Volvo Breakdown - Advice Needed
 

I was on my way to school today (I student-teach at the highschool level as part of a training/certification program), when I saw smoke coming from under my hood. I pulled off the highway and onto a side street and opened the hood, to find that the accessory belt that drives the water pump (I think) came off the track and was severely stripped in one section, a hose leading into the radiator snapped off the radiator, and coolant was pretty much everywhere in the engine bay.

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Sorry, i accidentally hit the "Post" button too quickly...

anyhow, my GUESS as to the sequence of events is:
1) belt began to strip and came off water pump pulley
2) car began to overheat
3) pressure popped the hose off the radiator, soaking everything

I know I need a new belt, obviously. I also need the plastic piece that runs along the side of the radiator, connecting to the hose that came off. This piece is cracked.

Does anyone know what this part would be called, and if it's available without having to buy a whole new radiator? Anybody have anything like a Volvo 740 PET?

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Rock Auto has new radiators for $100, otherwise I would try a salvage yard.

I don't know what the nomenclature is...but if you print out the pics, a good counter man should know.

It looks to me like the tube that comes off the radiator that the hose connects to broke off. I am also trying to figure out what the deal is with the brown wire connected to the clamp.

I am no Volvo expert, but, I suspect your radiator is toast and you need a new one, how long have you had this car and was the brown wire always there? Seems like it was a problem before and a band aid was applied.

I realize that I should be more specific about which part broke: the radiator has two plastic "caps" on either side. The one on the right cracked, and part of it snapped off and is still attached to the radiator hose. It LOOKS like the plastic part will unbolt away from the radiator itself, but I'm not sure...

You need a new (or good used) radiator. You can't repair that plastic neck. Your radiator is junk.

It's hard to tell from the pictures, but it looks like the plastic neck broke off a long time ago, and someone tried to kludge it together by using that rusty piece of wire to hold the radiator hose onto what little stub was left on the neck. There's nothing left now, though, so even that kludge won't work anymore.

That's the problem with these type of cars once they get 20+ years old. There is a LOT of plastics used under the hood, including in the wiring harnesses, sensors, etc. They all start to get old and brittle, and start breaking off, crumbling, etc.

I have had the car for about a year. The previous owners were the original owners (for about 240K miles!), did a lot of their own work themselves (they are actually Pelican members) and documented everything. The wire seems to just hold the hose up and steady.

Typical modern radiators have plastic end caps and they wear out. I suspect you need a new radiator.

See Mike Bonkalski's post above.

No, the wire is there because part of the neck already had snapped off. The part that has the little ridge which holds the hose in place (the hose clamp goes up against it). Once that part broke off, there wasn't anything for the hose and hose clamp to grip against, so they kludged it with a rusty wire.

Good advice, guys - thank you. It's amazing - I get about 5-10 great replies from a PORSCHE/BMW forum before i get one good one on the Volvo forums. I will start hunting around for a radiator.

A friend of mine has an Volvo - almost identical to mine - that he is parting out (you may remember that I bought a transmission from him about 8 months ago). Does anyone know if the radiator from his 1993 740 would fit my 1990 740?

If you can get a new radiator for $100, just do that - that's a no brainer.

That type of radiator is considered "disposable." A used one has a good chance of being at least partially clogged, and somewhat brittle. By the time you spend whatever a used one will cost, plus $15 for coolant, plus your time, it's not worth taking a risk on getting another junker radiator, if a new one is cheap.

Dont waste time on a used radiator. Just get a new radiator, hoses and belts and be done with it.

One example..

1985-1992 Volvo 740 SILLA7843A $98.41