rob36

Hi there, I have an 2001 S80 T6 with ~120k miles. I recently bought the car and took it to a friend who is a foreign car (mainly bmw though) enthusiast. He offered to look at and work on the car for me. The timing belt was just replaced, it needs an oil change, and has a leaky strut. The biggest problem with the car however, is that he noticed the drivers side under the floor mat was damp, and apparently had the taste of antifreeze. Any idea how antifreeze could leak into the cabin of the car, and possibly where it is coming from// any possible solutions?

thank you so much, really appreciate it

rob36

Although nobody has been able to provide me with an answer as of yet, I am lead to believe my issue lies within the heater core. More specifically, the heater core seals. We removed the interior floor from the drivers cabin, and were able to located signs of where the leak occured. When we started the car to attempt to get it to leak to pinpoint the problem however, the car showed no signs of antifreeze leaking. The explanation we are currently going with (which is apparently a known issue) is that volvo used 15 cent seals on their heater core, which is made of cheap plastic and is known to wear overtime. During colder temperatures, we believe the seal is loose and leakage occurs then (~freezing) During the summer weather however, the seal is warm and is keeping the antifreeze within the tubing (also whenever the car warms up, hence not TOO much antifreeze leaking really. We are replacing the seals with some $1.50 bosch seals, and hopefully that problem is solved. Any comments or other views into this problem is greatly appreciated still, as I am not going to attempt to replace the seals for another week or so.

George Hughes

If the leak is not a flood you could try one of the "Radweld" additives. Not too expensive and it could save you a lot of work!

sulley007

Is that a product that internally seals leaks?

George Hughes

Hi there, yes it is. You simply add it to your anti-freeze. It is recommended that you flush your system first but I used it in an emergency while touring Scotland and I have not had a leak since. You can leave it in your cooling system. I dont know where you live but in UK you can get Halfords Radiator Sealer or a contact phone number is (UK) 01625526838 for further information.

sulley007

Great information, thanks for the post!