855 windscreen trim removal / coolant loss and puddle

[duke1]

hi all as title im seeking guidance for troublesome volvo aka "leaky" which constantly has leaks ever since i bought it nearly a year ago,the passenger footwell is full of coolant and i believe rainwater combo.
i have so far done every single hose on the engine and replaced both heater matrix and deleted the troublesome bulkhead coupling in favour of direct fit heater hose all thats left of the original pipe work is the cut down section of metal pipes that attach to the matrix,all new and volvo o rings.
so 2 questions?
1. how is coolant still getting inside the car and same passenger footwell puddles?are there any other connections between the inside and out im missing ie on ac?
2.i want to use some seek and seal on the windscreen but need to remove the plastic trim that cover parts of the windscreen where it seals some seems to be under the front wing and im unable to see how it is secured,it looks fragile so i do not want to guess and destroy it! thanks for any advices,duke.

[cyclogenesis]

Depends what trim you are on about. The two 'rails' which go along the roof just unclip, and the trim that goes along the base of the windscreen has a few screws holding it in place. That also gives you access to the cabin filter if you have one fitted. Might be worth looking there anyway as debris in that might be the source of your leak. Check the two drain tube in the gutter are not blocked

[DaveNP]

Is coolant still leaking? Do you have to top it up? When I had, and fixed, a leaky heater matrix it took a lot of washing to get the coolant out of the carpet and underlay and even then the car often smelt of coolant for a long time afterwards.

[volvo again]

Check the two drain holes in the scuttle, if they're blocked water can get into the interior via the cabin filter

[stevepcar]

If you look on You Tube Robert DIY, who as I am sure a lot of 850 enthusiasts know of, has done a video on finding leaks into the interior. Apart from the heater matrix, he does point to the blocked drain hoses. His tuff always worth a view.

[duke1]

hi all thanks for replies just for the record, so far she has had new radiator and hoses and waterpump and thermostat,heater hose delete of the bulkhead coupling i had an uncertain result with the head gasket sniffer test but intend to rebuild the head in summer if health and finances permit the drains from the cowlhave been cleaned out as they where blocked solid,
so i have intermitent loss of approx 1ltr coolant without running the engine at all.
but zero coolant loss when driven even for long drives,has no misfires and temp rarely gets to middle of the gauge,no bubbles and no sign of water in her cylinders when i did plugs.
half my trouble is having a real bad neck i cannot easily see into the orifice of the heater and must rely on photos to see what there.makes such work a genuine pain in the neck!
if water gets in now i will need to investigate under the cowling but the typical uk rain stopped play today,i just must sort this out ive spent so much hardwork on the volvo and love the car to drive its great,just a determined leaker!cheers

[Joseph Martin]

Hi duke1,

I am typing out some advice as I have been in exactly the same scenario, however I had three leaks, made even harder by the fact my car is a non-sunroof model. So please take/disregard parts of my post as applicable, but if anything helps then I'm glad:

1) Windscreen - My car has had a replacement screen from the RAC at some point in its life. The bonding has either failed or not been applied thoroughly, it is clear that it has been leaking for a while. My tip is to get a bottle of Captain Tolley's Creeping Crack Cure, and lift the edge of the rubber windscreen seal up just enough with a flat blade screwdriver to get the nozzle of the bottle in there. Now run it from one side of the car to the other, use the flat blade to help if needed. This stuff is runny, its like milk in constancy and you need to remove any from your paintwork before it dries.
My headlining was soaking wet at the windscreen edge, until I did this - this has cured it.

2) Being a non-sunroof model, I had no drains down via the A pillars to worry about. However, the drain exit on the bulkhead is plugged with a rubber bung - there were chew marks on this as if a rodent had been at it. This was another entry point for water into my car.

3) Heater matrix - even though you have changed this, did you renew the rubber 'o' rings where it attaches to the pipes? Apologies if I've missed it.

Hope anything in this helps you with your scenario.

[duke1]

hi all thanks for the replies well today i investigated under the cowling the wiper arms was a little tricky to get to release one was easy with a small puller,the other the bonnet is in the way no matter what angle the puller would slip,so i modified the tool slightly and as a 2 legged puller it just fit enough to release them,under the cowling was surprisingly clean and i found only a tiny puddle under the cover on the opposite side to my leaky patch but hoovered out the lot and flushed all 4 drain pipes.
i have put it all back together went of for tea and search my shed for the magnet on a stick to recover the damn screw that fell out right down the side of the fusebox,having only 1 proper working hand sucks sometimes
also noted that the general sort of condensation ie mostly water is what is getting in and not coolant as a taste test confirmed,so the coolant loss is likely the headgasket and is being lost via the exhaust?
the car runs perfect and as said the sniffer test was suspect as the car was running over an hour and the fluid remained unchanged until i proper revved the engine and then had slight blueish tinge,did same again after the fan cut in and out,no colour change,thoughts anyone ?
cheers