A lot of people don’t know it but the white block Volvo’s run and drive well with a bad head gasket, as long as you keep coolant in them. My daughter drove her S70 GLT for about a year with a slightly blown head gasket. The combustion gases were getting into the coolant passages and forcing coolant out of the coolant reservoir. This condition gradually got worse until the head gasket had to be replaced.
This video will show you how to tell if a car you are dealing with has a drivable bad head gasket.
How to use the test kit: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QA7KVQq9vKA
Coolant system information: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=g3FSzIbPw3Q
Coolant hoses, replace them when they get old: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=s1OlrdloSzo
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Thanks Robert, very useful! What´s your opinion on the 960´s inline-6 3.0? Is it an engine to avoid? Is the 2.5 better? Thanks in advance
hi robert got to ask where did you get your stabilizer bar?
radiator lite is on but temp gauge is normal. 98 v70 .
resovoir shows empty while motor is on.
at the moment my coolant keeps dropping about 1/2 a pint every now and again.. when I crack open the reservoir the level rises.
Previous owner has replaced the Radiator and the coolant hoses look ok.
she is running a little lumpy on start up although drove fine the last month.
I thought the fuel was smelling a little rich though.
probably several things going on here..
hey Robert i change the heater core because of smell and leack in my c70 but i still lose in 300km about 150ml of coolant
intresting is when the car is started my thermofan works when get hot…but not work when engine is stoped and after get hot and is summer time when i stop the engine i can hear some "bubbles" noise from there but there is not boiling watter
my question is …i have problems with head gasket?or with the thermostat? or with the coolant vessel?
thanks again!
Wish you lived in my town. :-
very helpful and informative video. Thank you. I have owned Volvos since 1994 ( I have a 2006 Volvo XC with 192,000 miles and no head casket problem) and have not experienced a head casket problem until I purchased a 2000 S40 with 78,000 miles this past November 2016. After having the Volvo checked out by two different mechanics for unrelated issues the head casket eventually blew after two weeks of driving. Long story short-check the coolant as stated in the video and you should be ok.
Just bought a Volvo with a blown head gasket. Your videos are awesome thanks!
Robert, I have a Volvo s60r. Recently I flushed the heater core and it worked well with more heat. I flushed coolant system and filled with mostly distilled water. Ran well for a few weeks. I now lose coolant very rapidly, small leak at thermostat housing and I am replacing thermostat. The big issue is that I have a cracked turbo, gurgling coming from coolant reservoir when engine off, extremely high pressure in upper radiator hose (feels like it will explode) Coolant smells like exhaust, but the oil is clean and isn't milky. Could this pressure issue be caused by too much water and not enough coolant, as well as the cracked turbo burning the coolant instead of a head gasket?
Hay Robert I have a Volvo 740 with low mileage,inside is the smell of coolant no wet spots on or near the heater but it does use coolant about 1 pint a week do I have a blown hg or a heater core on its legs?thanks.
Hi Robert, congragulations on you channel, i have an Volvo 850 2.0 turbo of 1995(210hp) , ists a superb car, but lately i have with some troubles in it, it begans with the car dont work properly in idle and sometimes in acceleration it feels inconstant with some loss of power, i change the plugs, plugs wires, distributor, and it still feel the sames power loss, then i changed also the maf, the engine light is on(the triangular symbol) , i also notice the the tubes from the radiator hose gain some pressure( i dont know if its normal) the car does´t overheat and dont lose any coolant from the recipient , sometimes it works fine, but some it struggle tho stay work, what is your opinion on that , do you think that the problem is a bad head-gasket? you something else? thanks , cheers from Portugal.
Informative and Accurate. My daily driver C40 is suffering from this very thing. I've known for a while, but just drive easy and keep antifreeze in the reservoir.
Keep an eye out for 'creme' inside the oil filler cap. Mine is showing there as well. Time left could be counted in days I suspect.
Thanks Robert, very helpful explanation.
i have replace both of my belts a year ago because of the seal for the oil went bad and got all over the belts.
i had my time belt replace on my volvo c 70 but they didnt replace my water pump now my car makes noises and ticking and starting to run hot. i told them to replace it with eveeything but they didnt . so can a water pump make all kinds of ticking make the car start to run hot. it also sounds like a belt is bad.
i just changed my exuast mnifold and now its leaking oil and spitting white smoke what did I do wrong?
Thanks so much for these videos, Robert! They're wonderful. I just bought a 2004 xc70 (170k) that's been somewhat neglected, and I'm using your videos to learn how to do a lot of my own maintenance work. So, my question: I noticed that when the engine gets hot, the level rises about 3/4 of an inch. Is that within acceptable ranges? Or is that a head gasket sign? I worry about the gasket partly because I noticed the other day that the coolant seemed sort of brownish, which I understand might be oil–but might not be (maybe just old). So I'm planning to flush the system this weekend. I'm also trying to keep an eye on it to see if the level is dropping when it's cool, which I suppose would mean that the engine is taking on coolant too, right? I noticed a small bit of liquid leaked out the bottom the other day when my wife pulled away. Was clear, seemed like water. But this other stuff has me worried it was a coolant leak. It was sort of in the middle of the car. I had a mechanic check it out pre-purchase, and he didn't say anything about this. And another mechanic saw it since. But I'm paranoid since this is a new high-mileage car.
If a part from inside the engine come out could it be fixed or no? And should i scrape the engine and get a used decent engine?
Hi Robert,
I was told I have a blown head gasket, but the car doesn't overheat. The coolant reservoir empties every time i park after a drive, and there is oil in the reservoir. It doesn't blow smoke or anthing else. it's a volvo 960 1995. Is this the case for sure?
Robert, you are the best and I watch all your videos all the time. I have a 1999 s70 and during the winter I had to refill the coolant antifreeze once a month or so. Now that it is summer time I am having to refill the coolant three to four times a WEEK and every time the coolant is ENTIRELY gone from the tank. Also, when I remove the coolant cap there is a tight suction that releases upon opening. I have looked for a leak everywhere and I cannot find a leak. Do you have a diagnosis? Also, over the last few days, when it is hot, my oil light is coming on during sharp turns and flickers. I just had an oil change this week. Also, it seems that I am getting a knock from my engine. Do you think I have two separate problems or the problem is stemming from the same problem causing the oil light and coolant light to come on frequently during hot days? I am keeping the coolant filled everyday and not driving much because I feel like I am risking something bad happen until I figure out the problem. Once again, thanks for your help Robert.