940 Is this normal?

We just got my 'new' 1994 945T back on the road, and my mechanic/buddy noticed something odd while replacing the oil return line off the turbo. there seem to be some extra lines going through the oil filter housing, which he suggested was an oil cooler line from the radiator. the thing is, it doesn't look like it's made of exactly 'stock' parts...

<table style="width:auto;"><tr><td><a href="http://picasaweb.google.com/lh/photo/Yt33Gpp7bmh9jxonNM6vmw?feat=embedwebsite"><img src="http://lh4.ggpht.com/_HsBCDx6IM38/SwydGamOk0I/AAAAAAAACdA/YmeMh-qHfAA/s800/oil%20cooler%20line.jpg" /></a></td></tr><tr><td style="font-family:arial,sans-serif; font-size:11px; text-align:right">From <a href="http://picasaweb.google.com/Merlok13/ElizabethRepair?feat=embedwebsite">Elizabeth repair</a></td></tr></table>

there seems to be an extra port on the line, and it looks like it might be made of 'extra' parts some other mechanic might have had handy...

<table style="width:auto;"><tr><td><a href="http://picasaweb.google.com/lh/photo/qUQgMrwGNMWc3LQbn_2LqQ?feat=embedwebsite"><img src="http://lh4.ggpht.com/_HsBCDx6IM38/SwydGgthqAI/AAAAAAAACdE/-Ro2XG5hX80/s800/close%20up.jpg" /></a></td></tr><tr><td style="font-family:arial,sans-serif; font-size:11px; text-align:right">From <a href="http://picasaweb.google.com/Merlok13/ElizabethRepair?feat=embedwebsite">Elizabeth repair</a></td></tr></table>

(sorry for the crappy pics -- the batteries on my real camera died, these are from my phone)

it looks like there is extra material splayed around the top of the clamp -- is this normal/stock, or am I witnessing a previous mechanic's cheat?

Stock oil cooler.
Looks like it's time to replace the water lines, though.

OEM Oil cooler with coolant drain.

peehound said:

Stock oil cooler.
Looks like it's time to replace the water lines, though.

Click to expand...

And the extra port, is an all factory original coolant drain fitting. All Volvo's have those, in one place or another. This particular example, is about the handiest to deal with of all of them.

huh. OK, thanks.

still kinda new to Volvos, and my mechanic buddy never worked on many while he was still working for a garage. he thought it looked like some extra piping from a hot water heater that some previous mechanic/owner had 'made' fit.

we just replaced the head (i posted pics of the carnage the PO subjected this poor car to in another thread) and got it on the road yesterday. gonna run it for a few days before having the coolant flushed and refilled; might have the lines replaced at that time, too.

thanks guys!

SOnofagun. I was looking for an exact picture like the one you took a week ago...
Yeah, thats the norm. The extra looking "fitting" is a drain.

seand13 said:

huh. OK, thanks.

still kinda new to Volvos, and my mechanic buddy never worked on many while he was still working for a garage. he thought it looked like some extra piping from a hot water heater that some previous mechanic/owner had 'made' fit.

we just replaced the head (i posted pics of the carnage the PO subjected this poor car to in another thread) and got it on the road yesterday. gonna run it for a few days before having the coolant flushed and refilled; might have the lines replaced at that time, too.

thanks guys!

Click to expand...

Not might, do have the lines replaced. Those 2 lines are almost never changed and are the cause of most of the 93-95 B230FT melt downs. In the picture, it is more than obvious that your hoses are way past their prime.

2manyturbos said:

Not might, do have the lines replaced. Those 2 lines are almost never changed and are the cause of most of the 93-95 B230FT melt downs. In the picture, it is more than obvious that your hoses are way past their prime.

Click to expand...

+1 or you going to stuck with overheat on the side of the road, as i did...

oh, the hoses will be replaced.

the 'might' is if I'll have a radiator shop do it when they flush the system next week, or if I do it myself in my driveway.

I just got this thing on the road after buying it for $400 with an 'undiagnosed overheating problem'. heh, yeah, the timing cover was melted into something only Dali would recognize; I'd say it had an overheating problem.

Does anyone know the size of those hoses? Do you have to get ones that are made for the application, or can you just buy lengths of a certain diametre hose? If so, what length and what size?

Thanks a bunch.

What I did was take the oil cooler hoses over to parts store and match them up with some pre-formed heater hoses, there was one from autozone that you could make both hoses from, for more on this see:
http://volvospeed.com/vs_forum/index.php?showtopic=84513&view=findpost&p=1095005

Nice, thanks...I'll see if one of our places here might have something similar (no Autozone in Canada)

lammmy said:

Does anyone know the size of those hoses? Do you have to get ones that are made for the application, or can you just buy lengths of a certain diametre hose? If so, what length and what size?

Thanks a bunch.

Click to expand...

Those are molded hoses. Because of their bends they would collapse if you tried to make them out of straight hose. Those hoses take a lot of abuse from oil that soaks them with each oil change. I hate paying the extra for parts from the dealer but it is worth it in this case; the hoses from Volvo are much better quality than any I have found on line or aftermarket.

As has been mentioned this is almost the perfect storm for coolant loss and an overheat. Just one more reason why a low coolant sensor circuit belongs in every engine with an aluminum head. Cheap insurance against an overheating situation.

Randy

Ya, I just ended up ordering from FCP Groton...even though shipping is more than the hoses themselves for me in Canada, it was still about half the cost of the dealer and probably less wait.