Disappearing Coolant

[DrivingZiggy]

My first post, so be gentle!

I've been losing coolant and asked about it on the OOIDA forum. One of the guys directed me here. So I've been reading and watching videos for about 4 hours now. Since I can't see any leaks, I'm going to have to assume it's the EGR cooler that's leaking.

But from what I've been reading/viewing, looks like I should buy myself a coolant pressure test kit. Any opinions on The Mityvac MV4560 Radiator/Cooling System and Pressure Test Kit for $47.78 on Amazon?

Oh, the truck? 2010 Volvo 780, ISX 525/1850 pre-DEF. From what I learned from one of Rawze's vids, it's the 871. 322,000 miles, never had anything done to it except replacing tghe air compressor twice and the a/c compressor twice, also. Non-engine compartment replaced the air drier. And now I'm seeing that soot could have caused at least some of these problems.

So, any ideas about where the coolant is going?

Also, what the heck is this "@m*m^2" that I'm seeing all over the forum?

[hhow55]

Not sure about the miityvac, I got mine from harbor freight, works well for me.
In regards to the disappearing coolant, disconnect the Venturi pipe from the intake horn, and see if you find any moisture or coolant. I would then open the flange behind the egr cooler, and check for coolant in the pipe, of course withe the cooing system pressured up would help.
About the @m*m^2, just hit the tab near the top of home page Isx egr delete tab, it's all there to learn.

[snailexpress]

Volvo is famous to leak coolant from bunk heater. Hard to see it because lot of 5hit in around. coolant will leak under floor mat and never noticed. The fix is easy replace O-rings and tight bolt. If we are talking about small leak.

[DrivingZiggy]

(03-18-2016 )hhow55 Wrote:  In regards to the disappearing coolant, disconnect the Venturi pipe from the intake horn, and see if you find any moisture or coolant. I would then open the flange behind the egr cooler, and check for coolant in the pipe, of course withe the cooing system pressured up would help.

Dang it! Now I'll have to watch the videos again to figure out what the venturi pipe, intake horn, and flange look like.

(03-18-2016 )snailexpress Wrote:  Volvo is famous to leak coolant from bunk heater. Hard to see it because lot of 5hit in around. coolant will leak under floor mat and never noticed. The fix is easy replace O-rings and tight bolt. If we are talking about small leak.

I forgot about that! It has happened before, but it was smell-able. I'll have to look for it. Any easy way to spot it?

[DrivingZiggy]

(03-18-2016 )hhow55 Wrote:  About the @m*m^2, just hit the tab near the top of home page Isx egr delete tab, it's all there to learn.

Okay, so I just read all of that. Did not see @m*m^2 anywhere. Am I to infer that's some kind of code used instead of saying the actual thing?

[Cuya]

everyone who has it say is most stable solid fuel efficient program 4 isx but it is not legal in some countrie.

All the big name del shop hate it because it makes them look bad. after only 2 oil changes even the oil in my truck does not turn black.

http://rawze.com/forums/showthread.php?t...743#pid743

[mkmac]

(03-18-2016 )DrivingZiggy Wrote:  My first post, so be gentle!

I've been losing coolant and asked about it on the OOIDA forum. One of the guys directed me here. So I've been reading and watching videos for about 4 hours now. Since I can't see any leaks, I'm going to have to assume it's the EGR cooler that's leaking.

But from what I've been reading/viewing, looks like I should buy myself a coolant pressure test kit. Any opinions on The Mityvac MV4560 Radiator/Cooling System and Pressure Test Kit for $47.78 on Amazon?

Oh, the truck? 2010 Volvo 780, ISX 525/1850 pre-DEF. From what I learned from one of Rawze's vids, it's the 871. 322,000 miles, never had anything done to it except replacing tghe air compressor twice and the a/c compressor twice, also. Non-engine compartment replaced the air drier. And now I'm seeing that soot could have caused at least some of these problems.

So, any ideas about where the coolant is going?

Also, what the heck is this "@m*m^2" that I'm seeing all over the forum?

The Mityvac work but you won't get the fitting for your tank, I had to modify my cap and replace it with a new one also as mentioned your sleeper heater could be leaking.Lift your sleeper seat up look at the top of the box where the lines come in could be wet on top usually flat O ring,If more water down in box could be your heater core needs replacing. Easy Change. Good Luck...

[Waterloo]

Welcome to Rawze.com! There are no stupid questions here, trust me I have asked my share, and have felt embarrassed for asking. These new emission trucks are a new animal to me, I have never worked on any of my trucks like I have my 2008 ProStar with the CM-871 emission nightmare. And nearly all of my problems have been emission related costing me thousands upon thousands in downtime and repairs. Start buying tools if you do not have any yet, and start asking questions, no matter how foolish you think it is... Because there are many of us out here that ain't got a clue and are to afraid to ask.... Now, onto your question!

The pressure test kit? Rawze has one he uses, I went through two different pressure test kits that both failed on first use. Get the kit that Rawze recommends. PM him if you have too, it used to be posted up here, but we lost allot of stuff not long ago and are still rebuilding the site with all of that lost info. If you get the correct kit, pressure test you EGR cooler to, you can do that right in your driveway, I think there is a video here somewhere... It is easy to do, just kind of a bitch getting to the back of the cooler to loosen the bolts. Let it sit under pressure overnight and check for coolant leakage the following morning.

How much coolant are you losing in say a week? I had an issue with my ProStar, and this can apply to your Volvo, I owned one of those too... Walk around your truck and tighten all of your hose clamps. All of them, and replace any worn clamps with new ones, not the worm gear type, use the T type, with the T bolt and the nut. Do this before you do anything, it is the least expensive thing you can do, because you don't want to be a knuckle head like me... My leaking hose story is below for your enjoyment, a very expensive affair when you consider time and lost revenue.

I was mysteriously losing coolant, about a gallon a week and getting worse. I took it to a shop, it was that cold winter three years ago, like -20 below in Kentucky... Having just purchased the truck and not having a clue about these motors... We pressure tested the coolant system, with no issues noted, it held pressure, no leaks. So, being a dummy on these EGR/DPF trucks with the CM-871, I was talked into a $2500 EGR Cooler by the dealer... I drove away happy, thinking the leak was fixed... Bullshit. She was still leaking coolant and I was broke! In desperation I pulled into another shop, told them my story... An old mechanic grabbed a ratchet, tightened all of my hose clamps and sent me on my way, no charge. He said I had a cold leak, never heard of that, but it worked, the leak stopped. Coolant was leaking out going down the road, simple physics, contraction and expansion, allowing coolant to escape while driving. The reason there was never any coolant puddled on the ground. I could have done this in the parking lot, -20 or not and saved a few grand. So start with your clamps, they may seem tight, but coolant can still leak. I wound up double clamping some of my hoses.

After you do that, and have the coolant system healthy, pressure test your EGR cooler too, do the EGR Tuneup, replace those sensors and clean out all of the soot in your motor. I used a case and half of carb cleaner on mine and bought a long handled baby bottle brush to scrub out the longer pieces of soot, and don't forget to replace the doser. Then I would look into the @m*m^2... The thing we do not discuss on the open forum.

[DrivingZiggy]

I haven't kept strict track of how much I'm losing. Probably about a gallon a month, but I also probably do many fewer miles than most here. I will be checking the bunk heater first, then tightening the hoses second. I think it could be the bunk heater though, because I remember that I smelled the coolant when I used it this winter.

Besides that, I'm guessing it's time to do the tune up?

I'm also due for doing all the boxes. I was thinking 350K, but I've been noticing that the shifting doesn't go as smoothly as it used to.