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Geezer
Friday 29th April 2005, 09:17
G'day from Downunder,

First, I'd like to say thanks to everyone for sharing their knowledge and experiences. I have been in and out of this site for a while now taking in what you guys have been up to. Up until now I haven't had a problem that I haven't been able to sort out through reading different postings....until today! (I woke up this morning and just knew it was going to be a BAD DAY).

Second, sorry about the length of this post.

My wife took our 95 850 Turbo (105,000Kms, auto, FSH etc.etc) and the kids away on a shopping trip approx 100 kms. On the way home, after spending every last cent we have, the car basically FARTED and ££££ itself.

The story according to her is as follows (no reason to doubt her...verified by the kids): just been through some serious road works (deep potholes) at 30kph, came out the other side and accelerated up a hill onto a long flat stretch of road up to 100kph (70mph??).

Along the flat stretch she noticed a ticking sound in the cabin that was audible above the stereo (we like it loud). She noticed no acceleration when she pressed the "go" pedal, and also that the temp gauge was higher than normal, however it was nowhere near the red zone.

Next thing the oil warning light came on. She looked in the rear view mirror and noticed heaps of blue smoke trailing behind,and pulled over to the side of the road. When she pulled over, she said heaps of blue smoke billowed out from under the bonnet and pretty much every other warning light on the dash came on. She then turned the ignition off.

Questions:

1) What caused the ticking sound?
2) Is it likely that the oil line that feeds the turbo has parted company somewhere?
3) Is it likely that the engine has been cooked?
4) Could it be a turbo problem?
4) Any clues on any other contributing factor?

The car has been transported back to a mechanic friends business, and he will try to sort it out next week, but as he has had minimal experience on Volvo's, can anybody offer any clues on what he should be looking for, and any clues on how to go about it?

I really hope you guys can help and look forward to your replies.

Regards,

Geezer

Eargasm: A Turbo Charged 2.3 LTR 5 Cylinder At Full Howl

P.S.: I have noticed a lot of "genuine" Volvo parts on e-bay etc. Does anyone know where they are being sourced from?

Justin
Friday 29th April 2005, 09:56
Hi mate, sorry to hear of your troubles.

The ticking sound could be several things, and please dont take this as gospel, but......could be:

Big ends gone, and the shells were catching before gringing to a halt

Could the sump have been hit when negotiating potholes, then loosing compression and spilling oil, hence the blue smoke everywhere.

Turbo may have died, but i doubt it.

Various other oil leaks from somewhere.

Could also be the head gasket, but again i doubt it.

Without getting under the car and having a look fella its hard, but theres a few senarios for you. Keep us posted, i feel for you, honestly, it breaks my heart when my cars broke :(

Chin up ;)

Mrsmopp
Friday 29th April 2005, 10:05
:sick: Oh No!!! Really feel for you!!

Welcome to the forum BTW - what a shame its under these circumstances that you ahve had to make your first post!!

Keep us updated with the progress!

x

volvotuning
Friday 29th April 2005, 10:19
I have a sneaky suspicion that you lost oil pressure, probably due to a failed oil pump. This may have been caused by a head gasket issue or something causing the oil to turn to sludge. This oil pressure failure could then have caused massive sudden engine wear such as failed or big end.

Basically, it sound like a string of problems in succession resulting in big time failure.

Adam.

Geezer
Friday 29th April 2005, 10:50
Hey thanks guys,

I am keeping an open mind about this at the moment...having said that, any and all replies are gratefully received. Please keep them coming. Any clue could be important.

Would it be worthwhile checking out Volvospeed in the USA for help?

I haven't seen the car/damage yet. I will investigate on Monday. I'll let you know what's happening when I know something more.

The wife feels pretty bad about what happened ((the car comes first (too right), then the wife (reasonably important), then the kids (when are they leaving home?) and then Arsenal and the All Blacks a very close forth)). I have no sense of humour about it at all.... however, there is an old saying about "££££ happens".

Seriously, I appreciate how quickly you guys have replied. In NZ, there are not that many Volvo's (and 850's) on the road, and there are not that many members on the NZ Volvo Owners site (no bagging intended) so any wisdom you guys can impart is great.

If you have any more ideas/thoughts on this subject...post away!

Cheers,

Geezer

Eargasm: A Turbo Charged 2.3 LTR 5 Cylinder At Full Howl

siamblue
Friday 29th April 2005, 11:31
Let us know how it goes mate,
Its all hindsight now,when was the oil last changed?
Anyway keep us all informed,if you need any parts and they will fleece you in NZ for give the pun :sheep:
I am sure we can get the parts shipped over if for you,I have a 10% discount from Volvo and can post at cost minus the taxy horribly bit,
Plus we have a lot of breakers here that can get you cheap parts,
You could try turbo bricks or Volvospeed for any info when you get round to taking the sump off and having a wee look,But it does sound like a big bill.Just hope the top end is intact.

Geezer
Friday 29th April 2005, 12:40
Cheers,

I'll keep your suggestions in mind. Thanks for the offer. I'll find out over the next few days what the damage is and more importantly how much it will cost, and very possibly I'll get back to you about parts, prices and shipping etc.

We (I) only purchased the car a couple of months ago...it came with a FSH. Having worked for Volvo in the UK (albeit a few years ago) , I knew about the Lamba Sond sensor etc etc and made sure it was serviced properly before we (I) purchased it. Oil changed approx 1500kms ago. The sevice book is locked in the car, which is locked in the recoverer's yard. We have had no major problems up until today...we have only had minor niggles that I have been able to sort out through various Volvo sites (cheers guys).

Before the wife and kids went shopping today, I can tell you that we had no warning lights on the dash, no excessive oil burn, no excessive coolant usage, no nothing...! I even checked the oil, water level and tyre pressures last night before they went away. All good. I haven't done that on any other vehicle that we have owned.

We all love this car and we intend to keep it, I would just really like to know what has happened, what we have to do to fix it, and what other members should be doing to avoid same set of circumstances.

I'll let you know what the story is as soon as I have more info. Meantime, any clues. theories etc. are more than welcome. Keep posting.

Cheers,

Geezer

Eargasm: A Turbo Charged 2.3 LTR 5 Cylinder At Full Howl

Geezer
Wednesday 4th May 2005, 09:26
G’day again from Downunder,

If you’re interested here is the latest info.

The engine (now after approx. 106,000 km…and that’s about as far as it’s going) has suffered a catastrophic meltdown. My mechanic (and mate) has pulled the engine, removed the head and discovered one of the pistons (I don’t know which one…too pissed off to look) has melted in the bore.

After removing the engine, he was able to trace back the original cause of the problem.

Who wants to take bets on what was the cause??

The fault boils down to a NZ$35.00 part!! Basically the coolant thermostat has closed and the resulting heat build up has melted a piston in the bore. There was no problem with the turbo, no problem with con rods or a lack of oil or coolant. The piston has melted, the engine has spewed oil all over the engine bay, and finally seized.

My mechanic mate also said that the failure was sudden. The engine was running perfectly up until the thermostat failed, as can be witnessed by the tailpipe, which is a textbook shade of grey. He said that when my wife noticed that the temp gauge was higher than normal, it is likely that it had already been in the red zone and was on it’s way down the gauge when the seizure happened. The damage had already been done, hence no acceleration.

Question 1 for everyone: How often do you check your gauges?

Anyway, the engine will be completely pulled down to see if a rebuild is likely (obtaining quotes for parts etc), or if the news is not good, a replacement engine will be sourced (obtaining quotes as well). The last eventuality could be that the whole vehicle is written off.

The only good news is, that when we purchased the vehicle, we also purchased a full mechanical insurance policy to the value of NZ$4000.00, so hopefully we will incur minimal extra impact to the wallet. The only other good news is, we would have at least a completely rebuilt engine or a very good second hand engine that shouldn’t require anything more than regular servicing (hopefully).

Question 2 for everyone: Can you purchase mechanical insurance overseas? If you can, do it!

Question 3: Is there a procedure to check if a thermostat is working correctly to avoid this sort of problem in the future? If so, please advise. It really annoys me that a part like the thermostat could be the main contributor in a meltdown!!

Question 4: Is a thermostat check something that would be looked at as part of a service?

I hope, in the next few days to get a full breakdown of costs etc. I will keep you informed. Still trying to see the bright side.

Cheers,

Geezer

Not going anywhere fast!!

siamblue
Wednesday 4th May 2005, 09:40
This is quite a common problem if you visit various volvo sites around the globe,I asked the same question the other day about the stat,As i don't want my engine giving up,So will go out and buy a new one today,and replace the coolant too.
I hope your insurace company pays up,Because here in the Uk if they find anything out of the ordinary they failt to pay up.

Good luck anyway Gary.

JackT5
Wednesday 4th May 2005, 21:49
Sorry to hear the damage is so bad but hope you are lucky with your insurance. I only asked the other day if anyone had noticed how many Volvo thermostats had failed closed, so the way it looks, if you're running a genuine Volvo one play it safe and junk it. For peace of mind buy one thats guaranteed to fail open! You could always try contacting Volvo blaming it on a faulty part??

Justin
Wednesday 4th May 2005, 22:33
Good idea Jack, let Volvo put a new engine in it for you :)

Wobbly Dave
Wednesday 4th May 2005, 23:39
Sorry to hear your tale of woe. I hope you either can get the money out of the insurance to get this one going or get another.

glock19
Thursday 5th May 2005, 00:34
Please read Bracer's note on PRE-IGNITION which could explain why your piston melted ... Main causes : Heat, Bad Motor, Bad Fuel, etc....
Pre-Ignition (http://www.volvot5.co.uk/forums/showthread.php?t=926)