940 with broken radiator :(

Well, my normally reliable '95 940 left me stranded on the interstate for
the first time, at 4:00AM no less.

The plastic neck on the radiator where the heater hose connects had broken
in two, and the only thing holding the hose to the radiator was the clamp
(just barely). Needless to say, I had lost a lot of coolant and the car
started to overheat, with "Check Engine" illuminated and the water temp
gauge pegged. I immediately pulled over and turned off the engine. I
called a friend who brought some water and helped me better secure the hose
to damaged (now shorter)
neck. I was able to bring the car home operating at normal temps, but still
leaking.

An inopportune, but important cell phone call from my wife had distracted me
enough not to notice what was going on with the temp gauge for a few
moments.
I normally scan all the instruments routinely when driving. Never had a
water temp problem before. Bad timing.

Anyway, the car appears to be ok from what I can tell.

My questions are: Is there any way to repair this kind of break, or do I
need a new radiator? Is this type of thing common with plastic radiator
housings?


TIA,

Bob

 

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.

Regards
Barry

 

I had the same problem on my 740t but I was able to pull in to a garage near
by and then to Carson and Murphy's to replace the plastic radiator with a
metal one same cost no problems .We are fortunate that here in Melbourne
Australia we have such good Volvo service people such as Carson and Murphy
in Doncaster

 

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..

 

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