I have the exact same problem.

I had to replace the U-Joint and the old seal started leaking after I put the axle back into place. Replaced the seal quite meticulously making sure not to pinch it, keeping it from going in slanted, etc. The new seal ended up leaking almost as much as the old one did ...

Hey, I just thought I would conclude this thread so anyone who stumbles upon it in the future searching out their own problem will get some closure.

I ended up pulling the head to replace the valve stem seals for 2 reasons:

1) Usually the seals go bad because the valve guides themselves start to ...

The car has 174k miles. Sorry, I forgot to mention it in my original post.

I'm certainly not opposed to thicker oil to help solve the problem short term, but I'm also not a huge fan of band-aids. I had 10-30 in it prior to this last oil change and it was still burning oil. If the seals are bad ...

Thanks for the heads up.. I'll swap the oil when I get the chance.

Jblackburn: thanks for the write-up link. It was exactly what I needed ordered the valve stem seals this morning. Wish me luck!

-Cyman

Thank you for the replies

Has anyone had experience replacing the valve stem seals? Does it require me to pull the head off?

Rspi, I was thinking about trying a thicker oil. Right now it has 5-30 synthetic in it, perhaps the thicker oil could help me get by until I have the time to do the seals ...

I have a 1997 850 turbo that seems to burn oil after I let it idle for a while. While driving it down the road it seems fine but after stopping and letting it idle for maybe 3 minutes or so blue smoke will start pouring out of the exhaust. Shortly after starting to move again the blue smoke stops ...

I considered a bad alternator at one point, but I'm not sure why the voltage would drop and seem to stay that way for as long as it does. sometimes even if I turn the car off it will still be this way when I turn it back on. also, the interior lights don't seem to go dim and the radio keeps playing ...

I need help trying to diagnose an electrical issue in my '97 850 turbo (157k miles)

My headlights, turn signals, hazard lights and instrument panel will malfunction intermittently. It only happens after the car has been driven for at least 10 min, but sometimes takes 25-30 min to manifest.

Here ...

I had to remove my fuel pump assembly today. everything was going well until I got things put back together. now for some reason one of the clips that attach a fuel line to the top of the fuel tank is leaking. I'm worried that I pinched/damaged an O-ring inside the connector.. it seems to be quite ...

I actually had the EXACT same problem in my '97 T5, and here's a couple things to think about:

the first symptom I noticed was the turbo was sluggish off the line. almost no power at all to the point that I had problems crossing 2 lanes of traffic to make a left turn. it took me a bit to realize I ...