C70: Too much cold air ?

[richie74]

Hey all.

I took the T5 to get me from Aberdeen down to Leeds to come home for xmas. The temp was down to -7 in some places. All was fine apart from two things.

1. I noticed that the engine temp guage as soon as i was out of town traffic i.e. on the dual carriageways/motorways dropped down to near the bottom.

2. Screen washers froze solid. Again when i was in town traffic, they would thaw out almost instantly.

It sounds to me as if too much cold air is getting into the engine bay. I doubt its the thermostat because it only does this on very cold motorway journeys. Has anyone else experienced this and has anyone tried to restrict the airflow into the engine.

Any ideas?

[DSK]

I do a lot of motorway miles every week and I have had no issues in the colder weather. I also do not believe that restricting air flow into the car is a sensible idea. Fwiw, my screen wash concentrate is 50/50 (screen wash with antifreeze/water). No had any issues with my washers.

The temperature gauge could be the coolant temp sensor near the thermostat if you are certain the thermostat is OK and the system has no air locks.

[storming]

The thermostat should reach half or just under and stay there!
The thermostat is not working as it should be, time to change it !

[capt jack]

Yup, that's a bu@@ered thermostat you've got there.

Windscreen washers freeze in cold weather. The only real option is a very concentrated washer solution.

Welcome to winter!

Cheers

Jack

[scapa]

The fact its -7 is not the problem , Problem is as said a faulty T/stat, the engine should get up to normal temp no matter if its -7 or -27, thats what the stat is there for.

As for the freezing washers, easy fix ,buy some decent screenwash, ECP sell a decent one that protects down to -60, so if you mix it 3 to 1 you will be fine

[richie74]

Thanks all. Will throw a thermostat in after xmas. It looks straight forward enough (famous last words)

[capt jack]

It is easy - you just need to go about it the right way.

The day before you do the job douse the two Torx bolts on the thermostat housing with WD40.

Make sure you've got the right Torx 40 head and a decent ratchet, the new thermostat and seal, and some Volvo anti-freeze.

Set the heater controls to the hottest setting.

Wedge some rags around the thermostat housing to catch the bolts should you drop either of them!

Do the job with the engine cold - don't worry draining coolant - you'll lose a bit when you undo the thermostat housing, but not very much.

Get a good quality replacement thermostat - they are not expensive. Make sure that you get and fit a new sealing ring. This isn't as gasket as such, but a rubber ring that you fit around the thermostat itself.

Line it all up, drop the new 'stat in, re-fit the bolts, refill the expansion bottle with Volvo antifreeze / water mix (you won't need very much).

Start the engine, check for leaks, then take the car for a run to make sure everything is working properly. The temp gauge should get to the '3 o'clock' position and stay there. My guess is you'll be amazed at how much warmer the heater gets!

Good luck

Jack

PS: A look at Haynes will be very helpful, and although you're only doing a part of what's described here http://volvospeed.com/Repair/thermect.php it too is helpful.