Hi All,

I've been battling a coolant leak for two months now, with the car basically out of commission. Today, with a pressure tester, we discovered the leak is coming from the 90 degree fitting that supports the thermostat housing. This aluminum fitting bolts to the block with I think three T40 bolts two on the top, one on the bottom.

The two on the top are cake, while the one on the bottom is hellishly difficulty to find and that's with my mirror. I'd like to know how best to "get" to that screw/bolt so I can remove that fitting. I have loosened the power steering pump by removing the serpentine belt and the three support bolts, so I can sort of move the pump around some. Do I need to remove the alternator? What gives with this. Also, when I finally get the fitting off, how in the world will I remove the paper gasket in that confined area. Will I need to purchase a rotary grinder with flexible extension? and soft scrub pads?

Need a little help with this one. Good thing is that I think I've finally found the darn leak. In all likelihood, it must have been caused initially when I replaced the thermostat and monkeyed with the housing, along with my subsequent repeated attempts to solve the leak by replacing the thermostat gasket.

Looking forward to hearing from some of the whiteblock sages. If you want to see the prior post on this saga it's here:

http://www.brickboard.com/AWD/volvo/1543954/V70-XC70/coolant_leak_v70.html

Thankyou,

Marty Wolfson,