The head gasket on the Volvo is kaputt

"DC3 LS, Fuck Hyundai, now and forever" (eg6) 07/26/2018 at 18:55 • Filed to: FOR SWEDEN CAN'T BE TRUSTED!

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Update: Initial research shows it’s likely not worth it to repair. If that’s the case would any of you wacko’s like a 2006 S40 T5 with a blown HG for... idk $500? 

So I was driving for Uber today when the S40 started overheating. I was close to the person’s destination so I just figured I’d pull off the interstate and limp it there and check it out there. Soon after pulling off, I noticed that the temp would rapidly change. With in a minute after stopping at a light the temp would go from pegged, to normal, and then when accelerating it went from normal to halfway to pegged literally within 10 seconds. The the low oil light would intermittently come on.

So I get there and shut the car off and pop the hood. First I check the oil level and it’s fine. There’s coolant in the overflow tank and it looks perfectly green through the hazy plastic, so I thankfully, probably not a HG (the oil looked fine too).

At this point I’m leaning towards it just being an electrical problem, given the rapid temp changes and the low oil light, when the oil level was fine. Plus I checked for coolant leaks and found none. So I let the car sit for about 30 minutes and head off again.

Similar result. rapid temp changes however less consistent with the speed of the car (sometimes it would go up when stopped, sometimes it would go down), as well as the oil warning light periodically turning on. Again, leading me to believe it was just an electrical problem, however I then began to noticed the temp would go to normal if I went about 30 mph, not slower or faster. Which then made me realize there probably really is a cooling issue going on.

A little while later and the temp pegs on the hot side and stays there. As I’m pulling off the interstate (traffic was bad, hence the 30 mph speeds). I start to notice a slight burning smell, that I’m pretty sure wasn’t coolant. As I’m turning of the frontage road to pull into a parking lot the engine starts pinging, it sounded like a chain link fence rattling whenever I gave it more than 20% throttle (which thankfully I had to do hardly anymore of.)

So I pull into the parking lot and call a tow truck, I do the check I did the last time and don’t find anything different (Although this time I didn’t check the oil).

After waiting about 20 minutes for the tow truck driver I try to start it, just to see what it’ll do (the previous time, it started without issue.) and it would crank over and try to run, but it sounded awful. So I just shut it off and left it alone till the tow truck driver came.

Anyways. It’s at a shop right now. My logic is that if it’s something simple like a thermostat or radiator fan, than it shouldn’t be too much to have the shop do it and I don’t have to mess with ordering parts and waiting for them etc, and I can get the car back sooner. And if it is something serious like a water pump or HG. Then it’s likely I’d have a shop confirm that, since I don’t have the tools to do that here at my apartment. Idk what I’ll do if it’s something serious, but hopefully it’s just a wacky thermostat or fan and I can pay the shop to do it and have the car back soon.

For those who want to know, the car’s a ‘06 S40 T5.

Also fun fact: Uber uses kilometers with their navigation system.

crowmolly > DC3 LS, Fuck Hyundai, now and forever 07/26/2018 at 15:26

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My vote? Water pump.

DC3 LS, Fuck Hyundai, now and forever > crowmolly 07/26/2018 at 15:36

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My vote is a $5 fan relay, out of pure optimism .

DipodomysDeserti > DC3 LS, Fuck Hyundai, now and forever 07/26/2018 at 15:42

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Uber and Volvos, not a good mix.

DC3 LS, Fuck Hyundai, now and forever > DipodomysDeserti 07/26/2018 at 15:53

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I don’t understand, Sweden was neutral during WW2!

boredalways > DipodomysDeserti 07/26/2018 at 15:56

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too soon

Jgonzo432 > DC3 LS, Fuck Hyundai, now and forever 07/26/2018 at 16:06

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Just had the fans on my S80 go haywire (running constantly even when the car is off). It turns out it was the relay but, according to the shop and checking online , you can’t just replace the relay. It’s synced with the fans somehow. 400 bucks for the whole unit :(

Highlander-Datsuns are Forever > DC3 LS, Fuck Hyundai, now and forever 07/26/2018 at 16:17

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Sounds like a thermostat, water pump or some dumb relay but the pinging and no start are concerning. Too bad it’s not the Mazda 3 /Ford Focus version with a much cheaper motor.

DC3 LS, Fuck Hyundai, now and forever > Jgonzo432 07/26/2018 at 16:19

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Jesus, is that the OEM one? and if so is there a cheaper aftermarket one you can get? 

brianbrannon > DC3 LS, Fuck Hyundai, now and forever 07/26/2018 at 17:04

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Pretty much guarantee of head gasket issue on that car  

Echo51 > DC3 LS, Fuck Hyundai, now and forever 07/26/2018 at 17:21

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“neutral”

DC3 LS, Fuck Hyundai, now and forever > brianbrannon 07/26/2018 at 17:42

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RIP

Junkrat aka Rick Sanchez: Fury Road Edition > DC3 LS, Fuck Hyundai, now and forever 07/26/2018 at 18:45

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Sorry, but that was my first guess as well.

RallyDarkstrike - Fan of 2-cyl FIATs, Eastern Bloc & Kei cars > DC3 LS, Fuck Hyundai, now and forever 07/26/2018 at 19:00

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Damn man, that sucks.....do you have the funds to replace the Volvo at present...?

Sovande > DC3 LS, Fuck Hyundai, now and forever 07/26/2018 at 19:03

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You can drive for Uber with a 12 year old car? 

DC3 LS, Fuck Hyundai, now and forever > RallyDarkstrike - Fan of 2-cyl FIATs, Eastern Bloc & Kei cars 07/26/2018 at 19:18

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Yeah, and I’m getting a quote from a indie shop just to see. If they could do it for under $1500, or about, I might just get it repaired. Since it doesn’t have any other issues, besides the AC compressor clutch. But apparently you can re shim it fairly easily. So the Volvo might not be going away. 

DC3 LS, Fuck Hyundai, now and forever > Sovande 07/26/2018 at 19:18

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Depends on where. Here in San Antonio the limit is 15 years old. 

BrianGriffin thinks “reliable” is just a state of mind > DC3 LS, Fuck Hyundai, now and forever 07/26/2018 at 19:20

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I’d buy if you weren’t so far away. No space to keep it, tear it down, and just have a fun thing to eff around fixing?

RallyDarkstrike - Fan of 2-cyl FIATs, Eastern Bloc & Kei cars > DC3 LS, Fuck Hyundai, now and forever 07/26/2018 at 19:27

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Good luck! :) Keep us apprised!

DC3 LS, Fuck Hyundai, now and forever > BrianGriffin thinks “reliable” is just a state of mind 07/26/2018 at 19:40

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Not really I live in an apartment. Even if it was a Honda and I could feasibly do the HG myself. I it’s not really something I wanna do in the summer in a parking lot. Plus technically we’re not suppose to work on our cars here, but they let it slide for minor stuff like brakes, oil changes, etc.

boredalways > DC3 LS, Fuck Hyundai, now and forever 07/26/2018 at 20:06

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Ouch. Hopefully you can find a reasonably priced solution.

functionoverfashion > DC3 LS, Fuck Hyundai, now and forever 07/26/2018 at 22:22

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I can at least confirm it’s not hard to re shim the ac compressor on those. I did it with my wife’s old 2005 S40 T5.

Sorry to hear about the other issues though.

Bob Blickle > DC3 LS, Fuck Hyundai, now and forever 07/27/2018 at 02:45

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You might want to post on swedespeed and mathewsvolvosite forums. You might find a wrench or a buyer. GL

2004 XC 70

Jgonzo432 > DC3 LS, Fuck Hyundai, now and forever 07/27/2018 at 08:16

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Yeah, OEM. The aftermarket ones on eBay look janky and I couldn’t tell if it included the relay. 

cmill189 - sans Volvo > DC3 LS, Fuck Hyundai, now and forever 07/27/2018 at 12:59

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It might be worse than a head gasket. They aren’t really a typical failure point. You may have a cracked cylinder wall. Same symptoms though. 

DC3 LS, Fuck Hyundai, now and forever > cmill189 - sans Volvo 07/27/2018 at 16:15

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Would a shop be able to diagnosis that or would the head have to go to a machine shop for them to check it out? 

cmill189 - sans Volvo > DC3 LS, Fuck Hyundai, now and forever 07/28/2018 at 00:42

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It’s in the block. The head has to  come off to visually diagnose but I’m pretty sure the only solution is a sleeve or just a new block. It’s a lot bigger of an issue with the 2.5 and especially Rs due to increased cylinder pressure and the actual wall being thinner.

DC3 LS, Fuck Hyundai, now and forever > cmill189 - sans Volvo 07/28/2018 at 00:43

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Well fuck, guess that’d “total” it. 

cmill189 - sans Volvo > DC3 LS, Fuck Hyundai, now and forever 07/28/2018 at 00:53

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I dunno. I’d try to make 100% sure there aren’t combustion gasses in the coolant before giving up. 

DC3 LS, Fuck Hyundai, now and forever > cmill189 - sans Volvo 07/28/2018 at 01:12

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Idk how the shop tested it to confirm the HG was bad. But obviously I can’t drive it now, so I’m not sure if it’d be worth it to tow it anywhere or back to my place, or just sell it to a junkyard that’ll tow it away.