Fellow Volvo Owners,

I have a 1990 240DL wagon that is running hot (according to the gauge). It has never boiled the coolant, but I am convinced that I do have a problem because when I turn the heater on, the gauge drops back down to normal.

When I had this problem as a youth on my 1970 Chevy Nova, I simply took the thermostat out and ran without it for a while. When the car wouldn't overheat whith the thermostat out, I knew the thermostat was the problem.

However, I am not so sure I can run my 240 without a thermostat because the gasket wraps around the thermostat. Without the thermostat, I am afraid I will have a leak where the thermostat goes.

I am thinking that I might take an old thermostat and pull the guts out of it so that all that remains is the housing with the gasket. Then I could install the thermostat shell to do my test.

Any advice on my situation would be appreciated.

By the way, a year or so ago I took my radiator out and cleaned it up as well as I could. That seemed to help for a while. Especially, cleaning the fins well. There was a lot of dirt in there.

Regards,

2OldVolvos