Volvo: volvo 850R overheated, coolant system, warning light

Question
Hi Jimmy.  My Volvo overheated while my wife was driving it and
she says no warning light came on and the temperature guage
did not indicate any rise in temperature.  All of the sudden it lost
power and smoke billowed out from under the hood and at the
last second the needle jumped up into the red and all of the
lights came on just before it went dead.  My mechanic doesn't
believe her and says the temperature guage is working.  Prior to
this, we had just had all leaks repaired in the coolant system,
but apparently the coolant was leaking out of the tailpipe from
the engine at higher speeds on longer trips.  Have you ever
heard of the sensors not working in this situation?
Sorry to make a short story long, but my mechanic says it will
cost anywhere from $1800 to $2800 to fix and I don't think I can
afford that.  Do you know anyone who might want this fixer-
upper?
Thanks,
Pete in Brooklyn

Answer
Hello Pete! It sounds like your mechanic should be responsible for the overheating if he has just repaired the system. I have seen some situations where the temperature guage does not work, but it will usually stay down at the lower end of the guage. Was the car overheated prior to the repairs? If so what exactly was done? I would like to hear all the details of this story. Please contact me by phone so we can discuss it further. I would be happy to help you.

Jimmy
www.jlcarclinic.com
www.vovoclinic.com