2001 V70 Oil Leak Back of Engine

goldmandan · Post by **goldmandan** » 18 Nov 2015, 07:15

I had this happen on a 98 V70 I had. The left side back of engine had a constant oil dripping and it was pretty bad. Quick and easy fix. Check if the cam seals are ok. Pull the timing belt cover and have a look behind the exhaust cam sprocket if it's wet there. Also at the rear (near engine upper mount) some of these have a bracket you have to remove in order to see the leak. Normally comes from the cam sensor housing and drips down. For me it was the rear cam seal that was bad, I had it replaced and the car running again in less than an hour.

Hope this helps

altalake · Post by **altalake** » 24 Mar 2016, 00:11

Not getting better with time. This is about 10K km/ 5 months of accumulated oil spillage - actual amount less than 1/2 litre.
This is not coming from the top seal, timing cover or cam seals. Probably not PCV - engine vacuum tests OK. No apparent evidence of oil uphill from the block. It seems to be a leaking head gasket. Is there anything else it could be? Something cheaper to repair? Yeah, I know, it could be a cracked head or block, too. btw, my post title is incorrect - the leak is actually front/right side of engine ie: corner nearest the right side of the car (passenger NA model)(front) and side nearest the firewall (right).

Post by **vtl** » 24 Mar 2016, 01:21

You turbo is leaking.

Also right half axle is greasy, expect soon death of carrier bearing.

altalake · Post by **altalake** » 24 Mar 2016, 11:07

Thanks but it's not the turbo. The oil starts at the opposite end of the engine and higher up than the turbo. The axle is also clean of grease - some of the shiny parts might look oily because they are clean or a slightly oily mechanic's hand gripped it or, in the case of the turbo plumbing, the oil return line is new and the other lines painted. There is oil dripping onto the top of the right axle bearing housing but it's not originating there. Same thing with the turbo housing.
When I say the oil 'starts' at the other end, that is to say, when it all got scrupulously cleaned up, the first place it appeared again was at that RF corner of the engine and seemed to follow along the seam between block and head before eventually making it as far as the other end and dripping onto the turbo.
Head gasket makes the most sense in terms of the location but my understanding is there is no place oil is under pressure near the head gasket (unlike the B18 engine) so it makes less sense that way. Oil pooling in the head bolt cavities doesn't seem like a probably source. There is also so much stuff in the way it's hard to tell where it's actually originating.
I'm going to check the PCV again.

altalake · Post by **altalake** » 24 Mar 2016, 23:56

PCV rechecked with homemade device and still OK at idle and up to 3,500rpm.

altalake · Post by **altalake** » 26 Mar 2016, 15:05

More photos of the crime scene.
If the oil were finding its way along the head gasket seam from the exhaust cam front then there would likely be a lot more drip & seep closer to the front of the engine and not as much where it is, right?
What's curious here (to me) is there appears to be a bit of oil uphill from the head gasket. Just wicking, maybe?

Post by **abscate** » 27 Mar 2016, 06:00

I might have the same seep on my 99, but much lighter. I might use a liter every 3000 miles total and I know I burn a little bit.

I clean mine about once a summer. I'll look to see if I can see seep at the head gasket

altalake · Post by **altalake** » 31 May 2016, 19:39

Update May 31, 2016: Still no definitive diagnosis. The engine is still seeping oil from the same two spots or finding its way to the same two spots before running down the block. No oil appearing anywhere else. The seep doesn't seem to be getting worse or better. 1,500km since the last oil change and no discernable loss of oil on the dipstick. No loss of coolant and no contamination visible in the oil or coolant. No steam, no smoke, running fine so none of the classic symptoms of a blown head gasket (yet?). At least one mechanic said it's almost impossible for the head gasket to leak oil and not coolant which seems logical. The only place oil is under pressure past the head gasket is through the journal at the left front corner of the engine (NA passenger's side closest to the headlights) so for oil to just seep past a head gasket is very odd. Any other good guesses as to what it might be other than the obvious $3000 answer?

Post by **MadeInJapan** » 31 May 2016, 20:55

I had a leak like this twice on my S70... once it was the exhaust cam seal...if found it's way around and dripped similar to yours.
Pull the TB cover off and take a look (sorry if you already did this- didn't read the entire thread). Second time was after I bent valves and had a head job done. The idiot who installed the rebuilt head didn't use a holding tool and he warped the corner of the head or more accurately the valve cover (top section). No matter what we did, it wouldn't seal on that corner (same area as yours). Finally, I went and got my old head back and we just put fresh valves in it and sealed her up and problem was solved.

altalake · Post by **altalake** » 31 May 2016, 23:54

Thanks for the reply. Exahust cam seal makes sense but the last time I pulled the TB cover off there was no evidence of leaking around there. Time to look again.
Head damage unlikely since there was no leak in the first 3 years/50,000km of my ownership but the previous owner might have a reason for getting rid of this pristine looking car.

2001 V70 Oil Leak Back of Engine

Re: 2001 V70 Oil Leak Back of Engine