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Hey everyone,
I picked up a 1988 245 for cheap recently, and did a bunch of work fixing it up. It had been sitting for a year or more when I got it. Everything runs like a top now (after new brakes, coolant flush, oil change, tune-up), BUT:
After driving for a little while, I can see white smoke wisping up around the passenger side, and it continues for a while after the car is turned off. Further examination showed that it is coming from the exhaust pipe, right under the front pass. seat (next to transmission drain pan), from the heat shield there (it looks like it's wisping out under one of the metal bands that holds the heat shield on). It smells like it could be burning trans fluid, so last weekend I degreased the area, and spent quite a while looking for leaks. The only fluid I saw in the area was a very ting seepage coming from the trans cooler line where it enters the trans. I replaced the o-ring, and the seepage stopped. I inspected the cooler lines as much as I could looking for any leaks where they rub on brackets, etc, but didn't see any - and didn't see any gunk or fluid on them either.
However, (as you may have guessed by now) it continues to smoke. My only guesses at this point are:
1. It is transmission fluid, and I need to figure out how I can find that damn leak.
2. It's some other dang fluid that I can't see oozing in there. I couldn't see any big oil leaks, and the coolant seems pretty stable as well.
3. It's cobwebs, grass clippings, and dead mice that moved into the heat shield during the Volvo's extended rest period, and I should either:
a) take off the heat shield and clean it up, man (is it cool to dremel this sucker off, or no?)
b) drive for an hour or six at high speeds until there ain't nothing left in there to smoke.
Tips for finding a trans leak, ideas on what it might be, and strategies for evicting unwanted debris and rodents are appreciated.
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