Blown head gasket

[Briguy]

After I purchased my xc90 in August of 2004 I noticed that the check coolant light came on within the first few weeks. I added about 8 ounces of coolant and the light went out. During my first scheduled oil change I mentioned the problem to the service manager since it happened several times during my initial 7500 miles. The vehicle has been back 3 additional times to diagnose my disappearing coolant and they never found the leak. The dealer even added dye and looked at it with a special light but didn't find the leak.

Well, today the dealer found out where the coolant was going......into the motor. I have been told that the car now needs a new head gasket at 38,000miles. This is just the icing on the cake since the car has been to the dealer a half dozen or more times for recalls and other defects. I am so frustrated with this car and I don't know what to do at this point. My main concern is that the life of the motor has been compromised.

I sent a letter a month ago to the president of Volvo North America and they sent me a blow off corporate BS letter. This is not what I expected from Volvo. I am waiting for a response to my 2nd letter to Ann Belec and if I don't receive satisfaction I am going to persue my remedy through the Florida New Car Lemon Law.

[dmd]

With 38k with a leaking gasket, I would think there would be some other damage to the cyl that was the issue. Head gaskets can be tricky, but with dye added and no external leak found, they should have done a leak down when the engine was stone cold. Head gaskets can leak when stone cold, but just a few mins of running will heat up enough to seal them back up. What exactly did they do to find the leak now?

Dealer should have found it ealier, and you should have done more than just mention it to the service manager. You let this go way to far without being fixed. first question I would have asked would be ' Where is the fliud going?' Then not accept any answer other than one with proof. The make them keep looking until found. This is a clasic head gasket leak, any competent mechanic should have seen it.

Get the oil anyalized now before the head gasket swap to get some proof, and get a compression check afterwards so everything is documented.

[Briguy]

The dealer states they are waiting for authorization from Volvo to replace the head gasket. So far the dealer claims the leak only went out the exhaust and not into the oil because the dip stick had no froth on it. Does that sound correct?

The dealer has been very pleasant to deal with and has given me a loaner for free. This will take about 2 weeks to fix.

[dmd]

There are 2 places the oil can go with a blown gasket

- oil
- into a cylinder

oil - large leak will foam the oil, slow leak will be hard to see without a oil test. Get some oil from the car and have it tested.

cylinder - This can score the walls of the cylinder, cause bent rods if major. Yours was not major, but can be easily detected with a CO2 monitor hooked to the radiator cap because engine gasses will pass to the water, just like the water passing to the cylinder.

I believe your is a tempurature related leak. Only leaked when the engine was cold, so just a little water passed.

Sooo.. Ask him how it got from the water passages and out the exhaust.. Ask for a detailed route and see what he says. Remember cycliners dont like water.

[Briguy]

DMD, Thanks for you comments, you hit the nail right on the head! The block is cracked between the #1 and #2 cyl. Volvo is replacing the motor for us an it should take about 2 weeks. They are upgrading my loaner from a ?40 back to an xc90.

Brian

[dmd]

Too bad for the failure, but sounds like they are correcting the problems and have you in a car like yours.

Cracked block is very rare, must have been a casting flaw to cause a weak spot. Too bad you didnt have more miles on it when it went bad, getting a new engine is even better with high miles. There will be a few litte things thathave to be adjusted after the replacement, they will miss something. I have replaced engines in cars and it seems that no matter how much care is put in, there is always a few small things that need correcting.