1998 V70 XC turbo After Cold snap, no power. [blocked frozen intercooler] Topic is solved

alpha318 · Post by **alpha318** » 08 Feb 2021, 23:20

Hello everyone!!
98 V70 XC. B5254T

We have a Cold snap here in montana, -20's and below, before wind-chill.

The V70 started no problem last night. Ran awesome, and smooth.
This morning, it will start and idle; but as soon as you add gas to accelerate..... Nothing.

Popped the hood, the OUTLET hose of the intercooler, including the idle air hose, is flattened, and squished. BUT. The out let of the turbo is still holding it's shape.

I'm stuck. Any ideas?

Post by **RickHaleParker** » 09 Feb 2021, 04:42

alpha318 wrote: ↑08 Feb 2021, 23:20 Popped the hood, the OUTLET hose of the intercooler, including the idle air hose, is flattened, and squished. BUT. The out let of the turbo is still holding it's shape.

I'm stuck. Any ideas?

Blocked Intercooler weep hole.

Water in the Intercooler phase changed into ice and blocked the air flow. That why the vacuum from the Intake manifold collapsed the hoses. There is enough air leakage to idle but not enough to keep from choking the engine when you open the ETM.

Option #1: Push the car into a heated garage and let it thaw out. Then clean the Intercooler's weep hole and drain the water out. Inspect the Intercooler for cracks.

Option #2: To get through this cold spell run a Air hose directly from the MAF to the ETM, bypassing the Turbo and Intercooler. The car will run Naturally Aspirated. Which it does most of the time anyway. The car will run like it always has except when you step down hard. With this weather you should not be kicking in the Turbo anyway so it does not matter ... for now.

Option #3 Run a hose from the charge pipe directly to the ETM, bypassing just the Intercooler. You will get some boost but not as much as with a Intercooler. The engine may run a little hotter and warm up quicker because there no Intercooler dumping heat from the Turbo. You can deal with the Intercooler later. There will be a drop in performance because the air going into the cylinders is less dense. One positive is hotter air can get you a gain in fuel economy.

Post by **abscate** » 09 Feb 2021, 05:14

Nice diagnosis Rick. Good luck surviving that cold spell, bbbrrrrrrrr

Post by **scot850** » 09 Feb 2021, 11:02

Also add a radiator blind. This consists of a piece of cardboard zip-tied behind the hood grille. This can be run but no hotter than whatever the equivalent of +10C is. For some reason Volvo never offered the radiator grill cover in North America.

Placing a heater under the car will also help and Rick's suggestions are great. Never heard of the bypass but that is a good idea.

Good Luck.

Neil.

Post by **BEJinFbk** » 09 Feb 2021, 12:00

+1 for getting it inside!
Nothing beats a night in a warm garage.

Currently Sunny and -29 ( Not including wind chill...)

Post by **RickHaleParker** » 09 Feb 2021, 14:37

scot850 wrote: ↑09 Feb 2021, 11:02 Placing a heater under the car will also help

We use to do that decades ago with a 50,000 BTUh forced air Kerosene space heater. We fabricated some round ductwork to fit over the end of the space heater, then drop down under the vehicle to dump the heat in the engine compartment. Made short work out of heating a engine that would not start in cold weather like this. Would need to be really careful doing that with today's Tupperware cars.

Post by **scot850** » 09 Feb 2021, 15:18

BJ makes a good point. Maybe as the VW's are water free and possibly not used this time of year, kick one outside under a cover and move the Volvo in for this cold week or so. Cheapest option of all!

Neil.

Post by **wizechatmgr** » 10 Feb 2021, 11:25

Someone should order a pizza, eat the pizza. Place the box in front of the intercooler. Now idle engine for a half hour to an hour. If all goes well, the intercooler will start to thaw.

Post by **BEJinFbk** » 10 Feb 2021, 14:00

wizechatmgr wrote: ↑10 Feb 2021, 11:25 Someone should order a pizza, eat the pizza. Place the box in front of the intercooler. Now idle engine for a half hour to an hour. If all goes well, the intercooler will start to thaw.

You had me at Pizza!

alpha318 · Post by **alpha318** » 11 Feb 2021, 16:40

So, I can't believe this.

The pizza box trick worked!!
Furthermore.
1. How can I prevent this from happening again? I don't see a weep hole anywhere.
2. What's the best way to mount a chunk of cardboard to the front of a car, without it overheating??