Hi
I have a 1985 245 turbo with intercooler that I think might be running a little hot. I was wondering usually where should the needle on the temp guage be. On my car it stays horizontal when I can keep moving at 45mph but when I hit red lights or have to go slow in residential areas it goes up to 3/4 of the way up. at that point I usually turn the heater on and then it levels off. The only problem with this method is summer is comming and I can't turn the heater on because it's way too hot outside. Is this normal for the intercooled cars? My friend has a non turbo that stays horizontal no matter how hard he drives it and the guage works.

I have seen the triple row heavy duty radiator on eeuroparts.com for $120 and I'm considering replacing that and the thermostat this summer. My only question is does the heavy duty radiator help a lot on cooling and is the it worth it? Thanks ahead of time. :)

Charles 1985 245ti 134K

On my '89 240 DL it stays like a rock at 9 oclock, traffic, heat, whatever.

Suggestion: Flush baby, flush. Flush with two engine flushings. Foluch without the thermostat to maximize the pressure and keep doing it until no soap, no rust, no sludge. Then put in a new t-stat and fresh mix of a good coolant. Unless your rad is leaking, a good flush will usually clear it out.

In conclusion, it's likely the "sludge" build up inside your rad that does not allow the efficient cooling. Realize also that with mass sludge buildup inside the engine block, your engine is hotter than your guage indicates since the temp is read at the coolant temp not the block temp.

This will cost you 25$ incl. new t-stat and can easily cure your problem. do this every two years the latest.

Nice car :)

Greg
greg_mustang@hotmail.com
Montreal-Ottawa
Canada

The symptoms you describe indicate the rad is partially blocked. While driving sufficient air flow is keeping up with the cooling needs, but when the airflow drops off, the engine heats up. The temp needle on the gauge should be at 9:00 all the time.
The other possibility is that the viscous fan drive has failed, although this is not as common as a blocked rad.
To determine which it is drive the car so that it heats up well, maybe a little past horizontal on the gauge. Shut the engine off and quickly feel the rad top to bottom and side to side. If you find an area which is not warm or hot, and is cool to the touch, then that indicates the blocked tubes. If the rad is evenly warm and has a nice temp gradient side to side, then the clutch fan is probably bad.

I would say that the "proper" coolent temperture is equal to the the thermostat's specified temperature. Why a vehical overheats is another question. Three row radiators are available at any radiator shop. Call around and check prices.
From reading the Brickboard, talking to owners, and my personal experience some Volvos seem to have overheating problems even when their cooling system is in good shape. Your car being an intercooled turbo should not mater at idle since the intercooler is not receiving any pressurized air at idle. If the over- heating goes away when you start moving, it may be an air flow problem.

Well I Put the eeuroparts radiator in the wifes 245 a year and a half ago or there about, she can set at a light in 110 degree heat with the A/C on and it never gets past "9 oclock" no turbo though, and IMHO I would suspect the temp gauge first, They just do not instill much confidence in me. They come from the factory with a "compensating" board installed so brandy new they are not acurate, they just tell you it's in the "normal" range, supposedly to keep folks from freeking out when they get to "3/4", no idea what temp that would be but I guess it's above "normal".

On my 245 I "jumpered" the compensating board and it's a little better, I guess but just today I went to work and it never moved, on the way home I was slapping the dash to get the gas gauge to work and the temp gauge started to work, I am REALLY thinking about a good set of Stewart Warner gauges.
I love my vovlos but the wireing, from the faded green headlights (86's) to the chipping, backup lens shucking tail light really is sub standerd.
Bret
--
rust free in west Texas