Kit Vexed Posted January 8, 2015 Report Share Posted January 8, 2015 so i'd been noticing a tick on start up here and there.. oil level was low so i checked under the car and of course the oil cooler lines are leaking.. no biggie, that's what they do. i planned on just topping the oil off as needed to get through the winter so i could do the work when it was warmer out.. now i smell oil when i have my heater on?? what the heck? oh boy! maybe an oil cooler line blew off right?? i popped the hood and my reservoir/overflow bottle is opaque and 'overflowing' with a butterscotch/oil+coolant mixture bulging from the cap and tube from the thermostat housing going into the bottle.. soo it's quite obvious my oil cooler within the radiator burst, mixed with the coolant, backed up and clogged the cooler lines (since the cooler burst) as well as the upper radiator hose (cause now there's oil in my coolant) and overflowed through the reservoir exposing itself as 'butterscotch.' so i DO know what happened. my question is, my engine obv circulated some oil through the coolant/cooling system (and probably stressed out my water pump since oil thickens). how do i get the oil residue out of my cooling system when i replace the radiator and oil cooler lines?? i was thinking of running simple green and turning on the car leaving the lower rad hose unattached and letting the water pump circulate this mixture through the system a few times.. since simple green is a non-toxic/biodegradable degreaser, i figured it wouldn't hurt any seals or damage anything?? i obviously have to change my oil as well seeing as some coolant may have gotten into it (but im less worried about the engine oil as that all just drains out of the pan and can be replaced). what should/could i do?? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Brad850 Posted January 8, 2015 Report Share Posted January 8, 2015 I think the best thing you could do is put a garden hose in the overflow and just let it run until you see clear water flowing out. Don't know if I would want to put any cleaners in, considering some people are even scared to use anything but distilled water. Maybe do a short interval coolant change after this. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Fudge_Brownie Posted January 8, 2015 Report Share Posted January 8, 2015 Found in auto parts stores, or in Walmart for half the price.Gallon of vinegar. Or citric acid usually gets motor oil off pretty good. Bottle of lemon juice or some citric based cleaner? Or how bout BrakeKleen? Rubber-seal safe.Rinsing will get the bulk out, but it will still leave a film coating the walls. I'd rinse the system first, open it all up and run the hose for a while. Then dump your choice of cleaner in and take it around town. Rinse/repeat. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Stormtrooper1 Posted January 8, 2015 Report Share Posted January 8, 2015 Somewhere back in the day I read a thread where a kid changed the oil on his mustang but wanted to rinse the engine. So he left the oil plug out, and put a garden hose in through the oil cap. Then he started the car. Needless to say it locked up pretty quickly. Not really related but as soon as I read simple green and unattached lower hose, that s where I thought this thread was heading. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kit Vexed Posted January 8, 2015 Author Report Share Posted January 8, 2015 thank you guys for your input.. if i garden hose the reservoir, it's going to go IN the *new replacement radiator 1st, then cycle through the engine and back to the radiator (leaving whatever gunk that was in the engine, now in the new radiator). the problem with using water is, oil repels it, so im not sure how that would work.. do you guys use just water for oil spills on the driveway? course not. leaving the lower hose off ensures the gunky engine stuff doesn't get back into the new radiator. i'd detach the reservoir and clean it out thoroughly so whatever was in there would be clean and not cycle through.. as far a running the car, i'd do it with a friend to monitor the temp and kill it before it overheats.. i wondered what *type of cleaner would be safe?? not sure how simple green would be worse than brakleen or vinegar lol. straight water just wont do it.. maybe fudge is right and the prestone flush is the way to go.. do it like 2-3 times. whatta pita this is lol.. please feel free to keep adding input or fault in how im going about this.. im just throwing stuff out there.. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Midnight Caller Posted January 8, 2015 Report Share Posted January 8, 2015 I used one liter of vinegar per 5 liters of water and drove about a week with the mix. Then rinsed with water, and filled with antifreeze. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Fudge_Brownie Posted January 8, 2015 Report Share Posted January 8, 2015 the problem with using water is, oil repels it, so im not sure how that would work.. do you guys use just water for oil spills on the driveway? course not. as far a running the car, i'd do it with a friend to monitor the temp and kill it before it overheats.. i wondered what *type of cleaner would be safe?? not sure how simple green would be worse than brakleen or vinegar lol. straight water just wont do it..Water will help carry some oil out. It'll help get the oil moving, to encourage draining. You're right that it repells water, hence the cleaner being the crucial step in getting the remainder.As long as your car continues to have fluid in it, it will not over heat. And when rinsing fluid through it, you don't have to run the car. Remove the hoses to drain in the order you prefer and crack the block's drain cock found on the passenger side below the exhaust manifold's first runner (timing belt-side). Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kit Vexed Posted January 8, 2015 Author Report Share Posted January 8, 2015 the larger problem now is, it's 5 degrees out.. ANTI-freeze needs to be in the mix. what would be a safe amount to use so i get the most amount of cleaning and still not freeze? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BlackT5 Posted January 8, 2015 Report Share Posted January 8, 2015 I went through this with an 850. I would take it to Volvo and get them to flush it asap. They have some three stage coolant flush. I had tried the garden hose, simple green etc. but oil got stuck to the bottom of the head gasket and ate away at it, causing coolant pressure problems. I finally just gave up on that nightmare and swapped in a good motor. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Fudge_Brownie Posted January 8, 2015 Report Share Posted January 8, 2015 the larger problem now is, it's 5 degrees out.. ANTI-freeze needs to be in the mix. what would be a safe amount to use so i get the most amount of cleaning and still not freeze?Roughly 40/60, with 40% or greater antifreeze. There's a bunch of charts out there. Each brand of coolant provides a mix ratio chart. I'm rarely for having a shop do anything, but this might be a situation I'd consider paying someone. Working a garden hose when it's that cold out is going to suck, you're going to pay at least $20 for antifreeze, and have to deal with the waste liquid. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kit Vexed Posted January 8, 2015 Author Report Share Posted January 8, 2015 whoa man.. i hope i dont lose the car over this.. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
troyhyde Posted January 10, 2015 Report Share Posted January 10, 2015 Just add tap water with liquefied dishwasher soap (non foaming, obviously - cascade or the like). Let the car get hot enough to have a warm heater core and warm upper radiator hose - you want the mix to cycle everywhere in the system. Shut down, drain from lower radiator hose. Repeat a couple of times. If you run a hose into the coolant tank, you miss 1/2 of the cooling system, so not ideal. Once you get a few flushes run through, put in distilled water for a couple of flush cycles. Then add a gallon of Zerex G-05 and call it a day. If you want to flush it again in the spring, probably can't hurt. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kit Vexed Posted January 11, 2015 Author Report Share Posted January 11, 2015 thank you for your input sir. i must say i'd never thought of cascade lol. my buddy who owns a shop is confident the head gasket will *probably make it as they're lined in metal to prevent seepage. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MikeH Posted January 12, 2015 Report Share Posted January 12, 2015 Most of the oil ends up in your reservoir.(highest part of cooling system and oil is lighter than water/coolant) Keep draining just the reservoir when it it builds up (not when its hot) Then do a flush and maybe replace the reservor since it will look like crap and really hard to clean. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Flukey Posted January 12, 2015 Report Share Posted January 12, 2015 I would first take out the t-stat and drain out any remaining coolant in the block. Then I would fill the system with water diluted with some simplegreen. Then run the engine a bit and drain the system including the block again. This is with the heater control valve completely open also. Next I would fill the system with fresh water and then dis-connect the top return hose and run water into the inlet or expansion tank until it runs clear. Then drain the complete system again and put in a new T-stat. Refill with new OEM Volvo coolant 50/50 mix with distilled water. A real pain in the balls but it works great. I did this with mine but I did it in the summer so It was no big deal. I ran the car for another 125,000 with no issues. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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