940 with broken radiator :(

I had the same thing happen on a freeway on ramp. You need to replace the radiator. DO NOT buy a NISSENS, they are junk.

Hi,

I had the same thing happen to my 740 about 4 years ago, but it only leaked a lot (badly cracked) and I was at home when I noticed it. It seems to be common. I rang Volvo and their price was AUD220 approx. I didn't look around any further and bought the new one. When you replace yours, don't forget the small rubber gasket for the temperature switch. You'll need a new one (I'm assuming the 940 is the same as the 740 here). The new radiator had a metal sleeve inside the plastic tube.

metal-reinforced

Those are your skid marks then? Must have been an exciting ride. Glad you got out of it.

Stuart.

Yes, I'll definitely be looking into one of those places.

Apparently there is a weakness with that neck. There is a metal sleeve inside the neck (to accomodate the clamp, I suppose), but it's not long enough. It should exended up to the tank body, but it doesn't. It's only about an inch wide. The neck broke fairly cleanly right where the sleeve ends! Almost as if were sheered off.

You got that right! I was so worried that my engine was toast (at least the aluminum head). I must have shut it down not a moment too soon. I was lucky!

The same thing happened to my 1991 740. The dealer replaced the radiator (about 90K miles) with a new one that he described as having the metal sleeve. He claimed the metal sleeve extends into the radiator body giving it more strength at the elbow. However, I cannot verify this. Does anyone know?

An independent shop since told me of aftermarket radiators that are far superior to the factory one.

Look below and you will see that I have had a few Plastic Radiators. EVERY ONE FAILED! Some split down the side. Some had the problem you describe first. One leaked coolant into the transmission. I replaced them all with copper tank Aftermarket radiators. None of the Aftermarket radiators have failed. Volvo radiators are a throw away item.

Al

Had 79 245 D, 81 240 D, 86 240 320,000mi and running when traded Have

94 944 White 144,000 The New one 94 944 Green 257,503 mi CRUNCH Parted out 94 944 Maroon 135,000 mi

Yes. Actually, my radiator was leaking a VERY tiny bit when I bought the car. It didn't seem to be anything to worry about, but I kept an eye on it. It looked like it was coming out behind the vertical metal strip that runs along the inside edge of where the plastic ends and the metal part of the radiator begins. It was very close to the neck that broke as it turns out, but not related. The neck broke from stress right where the metal sleeve ended. Vibration over time, I imagine.

I haven't bought a new radiator yet. Do have some sources for metal (copper) radiators? Where should I start looking? Are they more expensive?

TIA,

Bob

Get a Nissens 3 row, I've found them at junkyards before but you can order them, very high quality, made in Denmark.

Yes, the Nissens radiators are all metal, in fact all the aftermarket ones I've seen was, dunno what those crazy Swedes were thinking when they used the plastic tank radiators, a major design oversight on an otherwise excellent car.

Thanks for the info. I've seen Nissens offered at some of the on-line stores I use. I didn't know they were all metal. However, one poster said I should avoid them. So there seems to be a little controversy here.

As far as the Swedes being crazy, I don't know, but I can tell you they've got company! I think the radiators in most newer cars are plastic these days. My '92 BMW has one, as does my wife's '00 MB, so it's not just a Volvo thing. Auto manufacturers shave their unit costs down to the penny, so some of their OEM equipment can be of rather marginal quality. Another area where some of them "skimp" is with shocks. The shocks on many new cars are junk, and only cost the manufacturer several dollars each. I've heard it said that one would do well to immediately upgrade to high quality aftermarket shocks even on a new car. I had my own first hand experience with this when my wife's then "new", '92 VW Jetta had one of it's rear shocks leak and failed after only about 30K miles, but not before it ruined a pretty good tire in the process (cupped, and no longer round).

With the Volvo radiator. I suppose I can't complain too much. As far as I know, it was the original unit, and the car now has 148K on the clock. Things wear out; the critical part is *when*. Although the abrupt failure left me stranded for a while, I'm glad it happened when it did. Had my wife been driving the car, which she frequently does, the outcome would likely have been much worse. She has a habit of not taking notice of the instrumentation and would have driven the car until it died..

In article , snipped-for-privacy@bmwe30.net by Aleric dropped his wrench, scratched his head and mumbled,

[snip} Not so much a design failure, as a failure in the execution. Plastic aluminum radiators have several advantages: higher efficiency, lighter weight, lower reactivity to solvents, for a few. However, the Europeans in general don't do plastic very well. The Volvo version doesn't have particularly well made side seals and the plastic degrades over time. The plastic seems to be highly susceptible to changes in pH due to antifreeze recycling or low voltage generated in the coolant, or leaking into the coolant due to inadequate motor grounds. Although these conditions are common in the plastic radiators of other makes the incidence of failure is much lower which leads me to believe that the plastic compound used in manufacture is inadequate.

Bob