850 T5, odd coolant and heater problems! A mystery needs solving!

[greig]

Hello fellow Volvo lovers,

Ive just bought a 1995 850 T5 estate. Ive always had a hankering for one and am thrilled to have finally got round to buying one. So far it's been great fun, very rapid, lovely to drive and even manages to turn corners and stop reasonably well.

Anyway, its a high mileage car (200k) but has been the personal transport of a classic car restorer whom I know and trust and it has been very well cared for.

Im, having two problems with it at the moment though (possibly connected?)

1 - Its drinking coolant as fast as I drink ale. I noticed it was low and topped it up yesterday and by this evening it was back down to the low level marking.

Theres no water under the car when parked, no mayonnaise in the oil filler, no water in the oil, and no water coming from the exhaust. It pulls like a train and doenst overheat. Luckily it doesnt sound like the head gasket.

So wheres it all going? I guess it must be being lost when under pressure when driving along? I cant see any obvious leaks though, are there usual suspects for this type of thing?

2 - Often theres what i can only describe as a brown mist coming from the heater vents even when the heater is off. Its like a dry, powdery mist (not water) and it comes through all the vents when the heater is on and the side vents when its off. Oh and it stinks!

There doesnt appear to be any water in the passenger footwell (havent had carpet up yet tho) Ive never come across anthing like this before!

I hope that some of you guys might be able to offer me a few ideas as im pretty stumped by both of these problems.

Thankyou in advance,

Greig

[Tomcat]

Could be the heater matrix thats gone, try putting the heater on hot and on full blow through the vents.If its gone then you'll have steam coming out the vents.

The other possibility is a split hose somewhere, I had a similar problem on mine. It would you approximately a full expansion tank full of water whilst getting to work but there where no obvious leaks. After a few days it started to use more and I finally noticed a small puddle under the car. Turned out to be a split in a small hose on the side of the engine, above the gearbox, easy fix but it really had me worried for a while.

[greig]

thanks for the reply tomcat - ill give that a go first thing tomorrow. would a broken heater matrix account for the coolant loss though?

Ill have to have a really good look for any leaks...fingers crossed!

Greig

[t5tart]

i had a similar problem
first thing to check is the expansion tank cap
is it the old styled grey one or the new green one
if its the old one change it they are about £16 from a dealer iirc

second thing is to flush and clean out the coolant system and make sure the coolant is a 50 50 mix no less
i had a problem with a 2.0 20v it would not hold water was losing it at a rate of knots turned out even with a new rad there was a blockage in it
slick 50 rad flush
complete drain and refill with de ionised water and coolant
and touch wood hasnt needed a drop since

lift the carpet on passenger side see if its wet under the sound proofing
but if its the matrix and you keep topping it up you will have a swimming pool in there

[t5owner]

thanks for the reply tomcat - ill give that a go first thing tomorrow. would a broken heater matrix account for the coolant loss though?

Ill have to have a really good look for any leaks...fingers crossed!

Greig

Yes the heater matrix will account for the coolant loss as quick as you add it it`s losing it from the matrix and you won`t find any puddles under the car as it`s leaking into the car itself

As said before lift up the front footwell carpets and have a feel if you`ve put in as much coolant as you say they should be wet also the coolant will soak into the rubber backed sound proofing and that acts like a giant sponge and can and will hold about 5 litres of coolant i know because it did the same on my S70 and i had to cut the soundproofing out and it took 3 days to dry out

Just reread your post and it deffo sounds like the heater matrix

Cheers

stuart

[lance]

Dito , Probably the heater matrix and it takes along time to dry out!

[NugentS]

Could be a leaky rad - it was for mine - but not I admit that quantity of water...

Sean

[Baj]

I had a tiny split in a pipe.
For weeks it would lose water slowly, then quicker and I couldnt find the leak anywhere..
Finally It would need filling after a journey to work, only then could I find the leak. A tiny hole in the inside corner of the pipe behind the block.
It needed to be under pressure to see it too.

[RGM200]

This Heater Matrix seems to be an extremely common problem, mine has gone too and I have a lovely mist flowing through my vents when I turn the heater controls onto anything other than cold. I found an excellent thread on how to change a heater matrix on here:

http://www.vpcuk.org/forums/t2929-heater-matrix-replacement-for-s70s.html

looks time consuming but straight forward enough, my only question is that I have an 854 T5 95 Auto, so where would be the best place to get a new heater matrix and o' rings from? would second hand be ok, OR can they be re-conditioned like a radiator can be?

[Rufe]

they can sometimes be reconditioned, a mate of mine got his done for his R a few years back, though we sent one to the same place after that and they couldnt do that one. worth taking off and asking your local radiator supplier if theres any hope before spending on a new one perhaps

[woz]

[QUOTE=RGM200]This Heater Matrix ...... I found an excellent thread on how to change a heater matrix on here:
http://www.vpcuk.org/forums/t2929-heater-matrix-replacement-for-s70s.html
looks time consuming but straight forward enough, my only question is that I have an 854 T5 95 Auto, so where would be the best place to get a new heater matrix and o' rings from? would second hand be ok, OR can they be re-conditioned like a radiator can be?[/QUOTE)]
Dont use second hand O rings - you have those already. Volvo ones allegedly v. expensive - I bought a box of 144 misc from Machine Mart, Screwfizx or similar - now have billions so could let you have them for the price of postage. PM me!
For the matrix I went to local rad supplier (DH Radiators in Kingswood, Bristol) I got a new one for £45 ish - I think they are available from GSF as well online. Not a difficult job, slightly more fiddly than the link shows - took me about 2 hours due to me farting about - could prob do next one in an hour if I had to!
Good luck!
W:>)