We just "traded up" our 1984 240 for a 1996 960. This is our 5th Volvo. We were told that the car had been well maintained and ran like a top. It does run like a top, but coolant keeps disappearing maximum to minimum in about 2 days (and there are no signs near the cap) and the left side of the engine seems to be bleeding oil -- about a quart in three days. (Yes, we were and dumb bought this car from a relative who is a car dealer in a far away state so we didn't see the records until the car got here -- the last maintenance records were at 66,000 miles and it now has 113,000). The drip pan under the engine is missing and the engine is all clean bright and shiny, all of which makes me think this was a problem before (and why) it hit the dealership.
Our mechanic, who is absolutely wonderful, checked the flame trap and the front engine seals, which did not show signs of leaking. Other than a head gasket, warped or porous head, any ideas what could be causing the difficulty? While my tendency is to doubt that -- I figured it was worth asking. Carol K

Went away for the weekend -- sorry for the delay. I've been to two of the three ace Volvo mechanics locally, who believe it is the head gasket or worse, so we've decided to send it back and look for another 700 or an 800 model. It is a beautiful car, but most people here work on the 4 cylinders and have limited experience with the six, so getting it fixed is problemetic.
Incredibly, as soon as we decided to move on, it stopped guzzling antifreeze and the oil leak has slowed. I wondered if something in the cooling system was replaced and it wasn't filled up enough and needed another gallon. The oil leak was at its worst after a long road trip.
Thank you for all the help -- if I ever find out what the problem is, I'll post the answer.
Carol K

I would not wait to do the timing belt,the engine will bend valves if it breaks it is not like a 240, or a 740 where you just throw on a belt and your done. I highly recomend anyone with a 960 to replace the timing belt every 50,000 miles. It is one of the easiest in the industry. The coolant leak should be easy to find with that amount of coolant loss. Adding dye to the coolant system helps, but a good pressure checker will probably get the job done. The oil leak should be relatively easy to find with that much oil leeking. Check your engine code on the right hand side of the engine block, above the water pump. the 6304F has two "o" rings that like to leak oil. The 6304s has a nipple and a short piece of hose that connects the black plastic breather diverter to the engine block. They both seem to leak around the 60,000 to 90,000 mile mark. The radiator is a good thing to do now, and maybe the heater control valve. Volvo dad has gone a little over board, he is describing things that are not even on a 960 engine. Your best bet is to find a mechanic that is familiar with the 960's. I've had my 960 now for 6 months and I love it. Good luck with yours.

You need to find the source of the leaks if this engine is to have a long life.

If the cause has been a case of being badly overheated....

http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&rd=1&category=6763&item=2415497954

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'96 965 with 16' wheels at 102K. Had '85 745 Turbo Diesel for 200K.

Hi Carol, I have a 95 960, and may be able to help based on my experience. I had a mystery coolant leak that was caused by a hairline crack in the upper neck of the plastic ended rads. When hot & under pressure the vapour bled coolant, leaving no trace as a gas. When cool and no pressure, it did not leak. Had a near disaster rad experience without damage to the engine. Pressure test the rad and strongly consider a new one. Nissens in Denmark makes a very good all metal alternative to the Volvo plastic cop out rad. Where are you located? Let me know and I may have some local resources to help a bit.

One excellent idea is the new 150 point inspection Volvo offers. It covers a great deal, and offers a Volvo mechanics report on the state of things. You don't have to get it done by the dealer, but it is an excellent analysis and report to base decisions on.

When I bought my 95 960 used, here is what I did immediately after I bought it, I did most of this myself. Good luck, and let us know how it's going.

o check ECU, make note of codes and reset
o Timing belt
o spark plugs, air filter, flame trap, oil & filter
o silicone sprayed all rubber engine hoses, door, hood, trunk seals. do not spray on electrical contacts
o replace thermostat
o oil sprayed vehicle
o replace fuel filter
o replaced battery, cleaned contacts and sprayed with white grease


This is what the FAQ suggests. I did not do all of these things, but it offers a second opinion.

Preventive maintenance after purchase: When I buy a used 700-900 series car, these are the items
that I would immediately change/replace before placing the car into service. (Assuming the car had
been checked out thoroughly first. See the recommended maintenance schedule to know when things
need to be replaced.)

o Radiator/hoses/thermostat - replace radiator with metal unit. Flush coolant. I've added the plastic overflow tank to my list of replace/repair on 740's with >100K miles, and especially on the Turbo cars. The overflow tanks are cheap enough to include in the general cooling system maintenance program. [Editor's Tip:] See the Loss of Coolant discussion for information on
components that age and break. Change all hoses: radiator upper/lower, heater hoses, reservoir hose,
turbo oil cooler coolant hoses (if a turbo.)

o [Tip: Ralph Haber] Under coolant items to replace, I'd add replacement of the heater control valve. Since this appears to be made from the same plastic as the radiator, it'll eventually fail, perhaps catastrophically (recent experience). Unfortunately, I had to replace with another plastic unit (Volvo part) but would rather a metal unit be fitted, if possible. Just FYI

o Plugs/wires/cap/rotor/timing - replace check as required (don't forget to check the advance
mechanism)

o Replace the O-rings on the distributor, and the camcover gasket including the half-moon ends

o Throttle body - clean

o Flame trap - clean

o Belts - all three, replace

o Set valve clearance

o Timing belt - replace with Volvo unit. When you do the timing belt replacement, it's relatively cheap to replace the cam, intermediate and crankshaft oil seals.
If this is a B234 16-valve, changing the timing belt is CRITICAL and see: oil pump bolt

o Oil - change oil/filter unless previous change can be substantiated.

o Oil Filter mount O-rings...only $7 or so but labour is expensive...can be done yourself

o Flush the auto transmission fluid.; Change the rear end/differential lube .

o Brake fluid - thoroughly flush

o Fuel filter - replace

o Check the rubber hose that connects the tank pre-pump with metal fuel line; these tend to
deteriorate with age.

o Vacuum hoses: mark ends with duct tape and replace

o Hydraulic engine mounts...if the pan is less than 1/4" to the cross member you're on
borrowed time...if it touches...replace both of them.

o Transmission output shaft bushing - check/replace as required if over 130K [This is not a
problem area, just a wear issue. There is a bushing on the output shaft of aw70 and aw71 trannys that
wears after time. I have seen it more on 240Turbos than 700's. It costs about $200 at transmission
shops.

o Body Fittings Lube: lube all locks, door hinges, hood and trunk hinges, power antenna, and
other lube points according to the Volvo service charts. Use a good spray lube (Mobil 1 Spray,
Superlube, etc.)

o Turbos: Turbocharger oil return pipe to block O-ring...only $4 or so but labour
again...replace the paper turbo to pipe gasket. Check ALL, and I do mean ALL, of the vacuum or
pressure hoses in the engine compartment, especially the little one that controls the turbocharger
pressure to the wastegate...blow this one and the engine will grenade from overboost. Check
condition of rubber in harmonic balancer.

o Oxidized Engine Wiring Connectors. See the narrative to find out how to clean and protect
your engine wiring harness connectors.

o Rotting engine harness wiring (83-87 cars): Get busy with a roll of electricians tape or plan
on rewiring a lot of stuff...many wires under the hood have had their insulation broken down over the
last 10 years...not so bad if they're ground connections, but eventually even those wires/connectors
will corrode to the point of not connecting. Evil things will befall thee. [Note: see prior notes above
on Baked Wiring Harness problems, and connector cleaning.]

o Check to see if the splash shield under the engine is whole, or even still there!! That shield
helps to keep the engine clean and air flow correct....it's relatively cheap from RPR or whoever.

o Chassis lubrication: radio antenna, hood release mechanism, door locks and hinges, hood
hinges, sunroof.

In my experience, these cars do not need that kind of "maintenance"! This would scare anyone from ever buying a Volvo if they really needed all this.

My '96 with 102K is still running with all the original hoses with the exception of the upper radiator hose. (My '85 was sold with 200K miles after 15 years with the original lower radiator hose!)

A good check over by a qualified mechanic can find hoses that NEED to be replaced and other items for care but to do wholesale replacement of all those parts is overkill in my opinion.
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'96 965 with 16' wheels at 102K. Had '85 745 Turbo Diesel for 200K.

What I suggested is standard practice, and listed in the FAQ of the brickboard FAQ you use. My father was a professional engineer and master mechanic I the autmotive industry, as were both his brothers. As such I grew up watching three automotive engineers properly maintain their cars. My 960 has 470,000 kms on it, and the 760 625,000 kms.

I clearly said I did not do all of the items listed. Instead, I listed items I replaced such as timing belt, battery, thermostat, fuel filter, flame trap, spark plugs. All the parts cost about $250. The 150 point check over costs about $49. Not much compared to an expensive repair, is it?

These are basic maintenance matters, particulalry as she does not know the maintenance history of the car. Carol needs to be sure her car is properly diagnosed and trouble free. Replacing the items suggested and having a competent mechanic prepare a list of trouble spots is not only prudent, but given the sale was through a relative, a very smart & useful third party report which may prove important. Caveat Emptor!

Can't agree with you in that. Doing all the items Volvo Guy suggests is smart, and likely to prevent surprises later on. Carol clearly said she did not have the full service history, and the car demonstrates several potentially serious problems. Everything Volvo Guy suggests is listed in the Brickboard FAQ, and is wise. I'd buy his car before yours, that's for sure!

OK, but I'll bet my car is as reliable as any out there. In 45 years of driving I've needed to be towed off the highway once when this car's electric fuel pump quit. (Brush lead was assembled wrong at the factory!) I've also done a couple of "side of the road" repairs.

I "listen" to my car and investigate any new noise or change in driving characteristics until I understand the cause. Checking things carefully and changing fluids I do with religion, but replacing things that still work fine offends my Yankee heritage. (And would raise the cost per mile of driving.)
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'96 965 with 16' wheels at 102K. Had '85 745 Turbo Diesel for 200K.

Hi Carol:
I have a 1996 965 and like it. What I have found is that people either really like the 960 or really hate it. I hope that if you give it a chance and it will work out for you.

The simple thing to check on the coolant issue--although I think that it seems to be losing coolant pretty fast--is to check the cap on the reservoir bottle. The early ones (gray in color) leaked, and they should be replaced with a green one (stant makes one that fits that is available at auto parts stores and is cheaper than buying one from the dealer). See the FAQ discussion on this:
http://www.brickboard.com/FAQ/700-900/960_90Info.htm#960CoolantLossCoolantReservoirCapatFault

The point about the radiator replacement is probably well worth checking out, too. I would make sure that you use the Volvo brand coolant (blue). Costs more, but in my humble opinion it is worth it.

I don't know exactly the region in which your oil leak is coming from, but I would have your mechanic check the rear cam seal and check the oil filter/oil cooler adapter O Rings. These are two common places for 960 engines. Is your mechanic familiar with the six cylinder engines?

I also wouldn't wait too long to do the timing belt.

Hope this is helpful. Let us know how it turns out.

Mike Brown
Greenville, NC
1996 965 95K
1986 244 137K
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Mike Brown Greenville, NC 1996 965 94K 1986 244 137K

Thank you for the tips.
It is the driver's side (I'm not exactly a mechanic here -- adding oil, coolant, washer fluid and putting a cardboard box under the car to see what's leaking is as far as I go.) Although the coolant disppears, it doesn't seem to be dripping anywahere. It didn't appear to be in the oil, but that's not 100% certain.
Luckily the timing belt has 71,000 miles recorded on it, so I'm good for a little while there. We had a heater core problem in our 1989 740 (270K) last year so I'm familiar with the foggy windows -- happened as we stopped to pay the toll on the Delaware Memorial Bridge -- driving over a bridge while wiping the windshield is a fun experience.
I dropped in at the shop while he was in the midst of other things so he didn't take the heat shield off, but there was so much oil on the side of the engine it was pooling in at least one spot. It wasn't possible to see the source because there was so much of it.

Another possibility on the cause of the oil leak, under the intake manifold is a black plastic breather box, it has a seal on the side of the engine, the box or the seal may be cracked. Have him check this.

DanR 94 964 223,000 miles
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DanR

It could be a head gasket but I would rule out a few other items first. Have the cooling system pressure checked, there could be a small leak somewhere, a bad radiator, thermostat housing seal, there are quite a few hoses leading to the engine oil cooler any one of those joints could be seeping, the heater core. So the pressure test may help find this. The oil, well the left side of the engine I take to mean the passenger side. The head could be leaking there. Sometimes the gasket on the filler cap can leak and the oil will run under the plastic cover and exit on the exhaust side giving the appearance that the head is leaking. It could also be the head top half is leaking because the sealant used has cracked away. Maybe the car over heated and the head warped which could cause both fluids to leak. The early versions of these engines had a casting problem and a coolant leak formed on the exhaust side of the engine, it would just weep right through the side. I think this was a rare occurence though. There are few people that read this site that had this problem. They can fill you in on their sagas. From what I have read it was mostly the 92-93 model years but there are those who say the problem went all the way into 96.

Get that engine pan replaced as soon as possible, letting all that water splash into the engine compartment will not be good for all those electrical connections.

With 133k miles I would say the radiator is due if it has not been done already.

Good luck and keep us posted.

DanR 94 964 223,000 miles
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DanR

I also have a recently acquired 97 V90 which is basically the same car as yours. I also was losing coolant but in my case it was a leaking heating core which I replaced (what a job that was). Symptoms were of course dropping level in the reservoir and antifreeze smell inside the car, fogging windows and coolant coming out the lower vent area on passenger side. Since I have replaced the core it does not leak but I still watch coolant level very carefully and have found that it does not want to stay up at the max mark but rather seems to find its own level lower down at the mid point and then stays there. Does your coolant level continue to go down to the point where the tank is empty?

That is a lot of oil you are losing, if you can see that it is leaking down the left side of engine (passenger or driver side?) surely your mechanic could have seen the source???? Where exactly is it leaking from? It should be apparent and easily seen on an otherwise clean engine.

For sure you want to make sure that the car had a timing belt change which is due every 70K miles. That engine is an interference design which means broken timing belt/big damage.

Would be curious about coolant leak??? and source of oil.
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David Hunter