is there a coolant air bleed on a P3
 

There is absolutely nothing in VIDA about bleeding the system. and everything on the WWW is about p2 and older.

Since I changed my rad on my 2012 XC70 Im still loosing a bit of water but not from any rad leak, The strange thing is every morning, stone cold I remove the cap and the level rises but not back to full.

I seem to be storing a lot of pressure in the system which may be blowing water past the O ring seals at the rad, maybe the cap is in need of change!

Anyone know if and where the bleed is located?

Thanks

You're right about there being not much about P3's out there. 850s-lots, P2s-quite a lot, P3s are still in the making. Looking at the "How many left" website, there are only 108 of my particular model on the road just now.

I had a similar problem on my v70 when i bought it but i was just loosing water. Turned out someone hadn't put the cap back on properly on the filler bottle and the seal inside the cap was pulling out of shape and not sitting/ sealing properly.
After a few weeks of occasional top ups, making sure the cap went back on properly so the seals didn't catch going on I've not had any problems since. Worth checking. There's a small seal at the bottom and a larger one further up, on mine anyway.

Indeed there are 2 seals. Mine are certainly working in so much as they are holding pressure but other than that I dont know.
Ive ordered a new cap from volvo for the sake of 21 quid.

It appears that no-one knows ( or isn't telling) if there is a bleed facility, so Ill just have to investigate.

You don't get trouble bleeding , just drive it around for 10 minutes until the thermostat opens , let it cool , top up and that is it .there is a bleed pipe from the back of the head , across the top of the radiator to the coolant tank .
If you have pressure overnight you need to think headgasket or damage to the top of the cylinder liners .

Thanks, very helpful and pretty much what I've done. I noted in Vida that pipe is called a bleed pipe. That little pipe is always hot and disappears down into a crevice. Apparently there is a "nipple" on the end but it looks to be way out of reach.

Your second point, This I have considered but didn't really want to even think about it so tried to push it from my mind. Ive been trying to tell myself that it wouldn't hold that pressure overnight if it was a HGF and would slowly dissipate. The truth of course is that it probably can. Liner damage, I hadn't thought of and still don't want to as I wont sleep.

The car is like brand new, meticulously maintained with FMDSH and driven very gently, If it is HGF at 72,000 miles then its no better than a bloody MGF!
Im towing a 1.5 ton caravan on a 2 week holiday on Saturday:confused_smile:

Is HGF common on these engines? Its a D3 AWD which is really a D5 AWD as most here will already know.
cheers

No it is not common but does happen, 2009 ish to 2013 ish ..
I blame ford for reworking the block around 2008 when they started making them in the Bridgend Ford engine plant ,the edge of the cylinder head is unsupported if you look closely it is undercut to save alloy .whilst the older Pure volvo D5 head is fully supported on a solid block . I believe the head moves around on the gasket as it heats up and cools down every day probably on engines which are used hard a lot .

are you actually loosing coolant ? First place to look is for dampness at the bottom corners of the radiator

Thanks mate, I appreciate your help.
FKIN FORD Fix Or Repair Daily
I was loosing coolant, the rad had failed and was dropping at the offside. the sponge along the bottom was soaking with it

Im now thinking the pressure probably burst it if the HG failed. Im still loosing coolant but not now via a leaking rad. Heres the killer which I was keeping in reserve. There is a tiny amount of mayo at the bottom of the expansion tank and on the end of that little bleed pipe where it feeds into the expansion tank.
Its very probably a minor HGF and im sick as **** if that is the case. Ill have to book it in next week somewhere in the northumberland area as im going on this holiday, not even FORD are going to stop me. Ive got a very good mate with an XC 90 and a disco 3 that has offered to lend me either car but I might as well take it and get it fixed whilst i'm on holiday.
Whats your view on these combustion gas test kits?
Cheers
Al

I would say they're unnecessary.

Before starting from cold, you need to remove the expansion cap to release any residual pressure then replace the expansion cap to normal tightness then start the car.
After about 20 seconds, turn off engine and undo the expansion cap. If it hisses, that's a very good indication of HG failure as the engine won't have been running long enough for heat to create pressure.
Also smell the expansion filler neck for combustible/smokey /fuel type smells.

Ill do that. I planned to fill it to the top of the tank and start it, looking for bubbles but the leak if it is a leak is minor and I don't expect to see much. your cold test method makes total sense and ill do just that. Cheers