volvo diesel

[3ccc's]

today i hauled the boat for the season,while i was going through the engine box i noticed the expansion tank had no antifreeze left in it . thoughout the season i periodically had to top off the tank,not much maybe a quart of so. today it took about a half a gallon.once i noticed this i ran the boat and noticed what looked like large amounts of steam coming from the exhaust.the engine is a 2000 kamd44p 260 hp.can the cause for the fluid lose be a leak internally, there is no visible leaks externally.i checked all the external clamps,hoses,ect., before and after running.its been two seasons since the heat exchanger has been cleaned,so maybe its leaking. any info would help,thanks

[freebird2]

Hate to be the one to bring bad new but most likely a head problem.

[backman]

I fought a pair of 42's for 7 years

If your really lucky its a turbo gasket leak which was a well known problem in the KAMD series. However you would see some odd drops under the turbo/manifold connection as well as the tell tale dried antifreeze stain. I went through 7 of those.

If your moderately lucky its a fresh water pump seal; you'll find drips and tell tales on the pump which as i recall was one of the pulley wheels. I went through 3 of those.

However if your pushing steam you probably have a head gasket problem. Look under the motor and see if you see a line of antifreeze drips on the lip where the oil pan meets the block. That's what showed on each of my engines when the gaskets went - 1500 hrs....

[blackwell50]

you will also want to check the injector sleeves,there is a copper sleeve that goes in the head then the injector goes in the sleeve,this sleeve seals the water jacket where the injector passes through.these will leak into the cylynders sometime.

[3ccc's]

thanks for the replies, its starting to sound like its no longer a diy project.i hope this isn't the begining of the nickle and dime issues . i'm going to ask santa for a new yanmar and keep playing the lottery. anyway if it is the head gasket what would you figure the damage will be to my wallet.

[seapower]

Pressure test your jacket water system first to make sure you don't have an external leak. Your exhaust discoloration could also be from the cooler air and water temps. Where are you located? If you have a head gasket leaking you may have some external leakage aswell, down the head/ block deck joint. Some of the Volvo diesel head gasket water passages are not close to the "fire ring"(would have to check on your model), and don't give much problem. A leaking heat exchanger will show no external evidence of leaking. Again pressure test first, don't assume anything. There is a chemical called"block test" that will show if you are getting compression gases into your cooling system. As Blackwell said there are Injector tubes that are pressed into your head with an "O" ring on the bottom that can leak with age. No fun to fix, but not a rebuild by any stretch, pretty common with Volvo's. Remember that the exhaust manifold and turbo charger are coolant cooled as well. Have you had a recent overheat, or overload ? If the coolant level drops after you shut the engine down (overnight or a couple of days later), could be a sign of a compromised heat exchanger. Send me a PM if you like.Frank,SeaPower

[backman]

FWIW - I sold my 2 42's as runners w/ 2000+ hr's for 10K in 2004. There is a very strong market for the old Volvo mechanical diesels especially for those who do their own work.

I found after 4 years they started bleeding me to death an o ring here and a gasket there in 500$ increments; one thing after another.

If I recall correctly to get to the head gasket was 10 hr's labor; to put it back together was another 10 hr's labor and a bunch of other ancillary stuff came up - some burned valves were replaced; one head was machined. My heads were under the old 2+4 warranty so my expen$ive Yankee yard didn't spare the bills. I'm thinking in 2003 that it was ~3500/side; perhaps 3K for the head job and 500 for "other".

[3ccc's]

seapower thanks for vote of confidence, i'm in jersey and the water is pretty cold. as far as the steam up until now a small amount was visible a cruise speeds,but not much coolant was disapearing.no overheating or overloading has taken place.i just opened the engine box for a fluid check before fishing and noticed no fluid in the x/tank.i filled it up and ran it to see what the problem was and noticed the increased amount of steam.if i filll the x/tank up and loose coolant without running the motor will that tell me if its the heat exchanger,turbo,aftercooler instead of a head gasket.i'm tring to grasp this.

[seapower]

I should have been clearer. I was just mentioning that if you loose coolant with the engine shut down and cold, it could be a heat exchanger. The coolant will come out because of gravity not pressure. That's just a simple little example, doesn't happen all the time. Again pressure testing your system at this point would be my starting point. It's all a process of elimination. The gasket between your exhaust manifold and turbo charger is another point of failure. You may want to remove your exhaust elbow and look to see if coolant is present. Try the "Block Test" I mentioned previously if your pressure test goes well. If you have compression gases in your coolant (head gasket failure etc...) this should show up with your engine up to operating temperature( may have to sea trial to bring up the load). Again don't assume anything. This may just be an inconvienence ,not a casualty. Most of the time it is something simple, you just have to know how to trouble shoot the problem. Frank,SeaPower

[seapower]

What type (brand) of coolant are you using? I know that Volvo Brand of coolant is way expensive (all things "Volvo" are), I have had quite a history with coolants causing serious problems in Volvo's. The same problems are not seen using the Volvo brand of coolant. This is just my experience, well documented. Just for the record I am not a Volvo dealer, but work on them often, when needed.Frank,SeaPower