Hello,

Eleven months ago I had the T belt and water pump changed out on my wife's '03 V70 by a 'Volvo guru' in New Haven.

I drove it lately and noticed a boiling sound at the dash when I stopped and turned off the car. Further investigation turns up a boiling sound emanating from the engine. I fear that it's been driven all this time with an air pocket in the cooling system. My wife thought the sound in the dash was rumblings in the AC system.

The coolant level hasn't changed. I'm planning on taking it in in the morning without an appointment.

Can the engine be burped easily? I'd like to try it myself before it's driven another mile.

This car has been a dream when it comes to maintenance and reliability and if the head gasket goes because of this I'll be one disappointed and angry guy.

Tom

2003 V70
1997 850R
1990 740 Turbo

Every time I have changed coolant on my 850 there has been a little air pocket which went away after a few warm up cool off cycles. It is maybe 0.5 liter or so, which I have topped off in the reservoir. I think if you have a real air pocket you would have known it. You would sense the engine being very hot around the cyl head or even smelling differently or the oil becoming much hotter than usual after even a short run. The gauge might not go especially high on the dash if there isn't much coolant flowing by the sensor.

I have learned when draining the coolant and replacing it to measure carefully to ensure that the full amount was there before and that I am adding the correct amount.

So if you want to be very cautious you could drain the coolant from radiator and block into a clean container for reuse and see how much you get, then restore the correct amount.

The normal burp method: Warm up the engine so the thermostat opens, about 2 miles for the gauge to go horizontal. Then put a towel over the top water hose and squeeze repeatedly until the bubbles go away.

Klaus
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Always willing to listen, just not able to take direction.