Cooling System Components

I would suggest draining the entire cooling system before trying this one to avoid a wet mess. If the core is too low to drain just blow in the hose to push the fluid out to drain.

volvo 850
mike

The instruction were so simple, nothing is that simple, my antenna's were up. There are two illustrations, one with a small arrow pointing in with the type of connector supplied and another pointing out with another type of connector that is not supplied. I thought this represented the in flow and out flow of the heater core. It took me a couple of minutes and a couple of installation attempts before realizing the arrows were indicating the part to remove were different that the updated parts that were supplied. Once I had my head on straight, it snapped into place easily at once. Piece of cake.

This had to be the easiest thermostat change I've ever done ('01 V70). The new thermostat worked great even in the very frigid winter we had. A very good product for the money.

Not badged 'Volvo' but looks like it is made by the same manufacturer. Both rated at 150kPa. Works fine. No issues.

This product was relatively east to install with removal/installation help I was able to find on the net. It took 1 hour 45 minutes from start to firing up the engine to topping off the antifreeze. It didn't include the two hours I let the engine run to help dry out the carpet where I spilled some of the coolant. Another 10 minutes to reinstall the carpeting and mats. Also used the recommended new silicon orings with some silicon grease to help them slide into place and not bind. The old orings were not yet brittle even with 140K miles. However, they were somewhat flat on one side and prior experience tells me that there's a good chance the old orings would have leaked after being disturbed. If you don't save the old coolant for reuse, make sure you have a gallon or so of new coolant on hand.

I saved $650 doing it myself. Most difficult part was fitting myself under the dash to get to it. Like the other post said, make sure you have a pan to hold at least a gallon of coolant. It comes out quick. Also, to disconnect the core from the pipes coming through the firewall, there is one screw in the middle of the clamp that makes it easy. I tried removing the clamp and it added about a half hour to the job. Otherwise it took less than 2 hours to complete. Thanks IPD.

If you find this place/part leaking, then open up the thermostat housing and inspect the blardy thermostat. I changed my thermostat EVERY year, and yet the dang thing could fail me in the 8th year. THe total costs was horrendous, as overheating caused a lot of other things to burn/damage as well... In anycase, if you buy the thermostat (any kind), chances are that you'll get this ring seal together. But if your thermostat housing is leaking, then open the housing, you may need a T40 bit for that (or whatever is you've changed into aftermarket bolts), and inspect the seal. If the seal was improperly placed the first time, it may have crushed the walls and you need new seals for that.

Hope that helps.
Cheers, all the way from Malaysia!

I decided to install this part when I did my timing belt assembly. The old thermo was completely shot. I looked like someone hit it with a hammer and then lit it on fire. Now that I know where this part is I can change it in 5min without draining the coolant.

Thanks IPD, Spencer

Great clamps with firm adjustment. No more worm gear recesses digging into the hose. Plus the blue bit looks kinda cool for coolant lines.

Removed the old core and man was it in bad shape. It had leaked all over the floor board. Tip: make sure you have a container or plastic bag to catch the leaking antifreeze. Removing the unit was a breeze. I was advised by a pro technician that this job was not for an amateur (I proved them wrong) I've never worked on cars before, and I was able to change it in 3 hours time. Easy. Give a try. If you get a white smoke when you run your AC in the summer and if it fogs your winshield in the winter. It is probably you heater core is leaking.
This weekend I am tackling my faulty ABS unit.
Ed (Amateur Volvo enthusiast)