hotch Posted January 7, 2006 Report Share Posted January 7, 2006 This first happened on my drive home last night... 2000 XC70, i look down the temperature guage is pegged in the red.... not good. I pull over, I'm about 1.5 miles from home, so i let the engine cool, start up, keep a close eye on the guage, and limp home in half mile increments, stopping to let the engine cool (note that this is wintertime in the rocky mountains, temperatures were definitely below freezing...anyway, i get home, and into the garage, pop the bonnet, and, as expected, the coolant is empty.fast forward, four hours later...i have to go into town on an emergency voyage (and my R is already in the shop, thanks to a pesky elk), and I make it in (10 miles), and about 8 miles into the return journey it starts to do it again... i catch it earlier, because i'm watching, and limp home in the same method outlined above.i get home, pop the bonnet, and low and behold, the coolant tank is still full, and, unlike before, the engine block isn't wet... this morning, i go down to get my computer out of the car, and i look, and the coolant tank is completely empty... but i don't see any obvious leaks...help! (the urgency here is I have to drive 150 miles for work on sunday... and my mechanic is closed for the weekend) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mesoam Posted January 7, 2006 Report Share Posted January 7, 2006 t-stat and coolant flush, inspect your hoses....www.scangauge.com makes a tool that is not only a code reader but it will also read water temps so you could really tell if its over heating Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Fisher Posted January 7, 2006 Report Share Posted January 7, 2006 Refill the reservoir. Open the hood while the car is running and warm and watch for bubbling in the coolant reservoir. My hunch is that you have a head gasket leak that is overpressuring your cooling system. Another symptom might be if you smell traces of exhaust fumes in your reservoir.When you found the coolant all over your engine, did you find where the coolant was leaking from? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rp850 Posted January 7, 2006 Report Share Posted January 7, 2006 Compression test would help in diagnosing if you have a head gasket problem.This first happened on my drive home last night... 2000 XC70, i look down the temperature guage is pegged in the red.... not good. I pull over, I'm about 1.5 miles from home, so i let the engine cool, start up, keep a close eye on the guage, and limp home in half mile increments, stopping to let the engine cool (note that this is wintertime in the rocky mountains, temperatures were definitely below freezing...anyway, i get home, and into the garage, pop the bonnet, and, as expected, the coolant is empty.fast forward, four hours later...i have to go into town on an emergency voyage (and my R is already in the shop, thanks to a pesky elk), and I make it in (10 miles), and about 8 miles into the return journey it starts to do it again... i catch it earlier, because i'm watching, and limp home in the same method outlined above.i get home, pop the bonnet, and low and behold, the coolant tank is still full, and, unlike before, the engine block isn't wet... this morning, i go down to get my computer out of the car, and i look, and the coolant tank is completely empty... but i don't see any obvious leaks...help! (the urgency here is I have to drive 150 miles for work on sunday... and my mechanic is closed for the weekend) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
hotch Posted January 7, 2006 Author Report Share Posted January 7, 2006 so, the gist is, it's going to have to go to the shop? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mesoam Posted January 7, 2006 Report Share Posted January 7, 2006 you can't change a t-stat and flush the fluid? its pretty cake Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rodrigo Posted January 7, 2006 Report Share Posted January 7, 2006 I would not drive the car in this state. the fact that your engine was wet is nnot a good thing...to me, anyway. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MrWinkey Posted January 7, 2006 Report Share Posted January 7, 2006 I highly highly doubt you have a head gasket issue....I'm more inclined as already suggested that you have a bad thermostat or possibly a coolant leak somewhere... just something stupid make sure nothing is blocking the radiator. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Terbocredit Posted January 8, 2006 Report Share Posted January 8, 2006 This first happened on my drive home last night... 2000 XC70, i look down the temperature guage is pegged in the red.... not good. I pull over, I'm about 1.5 miles from home, so i let the engine cool, start up, keep a close eye on the guage, and limp home in half mile increments, stopping to let the engine cool (note that this is wintertime in the rocky mountains, temperatures were definitely below freezing...anyway, i get home, and into the garage, pop the bonnet, and, as expected, the coolant is empty.fast forward, four hours later...i have to go into town on an emergency voyage (and my R is already in the shop, thanks to a pesky elk), and I make it in (10 miles), and about 8 miles into the return journey it starts to do it again... i catch it earlier, because i'm watching, and limp home in the same method outlined above.i get home, pop the bonnet, and low and behold, the coolant tank is still full, and, unlike before, the engine block isn't wet... this morning, i go down to get my computer out of the car, and i look, and the coolant tank is completely empty... but i don't see any obvious leaks...help! (the urgency here is I have to drive 150 miles for work on sunday... and my mechanic is closed for the weekend)Hotch, so you didn't add ANY coolant during this whole episode? The "now you see it, now you don't" is due to good ole expansion and contraction. The note about the temperature is moot if coolant isn't making it to the radiator to dissipate the heat (read thermostat blocked). I know you've got some big climbs in CO, is there any performance loss or strain on the motor when you have to climb them? If you're losing compression, you'll notice that there's a definite strain or power loss. If you haven't topped off the coolant then do it. (If I step on your toes here, then pardon me)--remove the cap then start the car and let it run while keepting an eye on the temp gauge, once it's in the normal range, add more coolant to be sure it's between the min and max lines; then install the cap. Take a few hills and when you get back check the coolant level again. Get back to us, we know your time's short. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BCo Posted January 9, 2006 Report Share Posted January 9, 2006 I highly highly doubt you have a head gasket issue....I'm more inclined as already suggested that you have a bad thermostat or possibly a coolant leak somewhere... just something stupid make sure nothing is blocking the radiator.Could there also be a problem with the expansion tank cap? I remember having one of those go on my '88 740, and it wet down the engine pretty good with coolant. Think I also replaced the t-stat, waterpump, and coolant. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Fisher Posted January 10, 2006 Report Share Posted January 10, 2006 BCo,Good point. When I read his description, I read "still full" and assumed he added coolant between the two episodes. If this is the case, he is losing a lot of coolant in a very short time.Hotch,Let us know how it turns out. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
hotch Posted January 10, 2006 Author Report Share Posted January 10, 2006 you guys rock... it was the t-stat, i replaced it on saturday, and successfully made it to my customer on sunday.i <3 volvospeed. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
the underlørd Posted January 10, 2006 Report Share Posted January 10, 2006 you guys rock... it was the t-stat, i replaced it on saturday, and successfully made it to my customer on sunday.i <3 volvospeed. was the tstat stuck open? where did the coolant go? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
hotch Posted January 11, 2006 Author Report Share Posted January 11, 2006 you know, i'm not sure? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
the underlørd Posted January 11, 2006 Report Share Posted January 11, 2006 you know, i'm not sure? .. I would think we should find out! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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