This is for all of the 700/900 turbo owners out there.

I narrowly escaped a disaster this weekend when I found a failing lower rad hose seeping before I left for a 75 mile (each way) trip. The lower rad hose had blistered and was failing about 4 inches from the water pump inlet. The hose had about 40k miles on it, so I know I hastened its demise. On the B230FT, you can get some oil leakage from the crankcase vent hose going from the intake hose between the AMM and turbo to the flame trap housing(I know, it's empty on a turbo).

This oil would leak very lightly on the lower rad hose. Before I fixed the breather hose leak, I had oil on that lower rad hose all the time. Obviously, oil and water pump hose don't mix well at high temps.

So, if you've got the same problem, beware of the risk. I smelled the faint sweet smell of coolant just as I started the car and was getting ready to leave. The car would have definitely never made the trip, it was leaking coolant with the motor running, but still tight enough to stop when the motor was turned off. So check those lower rad hoses!

HTH,

someguyfromMaryland