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Antifreeze Spewing Out Of The Car


Olive850

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hey hows it going..well ihav ea 1997 850 non turbo. yesterday i had driven it to school and i noticed the antifreeze light was on, so i go and buy a gallon and as soon as i unscrew the cap, all the antifreeze just spews out and it dumps it all on the floor, so i figured it is still hot and turned it off and went to class...so when i was leaving a couple of hours later, i turned on the car and resume to put some antifreeze in and it accepts it normally no problem at all. and today the same thing but the check engine light started blinking..i checked the dipstick no signs of a blown head gasket...idk what else could it be..the coolant reservoir cap, clogged radiator, thermostat..thanks

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Sounds like thermostat to me. Also NEVER take the resevoir cap off when the engine is hot, what keeps the coolant from boiling is the pressure of the system. As soon as you remove the cap, the coolant can boil and hurt you real bad! Be careful.

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Sounds like thermostat to me. Also NEVER take the resevoir cap off when the engine is hot, what keeps the coolant from boiling is the pressure of the system. As soon as you remove the cap, the coolant can boil and hurt you real bad! Be careful.

I agree with the diagnosis. If the thermostat doesnt let any fluid in the radiator you will find that the engine will heat up. This will cause the fluid to build pressure and find a way out.. and on volvos the way out is the reservoir cap. Your lucky that it didnt burst and scald you so be very cautious when you open this. I would suggest you put a damp cloth on it as you turn it to keep any possible pressure to release and dont open it right up..take a slow turn until it relieves the pressure.

The thermostat housing is right on the block (follow your top hose to the block). You can also check to see if its blocked but running the car for a while and then squeezing this hose to sense if there is fluid flowing in it to open up. If it is opening up and allowing fluid then it usually means its operating. When was the last time you changed the thermostat anyway?

Make sure you have a good rached type torx bolt remover to get the housing off, in most cases it is held in there pretty good. If you use a cheap one you will round out the head and have a real problem getting it off.

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I would suggest you put a damp cloth on it as you turn it to keep any possible pressure to release and dont open it right up..take a slow turn until it relieves the pressure.

this could be misleading. as pressure on a fluid goes up so does its boiling point. releasing pressure slowly just prolongs the boil-over.

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this could be misleading. as pressure on a fluid goes up so does its boiling point. releasing pressure slowly just prolongs the boil-over.

Its not the boiling point of water that i am addressing (we all know the pressurized system takes longer to to boil than the non pressurized)... its the air that is trapped in the system that will shoot the water all over you like a projectile... its to relieve the pressure like a shaken pop bottle... only difference is.. the pop is scalding!

Best thing to do is never open it until the car cools down.

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