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Shirley Knott's Evil Web Of Shite - Volvo gets a clean sheet MOT, now on to wheel trims, thermostat and brakes revisited


Shirley Knott

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Not so good bits include this sunroof 'repair'...

 

Other than the above niggles the passenger footwell is very wet indeed  :?  Never mind.

Sunroof - if it's anything like mine. Check if the trim on the A pillar is getting wet. Water runs across the roof, down the A pillar and out into the footwell on mine.

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IIRC the sunroof drain tubes clog up, then folk have a go at poking them through with a wire from the top and if they aren't careful, they end up popping the tube off its drain nozzle, so the water just goes down inside the car instead. Usually the headlining ends up stained from this, so if it isn't, it may just be the front drain tube has a hole/split in it, as it goes down the A pillars as 3VOM says.

 

You might find this a useful resource:

https://www.volvoclub.org.uk/faq/BodySunroof.html

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Thanks chaps, also thanks Mrs6c for the link :)

 

RE sunroof, I had a suspicion that would be the case when I viewed it, I sensibly went ahead and bought it anyway. TBH it still seemed to be a good buy at well under £1k given only 86k, condition/history etc in my eyes at least...

 

I've probably been had :rolleyes:

 

The lad who had owned the car was clearly clueless about the damp issue as was his father, they'd obviously spent ages hosing/washing the car and no doubt in doing so made the problem stand out more... Upon lifting the rubber Volvo mat/tray efforts up that it became apparent but only the passenger side is effected... Various forays into VW Passat ownership has taught me that lifting mats and checking carpets up is a must :ph34r:

 

The good news is the coolant level isn't dropping, the footwell doesn't smell or taste of coolant. The bad news is that if it is the sunroof that's to blame, at some point a PO has sealed it from above using what looks to be about 5 litres of black silicone sealant. It's not going to be fun sorting it out...

 

Fortunately the car can be kept dry and will live under my 5x3 carport until the troubles can be resolved. Todays job will be to get a dehumidifier/fan heater in there and set them to work.

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You’re making me really want a Lupo SDI. Any luck getting them on a classic policy?

 

Your desire is not misplaced, they're great :) £30 a year tax and absolutely impossible to get under 55mpg.

 

RE classic policies, I'm sure you could but this one does 10k a year and is used by Mrs Eunos to travel to a place of work Mon-Fri + she has zero no claims so wouldn't qualify given the circumstances. All that being said we've just swapped it so she's the named/main driver and can build up some NCB, it came in at £227 comp with Tesco so hardly expensive even without having to bother the classic boys.

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The wet front passenger floor could be caused by a leaky passenger A pillar/footwell vent, which is easy enough to fix using a proprietary sealant. Remove the trim panel and look for water ingress.

 

Also: http://40mph.com/Brickboard_700-900_FAQ_Expanded_Index_Version

 

I imagine that this page will help you as much as it's helped me during my 14 and a half years of RWD Volvo ownership ;)

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The wet front passenger floor could be caused by a leaky passenger A pillar/footwell vent, which is easy enough to fix using a proprietary sealant. Remove the trim panel and look for water ingress.

 

Also: http://40mph.com/Brickboard_700-900_FAQ_Expanded_Index_Version

 

I imagine that this page will help you as much as it's helped me during my 14 and a half years of RWD Volvo ownership ;)

 

Thanks. I'll get some coffee in me and get out and have a look....

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Here are some other online resources that you might find helpful:

 

Brickboard
https://www.brickboard.com/

 

Matthew's Volvo Pages
https://www.matthewsvolvosite.com/

 

Volvo Owners' Club
https://www.volvoclub.org.uk/

 

Volvo OC Community Forum
https://www.volvoforums.org.uk/

 

Volvo Forum (NZ)
http://www.volvo-forums.com/

 

Volvo Enthusiasts' Forum (USA & Canada)
https://volvoforums.com/

 

Volvo Club of America
http://forums.swedespeed.com/

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Another few things that spring to mind are:

 

1. Get the oil breather/flame trap cleaned/replaced at every service to avoid pressurised oil trying to escape from everywhere else...

 

2. The heater control valve on the bulkhead is plastic and its connectors can get brittle with age and snap which will dump water rapidly and in a spectacular way ( how do I know this?  :-) ) so if this happens, don't panic... the replacement is cheap and although a bit of a faff to do, perfectly do-able at home

 

3. Centre vents blow cold fresh air when the side vents blow hot, which is how it is supposed to be... fresh air to the face with warm air to the car

 

4. An extra fresh air vent is at knee level in each footwell just in front of the 'A' pillar as Shep Shepherd advises; these can be opened or closed as desired. Six-cylinder once bought a 740GLE saloon very cheaply because the previous owner hated the discomfort of all that cold air blowing on his knees despite his having taped up every fresh air inlet grille he could find on the car. We bought the car, closed the knee vents and drove it home...

 

Other things may spring to mind as time goes on. It's a Volvo 740 though - you will love it.

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Right, first things first thanks to those of you who've offered advice, posted links and spoken encouraging words. Good craic all round, I appreciate it.

 

Had a nose round the car this morning hunting the source of the leak... Can I f*ck find the A-pillar/footwell/knee vent that a few of you have mentioned. I feel a bit of a plank asking this (And Lord knows I've googled those words looking for images without success), could someone grab me a picture of the actual vent and it's location? I'm stumped...

 

Things I have found that look off include the windscreen. I could be wrong but the bottom corners of the should perhaps have a piece of trim here? Both sides are the same...

 

 

27915198778_49798f0992_k.jpg

 

 

Again, it feels like something rubbery and tuber shaped is missing here (Both sides are like this)

 

 

26915482537_2b05f150e1_k.jpg

 

 

And the sunroof, sealed like this all the way round. Thoughts and prayers are focussed on it not being this. I'd imagine unpicking all that stuff without damaging the surrounding paint would be hours of fun.

 

 

26915474917_99bb749943_k.jpg

 

 

Onwards and upwards, kick trims have been removed and carpets/foam etc has been lifted in effected areas...

 

 

39976476300_5b3fd6adcf_k.jpg

 

 

It was properly soaked through, I must have sponged about a litre of water out. Good news is it's definitely not coolant, rain/hose water for sure.

 

Next step was to bring out the Glen2000

 

 

40884306385_9f2fe665bc_k.jpg

 

 

The Glen2000= very dangerous a wonderful piece of equipment I bought at a carboot sale for 50p after getting sick of Mrs Eunos's complaints about missing hairdryers. I suspect Glen was made in an era when the number '2000' had space age/futuristic implications...Either way, he doesn't turn off when tilted, nor when he gets too hot, he simply soldiers on no matter what. As you can see in the picture he is slightly melted after being used in anger in the past. I utilise him for everything from hardening paint, warming underseal, right the way through to drying out car interiors.

 

2 hours of Glen action later and everything is bone dry. At this point life got in the way so the only testing I've managed is a jug of water over the bottom corner of the windscreen, no leaking was produced, further investigation will now have to wait until next weekend -_-

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Picture time!

 

Windscreen lower corner trim. Purely cosmetic, and probably easy to replicate with an offcut of rubber/plastic or some black sealant if it bothers you:

 

post-4796-0-30193000-1525066842_thumb.jpg

 

Side window demisting arrangement. They all look like yours (and mine!) on 740s and 940s:

 

post-4796-0-05886200-1525066923_thumb.jpg

 

A pillar vent. Could they have been deleted from late model 940s, I wonder? I don't know, as I have no first hand experience of any RWD Volvo newer than K-reg:

 

post-4796-0-94069900-1525067109_thumb.jpg

 

Thanks to The Volvo for its assistance at such an early hour :)

 

post-4796-0-38910000-1525067192_thumb.jpg

 

Pawnote: The Volvo has a metal panel sunroof which works well and doesn't leak. I'd love a glass panel one day, though.

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That's a great help Sir, I owe you one. Your Ovlov looks to be a nice one, like the red colour :)

 

RE sunroofs they're all going to leak at some stage, I've certainly never owned a car with one that hasn't done at some point.

 

Deep down I suspect mine is to blame for my wet carpet but I shall look to rule out all other avenues first as I'm dreading picking out all of that horrible black sealant the PO has seen fit to slather everywhere  :neutral:

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Thanks. The car is probably one of the better surviving examples of the genus 740 SE Dogmatic, even though it could do with a respray, due the paint wearing thin in places. The structure and major mechanical parts are sound, however, which is what really matters to me at the end of the day.

 

I'd personally wait until a heatwave until tackling the sunroof, as the sealant will be softer and easier to remove. Chances are it was sealed due to the drain tubes blocking up. Clearing them out would have been far easier and taken less time than sealing up the sunroof  :roll:

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Lovely ovloV you’ve got there. It’s done less miles than mine has too!

 

Mines a bit older but my threads here and deals with a few similar issues. http://autoshite.com/topic/26653-operation-pig-iron-volvo-740-mot-achieved-2018/

 

The front footwell vents should be there I think even on a late car. Take the plastic footwell trims out which reveals the little hatch opening thing through the A posts. There’s a foam style seal between the plastic opening and metal A post panel. Mine had gone a bit hard with age and had clear water marks coming out from under it running down to the floorpans.

It’s possible that if the cars parked on a slope the water gets in then pools in the lowest bit of the floorpan. Obviously the transmission tunnel will stop side to side water movement but it can still run front to back.

To fix that I cleaned up the area around the opening vent hatches then ran a thick bead of seam sealer around them. All the way round over the top of the original foam seals. That cured mine and it’s been fine the last couple of years.

I think the glass sunroof is different to the sliding metal type on early cars but drain tubes run down the A posts at the front then two out the back down the pillars, both exiting through a hole through the bottom of the sill.

Usually the tubes either block letting water back up and overflow or the tubes come adrift letting water piss straight into the cabin.

You might need to try gently ridding the tubes out and flushing fresh water through, or maybe compressed air but be careful doing that or you’ll blow the pipes off! The exit holes in the sills can also block up with gunk, moss and leaves which can then fill the sill up with water which then overflows into the floorpans. Simply cleaning the accumulation of shit out then clearing the sill drain holes can sort this.

 

To check the drain pipes in the pillars usually involves dropping the headlining and removal of the interior pillar trims. Be careful with them as the plastic gets very Britt and breaks easy.

 

 

Do try fixing the leaks though. You can see in my thread what happens if it’s left to get wet for extended periods...

I did a fair bit of welding on mine to fix the damage!

They’re great old cars though these old bricks, they just suffer a few niggles with old age now.

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I'd personally wait until a heatwave until tackling the sunroof, as the sealant will be softer and easier to remove. Chances are it was sealed due to the drain tubes blocking up. Clearing them out would have been far easier and taken less time than sealing up the sunroof  :roll:

 

I'm still harbouring secret dreams about the sunroof being to blame.... Looking/hoping/praying to find evidence elsewhere first  :neutral: Gawd only knows what the replacement seals and bits to put right the mess that's left will come too if it does turn out to be the culprit  -_-

 

did find the footwell vents you mentioned so thanks for the pic. Unfortunately no signs/evidence of leaking found there... 

 

 

 

Do try fixing the leaks though. You can see in my thread what happens if it’s left to get wet for extended periods...

I did a fair bit of welding on mine to fix the damage!

They’re great old cars though these old bricks, they just suffer a few niggles with old age now.

 

Thanks for the tips and also the link. I shall browse the thread later when not at work  :ph34r:

 

Thankfully there wasn't even the smallest hint of corrosion when the carpets were lifted, all looks shiny and fresh so I'd hazard a guess that the wet footwell is a relatively recent development...

 

*Wishful thinking* Possibly a window left open slightly during vigorous washing as the PO prepared the car to be viewed? (Who am I kidding)  :rolleyes:

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Arggh! Few hours off this morning so further poking around commenced, it turns out problems are more severe than I'd initially thought :?

 

Gave the car a quick hosing off and determined that the passenger knee vent doesn't seem to be to blame.

 

Aggressive carpet and seat removal followed, it turns out the back passenger footwell is also a lake...

 

41778596042_9c59b9fe50_k.jpg

 

 

Further drying out needed...

 

 

40922284165_806ac6c51f_k.jpg

 

 

I got a few hundred off this car on the basis of what seemed to me to be wet passenger footwell, it seemed like a good idea at the time, as you can imagine I'm now really starting to wish I hadn't :rolleyes:

 

At this stage the only thing I can really do is remove all the interior trim on that side of the car, sit in it while Mrs Eunos hoses it and wait to see where the water comes from...

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Is it coming all the way from the back to the front? 306's can suffer from the same problem simply because the rear light clusters haven't been put back properly. Causes all sorts of "fun" things to happen to the central locking as the module is under the back seat.

 

Difficult to say at this stage as it's somewhat of a 'chicken egg' situation.

 

Trying to remain philosohical about it and remind myself it's a sub £1000 car. God only knows why I keep doing this to myself!

 

At least the issue should be eairer to locate now carpets/seats are removed and all is dry.

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Maybe sit in it and get someone else to quietly run the hose over the car and listen carefully? 

 

 

That's the plan.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Had any Lovejoy jibes yet?

 

 

Not yet, but the brother in law said it, "Looks like someone drove into a caravan"... Mrs Eunos is also absolutely disgusted with it. Other than on here, most folks (Friends and family etc) view it with a mix of distain and/or ridicule.

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That’s exactly how mine was when I got it! You’ve caught yours early though before the rot started. Mine had holed the rear floor and rotted the bottom of the internal cross member and seat mount.

As suggested, leave as much of the interior out, dry everything off as best you can then sit inside with someone else hosing the car down.

Any money says the water comes from one of the front air vents or the sunroof. Either way it should be pretty obvious!

If it’s any consolation problems like this on these cars aren’t usually too difficult to sort, it’s finding the leak that is the pain. Since I sorted mine out it’s been bone dry inside.

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The weird thing is the carpet didn't feel wet to touch in the slightest in the back, only found the lake when it was lifted, I should probably check the other side too TBH.

 

Fingers crossed it's not the sunroof! The PO has sealed it all round the top effectively 'bonding' it into the roof (See pictures earlier in thread.)

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Other than on here, most folks (Friends and family etc) view it with a mix of distain and/or ridicule.

 

Certain members of my family were like that when I bought The Volvo, until they got driven in it and/or had the need to carry something big and heavy that their own cars couldn't cope with  :mrgreen:

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The weird thing is the carpet didn't feel wet to touch in the slightest in the back, only found the lake when it was lifted, I should probably check the other side too TBH.

 

Fingers crossed it's not the sunroof! The PO has sealed it all round the top effectively 'bonding' it into the roof (See pictures earlier in thread.)

They often don’t feel wet until it’s bad! These cars are very good at hiding water leaks as the underfelt and sound deadening material is very thick. Good in a way as it feels more plush and keeps noise down but on the other hand it soaks up the water and conceals puddles underneath it. You often won’t feel the wet on the carpet until it’s pretty well full!

When I had leaks on my old Fords you could spot them pretty quick - very little underfelt, sound deadening and thin carpets. Cheaper quality cars with cheaper interior materials!

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Yes.

 

Dreading checking the carpets on the drivers side, they feel dry to the touch but....

Easy way to check without a full on interior strip out is to just remove the door step/sill top plastic trim which then reveals the edge of the carpet. Then you can lift that up a bit a shove your hand underneath to feel if it’s wet or not

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