Volvo S70/V70 (1996 - 2000) - yr 1997 2.5 turbo - coolant system pressurising | Technical matters | Back Room Forum

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Wed 17 Oct 2007 18:38

yr 1997 2.5 turbo - coolant system pressurising - peterparkhurst

I have a 1997 r reg volvo v70 xc the coolant system pressurises after a few miles of driving, and it over heated, i took it to the garage where they said the head gasket had gone, there is no oil in the water nor any water in the oil, they said they didnt know why it was pressurising but the head gasket was gone.
Is this a fair description of why it wouldbe over heating? since they quoted me £1000 to change the gasket.
I have seen an advert on the web for thermoseal, it apparently offers a money back guarrentee on the item if it doesnt work and it states it can repair any damage to head gaskets, at only 60quid is it worth trying if it is the head gasket thats gone?

ANy advice would be greatly appreciated.

regards
Peter

{added year and engine size to subject header}

Edited by Dynamic Dave on 18/10/2007 at 20:05

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Wed 17 Oct 2007 18:57

coolant system pressurising - dxp55

Peter

I had a Mondeo 2.5 ghia with a blown HG - the expansion tank was pressurising and overflowing - I used "Thermagasket" from the US which cost about £70 - I will say it seemed to work as system stopped over pressuring -You will need to flush and re flush cooling system till it's free of all anti freeze - I then sold it on quickly very cheap but unfortunately not to a dealer as a dealer stuffed it on me. before anyone jumps I did as much as I could to check it out but dealer knew HG was gone.

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Wed 17 Oct 2007 18:58

coolant system pressurising - Screwloose

Peter

Not many failed h/gaskets leak between oil and water. The commonest failure is compression into coolant.

What engine have you got that costs £1000 to change a head gasket?

Sealant is for bodge-and-sell-it-quick repairs.

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Thu 18 Oct 2007 13:56

coolant system pressurising - pd

Sounds like it probably is the headgasket. I've seen it like this on quite a few Volvo 5 cylinder engines. They seem to go between the cylinder and water jacket causing air/CO to be in the water with the end result of water spraying out of the header tank once the car is warm or being revved.

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Thu 18 Oct 2007 13:59

coolant system pressurising - pd

£1000 sounds very expensive just to do the gasket. The gasket and head bolts are probably somewhere around £100+VAT and, whilst there is a fair bit of labour involved, it's not that bad unless they are charging £150 per hour.

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Thu 18 Oct 2007 14:11

coolant system pressurising - SpamCan61 {P}

Get the garage to sniff round the header tank with their gas analyser to check for exhaust gases: it does sound like a head gasket to me. Head gasket change on a 2 litre Omega cost me 400 notes at a main dealer, I can see the Volvo being a bit dearer but not 600 quid.

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Thu 18 Oct 2007 14:58

yr 1997 - coolant system pressurising - peterparkhurst

Hi, thanks for the help, it is a 2.5 litre petrol turbo {added to header}, its not a main dealer garage that quote the £1000. just a regular garage. Engine has done 120.000 miles, want to keep it if possible, will try the sealant solution and see how it goes.
Thanks again.

Edited by Dynamic Dave on 18/10/2007 at 20:06

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Sun 9 Mar 2008 11:24

yr 1997 - coolant system pressurising - keep the heap going

Don't know if anyone has mentioned this, but using any of those sealers you have to remember to take the thermostat out or it can seal it up. I would give the sealer a go, as some of them can work for quite a while and are cheaper than the alternative. Good luck with it..

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