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The 1994 940 Turbo that recently came to grace our garage needs a new thermostat and a coolant flush. I am considering doing all the hoses and water pump as long as I am already dealing with the mess of flushing the coolant. Timing belt was done 30k ago so I am leaving that put. The heater hoses look like quite a chore to change, but they probably are 10 years old.
I am seeing five hoses I need to change:
Expansion tank hose
Upper radiator hose
Lower radiator hose
Heater intake hose
Heater output hose
Plus an 87c thermostat, water pump, an expansion tank, a black cap, and some clamps. And of course the Volvo blue coolant. Looks like about 300 bucks. Ouch. And that's with a gmb water pump, wahler stat, and mackay for three of the hoses (other two are volvo).
Anything I am missing here? I was planning on just a scour brush and warm water for cleaning, no sealant or rtv.
Also, all the expansion tanks available look much different than the round one on my 940. Is there a different mounting mechanism for the square ones?
Thanks much. This looks to be a major chore (and not cheap), but my old 740 blew a heater hose in the middle of an ice storm in nowhere Pennsyltucky late one night many years ago and I'm still nervous about hoses. I read the FAQ on the heater hose change. Looks like I should save some money for drinks after.
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Thanks much again for the advice and especially for the expansion tank cleaning method. Funny how useful rice is. Always a big bag here and we never eat any of it.
I popped the car up on the ramps last night to get a good look at everything from underneath and noticed a bit of coolant coming off the radiator. Close inspection shows coolant slowly seeping out from the lower half of driver's side of the radiator where the plastic and metal meet. I dropped some clean cardboard under the car overnight and sure enough this morning there was a spot of green coolant about 8-inches across on the cardboard. So, looks like new radiator goes on the list too.
On the bright side, the side of the radiator with the atf cooler is dry and the atf shows no signs of contamination. Plus, radiators are much easier than water pumps and the savings from not replacing the water pump and expansion tank is more than half the cost of new a Nissen radiator.
Thanks again to all.
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Dear DrCheap,
Hope you're well. When replacing the radiator, be very careful, when detaching and re-attaching the transmission fluid pipes from the radiator.
It cannot be too strongly emphasized that the large, brass, hex fittings on the radiator must NOT be allowed to turn at all, not even by a fraction of a degree. To separate (or to re-attach) the fluid pipes from the radiator, the radiator's large brass hex fittings must be held absolutely still. To separate (or to re-attach) the fluid pipe from/to the radiator, turn the hex sleeve on each fluid pipe.
When trying to free any fitting/fastener that has not been loosened for a long time (possibly since the car was made), saturate the fitting/fastener with PB Blaster (PB) or a similar penetrating oil. PB slowly works its way through micro-channels in the corrosion, to weaken any corrosion bonds. If you can apply PB daily, for several days, that helps to ease removal and so the risk of collateral damager (to knuckles or to other parts).
If the large, brass hex fittings on the radiator are allowed to turn, the in-radiator cooler for automatic transmission fluid (ATF) will be damaged, allowing coolant to enter the ATF (and vice-versa). While ATF in the coolant does no harm, coolant in the ATF damages the transmission.
Water in the coolant turns to steam at normal transmission operating temperatures. Steam does not lubricate!! Further, water attacks the glue, that adheres clutch-pack facings. Clutch material fibers clog fluidways and - if the ATF is not promptly changed by a complete flush - will ruin the transmission.
Hope this helps.
Yours faithfully,
Spook
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Dear DrCheap,
Hope you're well. Heater hoses are difficult of access and so a job to install and not easy to inspect. I'd use Volvo brand hoses, as the factory-original hoses seem to last about 15 years (more where average ambient temps are lower, e.g., northern Europe, northern US, Canada).
The other hoses are readily accessible, and so can easily be inspected. Hoses fail from the inside, so a gentle squeeze will reveal any "soft" spot. If a "soft spot" is found, replace the hose at once.
Thus, while I'd use only Volvo brand hoses, MacKay hoses can be used for the radiator and the coolant overflow hose. I'd replace them after a decade of service - i.e., when you replace the radiator - rather than seeking to get 15 or more years of service.
Hope this helps.
Yours faithfully,
Spook
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If you are looking to economize, is the water pump leaking or noisey? If its not, leave it. Volvo OEM water pumps in particular last a Loooooooong time. They dont typically fail "catastrophically", they start to weep from the hole or get loud long before they "die" giving you time to repair without risking overheating. IMHO. Frankly if I have dug in deep enough to change a water pump...I am damn tempted to change the Timing Belt. The two jobs dove tail nicely. Mackey hoses are fine. Good Luck.
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Some good advice already given.
Keep your original expansion tank, if it's still holding coolant, and the hose necks are not brittle. The aftermarket versions don't hold up. Go Volvo made or clean existing tank.
To clean remove from car. Then put some rice in it along with soapy water made from dishwasher powder, like Cascade. Slosh it around and watch it become cleaner. Likely will be clean enough to see coolant in it again.
Dishwasher soap is also good for cleaning existing hoses when not on car.
--
I own a Volvo or Does Volvo Own Me? Try the easy to search Expanded Style FAQ Index http://40mph.com/Brickboard_700-900_FAQ_Expanded_Index_Version/
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Thanks much for all the replies. I'm definitely just starting to learn this car and appreciate all your help. Those oil cooler hoses (volvo) and the heater valve (Motorcraft YG-136) are now on the shopping list -- both relatively inexpensive compared to these other hoses. The Volvo blue coolant is only like 10$ more than the G05, and I'm not rushing this so FCP can ship that to me.
I'll step up the water pump up to the Hepu, but cost is a factor here so the doubling of price up to the volvo one is
I was under the impression that the Mackay hoses are pretty good and the Volvo new stock of hoses were not as good as the original / old stock hoses. Are the new Volvo hoses still worth 2-3x the Mackays?
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I just changed a 1994 940T water pump, so it is still pretty fresh in my mind. The information here certainly helps, but I really had a difficult time with it. Removal is easy enough (especially after I went back and read the part about loosening the power steering bottom bolt/nut). The difficulty I ran into was:
1. I could not remove the water pump studs.
2. Cleaning the old gasket off was difficult and takes a while if you want to get it really clean.
3. Lining up and installing the pump bolts was difficult (at least to me, a novice).
So on the technical side it is simple enough, but these were some things I did to work through the issues.
I just could not get those studs out. I tried the trick of using two nuts to remove them, but they would not budge without the nuts slipping. Fortunately mine looked pretty good, so I just cleaned them up. The only catch is that it makes cleaning off the old gasket very difficult around the studs.
After scraping the bulk of the gasket off, a dremel with a cone shaped wire brush works great. It is mentioned in the FAQ. It really polishes the metal nice and smooth. Getting around the studs was tricky, but this helped. I removed the engine fan since there are only two torx screws holding it in. That allows for some more space to use the dremel. I also cut about 1/2 inch off the shaft of one of the dremel bits. This gave me plenty of room to work in that area and get to every part of the old gasket.
The third and last issue was trying to compress the pump top o-ring was kind of difficult to do by myself while trying to install the bolts. I finally wedged a piece of wood between the bottom of the pump and my floor jack and adjusted pressure until they lined up. I had purchased a pump from Volvo since I needed it quickly, and that top o-ring/seal appears to be neoprene. It takes a fair amount of compression to get those bolts to line up. I must have spent 1 to 2 hours trying to get them to line up, and it only took minutes when I used the jack - but you need to be careful not to push too hard.
The dremel was also useful to polish up the pipe which attaches to the back of the pump. I was really pleased to have no leaks at all.
I hope this helps.
Randy
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If you really need to skimp (don't recommend this since you're in there anyway), you can wait and do some repairs now and some later.
For example, the water pump can wait unless it's noisey or leaking. OEM pumps usually last a long time in Volvo's. The upper rad hose, expansion tank and its hose can all wait a little while as they are easy to monitor for leaks and condition. Just be sure and lift the tank out of its mounting and check the bottom thoroughly for microcracks etc. On my 240 and 850's I've never had any of these parts go except for the water pump on my 240. Of course, the car had close to 200k at the time...:)
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My couple of cents of thought here is to use Volvo heater hoses, they last 20 years and are a pain to change if cylinder head is not off. My experience with GMB pumps is not good, they seemed fine years back, I'd recommend Volvo, though I was in a jam and am currently running a Hepu with good success.
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Make sure you replace the heater water valve and, as noted, the two oil cooler hoses down near the oil filter. Use Volvo OEM hoses for reliability and longevity. And you can use Zerex G-05 coolant if you can't obtain/afford Volvo C. It's a nearly identical chemistry if not color.
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See the 700/900 "FAQ" at the menu bar top screen left side.
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of all the hoses you discuss you utterly fail too mention the two most important hoses to replace and monitor on any 940 turbo car.
if you do not get a bit smarter you're surely looking for trouble down the road and should not have bought a turbo.
these are the two most neglected hoses on a turbo and for my money the most important.
volvo part numbers: 9161383 and 9161384
they are hard to even see without putting the car on a lift. i have seen too many head gaskets smoked and engines ruined from forgetting to keep these two puppies in perfect condition.
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