TrishP]

First time poster here.....my girl is a 1998 S70 T5 with 124K and no rust. I want to keep her.
She's been pretty great, but last Friday, after start up, all the warnings lights turned off except for TRACS & ABS. They eventually went off after a minute or two.
Then on Sunday, after arriving home, I noticed the fan kept running--> after I turned off the ignition. Went and retrieved hubby to investigate. He found the anti-freeze pretty much gone from the reservoir & then noticed a hose detached from the radiator. At first he thought it was just a rusty clamp--but then realized it was a break. To be make a long story short, he felt there was enough room on broken part to reattach the hose and did so with a new clamp. We added fresh antifreeze, and I did drive around town today but with much trepidation (and a bottle of anti~freeze ) . Things held up, but then while driving I noticed the TRACS & ABS warning light came on and stayed on until I turned off the car.

Am including photos of the fractured part and new clamp. My husband is hoping this fix can last for a bit.
My question, gentle expert reader, is--what do you think? Is this realistic?
And, are these two issues related in some weird way?
Do I need a new radiator, and, if so OEM?
Any advice greatly appreciated because, as you know, knowledge is power

[erikv11]

That is a common failure of that hose pipe on the top of the radiator. I am surprised your husband could cobble it back together! It indeed must be replaced, don't trust that fix long term.

Your best bet is OEM, that's what I buy on rads, but many people on here will vouch for other brand radiators (which cost less), like Nissens. If you want to keep this car a while, this would be a good time to get a new lower radiator hose, you will be in the area anyway and often those are original on cars of this vintage. Buy Volvo on the hose too, otherwise your old one may be better than some of the crap aftermarket hoses you can get. Upper hose too but those are easy to change whenever, you can use your judgment on that one. Great OEM prices here: http://volvopartslisle.com/.

The TRACS/ABS issue is likely just a coincidence. I can not see a logical way to connect them and every ABS module on a 98 has either already failed or is about to. The solution is at this web site: https://www.midwest-abs.com/. You will need to swap in a repaired ABS module. See also https://www.matthewsvolvosite.com/forums ... =7&t=73451.

[Clemens]

Don´t know if the 98 has the same ABS module as teh 96 850. But if so, it might be an easy DIY fix. It took me abaout an hour to remove teh control moduloe, cut it iopen with a dremel, solder 2 broken joints, and glue it back together. Works like a charm for virtually free.

And I´m sure those issues aren´t related.

[tryingbe]

Change the radiator ASAP, if it goes out again, your engine will get fried! I'd get the radiator from Autozone. Life time warranty and locally available.

[bmdubya1198]

I have a Nissens radiator, and it's been fine. Then again, I haven't really driven my car...
The fan is electronic, and sometimes when it is hot out or you've been running the engine harder, it will keep running after turning off the car. In your case, it was definitely due to lack of antifreeze. Surprised your temp gauge didn't shoot up. As for the top hose, any brand but URO parts is fine.
ABS and TRACS light are due to ABS module. Like Erik said, go to www.midwest-abs.com.

[RussB]

Frankly, if you ran the car with no antifreeze, it might already be too late. It doesn't take much driving with no coolant to overheat and warp the head, requiring a new head gasket. Do a compression test. Have to coolant tested to see in there's combustion gases already mixing in with it. If the head gasket is compromised you have many more expensive decisions ahead of you...keep your fingers crossed

As mentioned, if all checks out OK and you want to keep the car, replace the radiator ASAP. Flush the cooling system, consider replacing the thermostat along with all tired 19 year old hoses. Nothing lasts forever!

I ran a Nissens brand radiator for several years in my '96. I would use one again. In my opinion, it's time to perform some much needed maintenance on your car. There are a bunch of us from CT. I'm in the NE corner...

[erikv11]

There are a ton of lousy hoses out there, e.g. MacKay brand is commonly sold and very, very flimsy. Gates and Dayco are usually pretty good.

As alluded to by others, the car didn't overheat, did it?

[Sommerfeldt]

Frankly, if you ran the car with no antifreeze, it might already be too late.

I wish we'd all stop with this hype a little bit. True, if these engines overheat (usually to the point of stalling), they're f-ed. But, like this case, all that was needed was to stick the hose back on and refill the reservoir, and the car runs fine afterwards, then all they need is a new radiator. Let's not blow it out of proportions.

- S

[dosbricks]

Frankly, if you ran the car with no antifreeze, it might already be too late.

I wish we'd all stop with this hype a little bit. True, if these engines overheat (usually to the point of stalling), they're f-ed. But, like this case, all that was needed was to stick the hose back on and refill the reservoir, and the car runs fine afterwards, then all they need is a new radiator. Let's not blow it out of proportions.

- S

+1
There is no point in trying to imagine the worst. If it's there, it will find you soon enough anyway.
The car does need a new radiator ASAP--there is too much risk running with the hose attached to a broken-off stub.

[bmdubya1198]

There are a ton of lousy hoses out there, e.g. MacKay brand is commonly sold and very, very flimsy. Gates and Dayco are usually pretty good.

As alluded to by others, the car didn't overheat, did it?

Dayco is what's in mine. It's not nearly as flimsy as the Uro parts one.