I have a 940volvo 20turbo which uses water on arun
Last summera hose burst and the car stopped,Ireplaced the hose and filled her up,she always did use a bit but now after a 50mile run we are talking a couple of pints----yet its fine driving around town.There are no visable leaks does this point tothe head gasket,the expansion cap which is new ,hisses.Any ideaswhat a new gasket costs to replace?
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The first check to do would be a compression test on the cylinders to see if there is any loss in compression.
Fitting a new head gasket will be a minimum of £200 but if any warpage has taken place this quickly escalates to £5 or 600. These prices are for small garages doing the repairs. Easily double them for main dealer or specialists.
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How is the rubber on the radiator cap? If this has perished, then the water will evaporate out, but you'll never notice any leaks. (£1.99, cheaper than a new head gasket if this is the problem...)
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If you are talking about 2 pints (a litre, roughly) in 50 miles then you have a serious water loss; its not evaporation. Pressure testing is the first place to start, before jumping to conclusions.
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You say no visible leaks - check this very carefully. A tiny hole can lose a lot of water when hot and under pressure, but look perfectly sound when cold.
I had your problem a year ago, and it was a pin-hole leak in a heater hose rubbing on the dipstick tube. It didn't do it when I looked carefully under the bonnet, only when the engine moved under load.
A leaking head gasket will do one(or all) of three things:
1) leak water into the cylinder(s). Have a look at the plugs
2) leak water into the oil . Look in the sump
3) let exhaust gas leak into the cooling system. This causes excessive pressure and overheating.
Even if it is the head, this needn't be too expensive if you can tackle it yourself. Unless something is actually cracked, it would just need checking and skimming, and then a new gasket.
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Thats the annoying thing, though, only costs £20 for the gasket, *if* you can do it yourself!
Which i decided i couldn't when my one went, so ended up selling it to a friend for value minus cost of fixing it, only to see him DIY it and get it running again for pennies :-(
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Good point! Read the whole question, mapmaker!
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Thanks for all the comments,I will try a compression test this weekend CR
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First thing I would check is thermostat.As you overheated may have fried the stat.Should really change it anyway after overheating as they rarely work correctly afterwards.another possible is have you got the screw adjustable jubilee clips on the hoses or are they the compression type ie non adjustable.they are prone to coming loose and leak on the underneath of the pipe.hard to spot a leak but it happens?
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