As of today, I found a large, running puddle of coolant coming from the driver's side of my Volvo 240GL. I put in a significant amount, and still the coolant leaks. Because it is dark, and the leak is coming from behind the front shield underneath the car, I cannot find the source of the leak.

But, when I turn on the battery, a fan comes on behind my dash even though the blower is not turned on.

Any guidance would be most appreciated.

Also, would it be possible to drive 10 miles with leak, so long as I make sure it's filled up before leaving?

Thanks!

I drove my '93 about 10 miles home with a leak so bad that I had to stop every 2 miles or so to refill with a gallon of water. There seems to be no damage from this however - God I hope not, anyway - and it saved a $100 tow-truck bill.

Tips:
- Get about 6 full milk-jugs of water in the back seat or trunk.
- Coast down hills with the engine off, in neutral whenever possible. Be careful, remember you have no power steering or brakes with engine off.
- Keep your hazard lights blinking, if you gotta stop in the middle of the road to refill, people will be ready for it.
- Prepare to spend an hour or two doing that 10 miles, if the engine has to cool down, give it 15 minutes before restarting.

If your leak is just a trickle, I'd say you're safe to drive it as long as you need if you keep water in the trunk and fill it everytime before you start the engine.

1) Ignore the fan.
2) Remove the splash pan. Usually 4 to 7 10mm bolts. SOmetimes less, depends how many fell out.

3) Fill with water till it's resolved. That way you're not wasting expensive coolant, and polluting the storm drains a little less.

There isn't all that much equipment full of coolant under the hood of a 240. It's going to be either the radiator; the upper or lower radiator hose; the coolant reservoir or hoses to that; the thermostat housing; or the water pump.

Of those, realistically, only the radiator and water pump are going to leak, nost likely. YOu've probably got a broken plastic end tank on the radiator. Sometimes they crack on their own; more often they are helped along by careless "mechanics" changing a radiator hose. The water fittings are molded right into the plastic, and they crack under the stress of changing a burnt-on hose. Replace the radiator if this is the case; there's no fixing aluminum-plastic radiators. I like the all-metal (brass) radiators as replacements but they're all OK.
--
Rob Bareiss, New London CT ::: 87 244DL- 249K, B230F/M47, Turbo sways, Bilsteins, GT braces, Virgos, Turbo exhaust, Gislaveds for winter!

First and foremost, no one can tell you if it's possible to safely drive 10 miles even if you filled it before the trip -- it all depends on how fast the leak is, which no one but you can know (you're there, but we aren't), but from your choice of adjectives ("massive", "large running puddle") it seems the answer is emphatically NO!

Important: Realize that this engine has an aluminum head, and that makes it particularly vulnerable to overheating (even briefly) -- the head warps and you have a head gasket leak, and even more of a headache (and wallet ache) than you have right now!

I couldn't begin to suggest all the places you could be leaking -- the obvious are the radiator hoses and the radiator itself -- I doubt it's the water pump because usually when it leaks it isn't "massive". More hard-to-see leaks include the two short "heater hoses" coming out of the firewall at the back of the engine; etc. You'll have to check in the daylight, I suppose.

As for the fan, you didn't say what model year you have -- some have a fan control without a true "off" position, so it runs low all the time. Perhaps you haven't had your car long and didn't realize this.
There is no possible connection between the leak or any overheating and the fact that your ventilation fan is running -- it's just coincidence that you've realized the fan is on right now.

Well, it's 4:55am & still dark...

But...the coolant tank went from the MAX level to about a quarter of an inch above MIN...

I find that there is that "guard" underneath the front part of the engine, and then it is ajoined by a harder piece of plastic with two small drainage holes.

As I looked for the souce of the leak, I had to put my hands through one of the accessory belts on the driver's side of the car, and saw a puddle forming. There was a lot of "gunk" (dirt mixed with coolant) that I cleaned out, and then I found a plug and a loose nut in that mess. Now, I have no idea what their function was, but it seemed to slow down the leak for now. I will take your advice...

It definitely seems to be coming from the lower part of the engine.

Any more recommendations???

Thanks!

The is a hole in the bottom side of the water pump which allows a leak when the internal shaft seal blows. BTDT. Easy to spot using a flashlight while the sun is NOT up, the water runs out.

To get the 10 miles, do loosen the water filler cap. Don't remove it entirely, you'll have jolly mess. Grab two or three gallon jugs of distilled water from the nearest store, carry them with you. They are not expensive, and that's what you should dilute the replacement anitfreeze with, anyway.

Stop in 2-3 miles and check.

If your car in a 1985 or older, the temp gauge will tell the truth. If it begins to rise above normal, leave the engine running and go top up the water reservoir.

I had a water problem in my 1975 245DL years ago. At a truck stop I got ten empty yellow anti-freeze jugs; filled them with water. For the remaining 300 miles of my trip I got 24mpg on gas, 30mpg on water. Meant stopping every 30 miles to add water, but it worked.

Just remember that overheating means a head gasket and re-work job.

Good Luck,

Bob

:>)

Okay, it went down about a pint with the engine off (no pressure) over several hours -- not too bad -- but assume that it would lose coolant much faster if the engine is running and building pressure.

So your leak isn't quite as 'massive' as I imagined from your first post. If you have to drive to a garage to have it repaired, you could stave off pressure building (and the leak speeding up) by loosening the overflow tank's pressure cap; and, depending on the distance, stopping frequently to refill (if you've kept the pressure cap loose, there's no danger from removing the cap to refill it because there's been no pressure buildup).

Often, when commercial mechanics do repairs, they drop things and don't bother, or forget, to retrieve them (time is money, to them) -- those items you found could have been left years ago, so I doubt that they're the source of your problem.
You've probably got a leak in one of the usual places: cracked radiator seam, split radiator hose or loose hose clamp.
Try to get a better idea of the location when the sun comes up. Wet drive belts, wet places around the engine, or a crusty (mineral scale) tell-tale streak on the radiator, can all reveal the approximate location of the source of the leak.

Then, depending on your skill and tools available, you could opt to fix it yourself. Radiator hoses and clamps are easy (a 1 on a difficulty scale of 1 to 10). Leaking radiator is a 2, only because of the automatic transmission's fluid lines that need to be properly unfastened and refastened, requiring proper wrenches and good technique -- otherwise, it's also a 1.

Good luck.

Sounds as if you are describing the black plastic belly which catches all sorts of misc dirt, dropped tools and parts over the years and yes even coolant. Your coolantleak is better investigated from the top of the engine, not the bottom. If it is massive it should be obvious.
--
David Hunter

I'm not sure what the leak could be, but you can def. drive the car 10 miles... (Assuming that it's going to a shop?) Make SURE that the coolant tank is full, and keep about 2 gallons of water in your car just in case something happens.
P.S.-Is there any smoking comming from the exhaust/engine?