- Joined
- Mar 19, 2003
- Location
- Denver, CO
I wanted to open a discussion about the Volvo cooling system in a more targeted fashion. I have seen some conversations in peoples project threads and some other less obvious places if you search. But one nice discussion thread would be nice. I'm not really finding the conclusions I was after.
The problems I want to address are this:
1. Freeze plugs being pushed out at high rpms.
2. Burping coolant after high rpm blasts.
3. Temperature rise at high rpms even though there is enough cooling capacity.
I think these things shouldn't be happening, and are probably water pump and circulation problems as much as anything else.
Here are some recent observations I have made on my B23. I recently posted a thread about burping coolant out of the reservoir at high boost and high rpm. I partially fixed this problem with a higher pressure cap. It still burps a little bit, but not as much. But another problem has now surfaced. I'm pushing a freeze plug out and its leaking. I think the water pressure is really high in the block when at high rpms. I recently raised my rev limit to about 7200rpm and have been running up close to 7000 rpm for short blasts. It has aggravated the problem.
I'll pull the motor this winter, and I want to address this if I can. The water pump likely needs to turn slower. It also could probably use to have some arms trimmed from the impeller to decrease its flow rate. I'll probably bolt down the freeze plugs somehow as a safety measure. But I think this is fixing a symptom, not the cause. I know a few people have been doing this lately. And Kenny Howards catastrophe with water exiting the motor at high speed scares me. Its a pretty realistic problem.
I'll leave it at that for now. Please post positive results if you have managed to fix this spiking pressure problem in some way.
The problems I want to address are this:
1. Freeze plugs being pushed out at high rpms.
2. Burping coolant after high rpm blasts.
3. Temperature rise at high rpms even though there is enough cooling capacity.
I think these things shouldn't be happening, and are probably water pump and circulation problems as much as anything else.
Here are some recent observations I have made on my B23. I recently posted a thread about burping coolant out of the reservoir at high boost and high rpm. I partially fixed this problem with a higher pressure cap. It still burps a little bit, but not as much. But another problem has now surfaced. I'm pushing a freeze plug out and its leaking. I think the water pressure is really high in the block when at high rpms. I recently raised my rev limit to about 7200rpm and have been running up close to 7000 rpm for short blasts. It has aggravated the problem.
I'll pull the motor this winter, and I want to address this if I can. The water pump likely needs to turn slower. It also could probably use to have some arms trimmed from the impeller to decrease its flow rate. I'll probably bolt down the freeze plugs somehow as a safety measure. But I think this is fixing a symptom, not the cause. I know a few people have been doing this lately. And Kenny Howards catastrophe with water exiting the motor at high speed scares me. Its a pretty realistic problem.
I'll leave it at that for now. Please post positive results if you have managed to fix this spiking pressure problem in some way.