My wife's '95 855T, with 205,000 miles, has developed a leak I'm having a tough time finding. When she parks the car after driving home there's a steady drip under the radiator. I'm topping up the coolant expansion tank weekly and it's usually empty when I do. One day after work it was dripping and I pulled off the lower air deflector and the radiator is dry. I replaced the radiator about 100,000 miles ago as the original developed a leaking tank seal. I don't see any evidence of this being the case now.

The odd thing was, that the engine was warm, the radiator hoses were warm, but the water dripping from the air deflector was cold. Almost like AC condensate. It's about time to change the T-belt again so this time I'm replacing the water pump with a Volvo OEM too.

All the hoses are dry but the oil cooler fittings are seeping oil at the side tank so I have new seals and clamps on the way, along with new upper and lower hoses. I did find a short (3") hose on a metal line behind the head that is blown up like a balloon so I'm replacing that today.

Any ideas on this mystery leak? Coolant is clean, oil is clean, ATF is clean.

Erwin

I went with the Nissens and new hoses.

I'd stick with OEM suspension parts/ ball joints in particular, until
Volvo starts providing Shanghai suspension parts.

Good luck, Ted :-)

Ok, I'll answer me. Just got a good look at things and it is the radiator, side tank again. Dang! Can't they get this right? It's only been 100,000 miles since the last one failed! ;^)

So, now the question is, $350 OEM shipped, or a $160 cheapy?

This car has been so good that it's probably getting OEM, even at it's age. I need to fix it fast, wife is out driving my F150.

Erwin

Hmmm, the car is not new and Volvo no longer has 850 radiators in stock. Nissens will probably work quite well for the next 100K.

Replace the hoses at the same time, including the heater core hoses that go to the firewall. A bulging hose scares me!

--
My back feels better when I sit in a Volvo seat

I agree. Consider going with a Nissens or a Behr for a less expensive radiator. I bought a Behr over 3 years ago for my 855 and it has been fine. A NA Behr from Groton is $116 and a Nissens is $150. Don't know if the turbos are more expensive as the website doesn't show any...

http://www.fcpeuro.com/Volvo-parts/850/?utf8=%E2%9C%93&keywords=850+turbo+radiator&year=1995&m=206&e=153

Hi,
It really depends on two things ,
1. How long are you going to keep the car ?
2. How deep are your pockets ?

Just my 2 cents worth