S70 glt, 98, Remove & clean PTC unit (Was turbo oil leak)

VolvoS70Driver · Post by **VolvoS70Driver** » 03 Jan 2010, 10:12

What I thought would be a one day job to swap out the oil seperator is going to turn into a week long job at best as I am going to have to order some items that the local places don't stock. Intake manifold gasket for example. But I digress.

I am down to the PTC nipple/sensor thingy and have the hoses disconnected and the electrical connector off. As it appears to be installed in the main air tube with a grommet, will this thing just pull out with a good yank or is there some other procedure I need to go through. If I could figure out how to get to it, I might pull the entire intake hose out but I can't even see where it connects to the turbo, let alone get to it.

With the small hoses off, I can indeed see crud in the nipples on the PTC thing so I know it needs cleaning. I just don't know how to get it off.

And I was supposed to be testing out my complete brake / suspension overhaul today, Sigh.........

9394volvo850s · Post by **9394volvo850s** » 03 Jan 2010, 10:23

the intake tube attaches to the turbo with a hoseclamp flat head screwdriver. it may be positioned poorly maybe has to be gotton from the bottom. theres a rubber grommet that holds the ptc in the intake tube. flat head screwdriver can pry it out once the intake tube is removed.

Joe- · Post by **Joe-** » 03 Jan 2010, 10:26

I'm not sure if there is a actual procedure to take it out, but I just pulled it out. There is a hose clamp on the intake hose at the turbo....I think I loosened it from underneath. You probably want to remove it as there was oil puddled in mine when I did the PCV change.....along with all the other pipes and hoses after the turbo.

VolvoS70Driver · Post by **VolvoS70Driver** » 03 Jan 2010, 14:19

Well, after some peaceful meditation and taking lessons from "Contortionism for Dummies", I have successfuly removed the intake tube from the turbo and the PTC is soaking in a non-petroleum based solvent.

Indeed all the tubing downstream has oil residue, which can easily be cleaned out but I am now wondering about the intercooler. I'm sure all the small pathways in that have become smaller over time due to accumulation of oily debris and such.

What does anyone recommend for cleaning the pathways in the intercooler.

Post by **jblackburn** » 03 Jan 2010, 16:28

I'm glad you figured it out. Mine was covered in gunk, and I couldn't figure out how it was attached at the turbo, and I didn't want to break it, so I gave up on that for some later time. I'll haveta take a look again this weekend and get that thing off of there.

As for the intercooler, I just disconnected the hose at the bottom, and stuck a cup under it overnight and let what was in there drain out. I got a bit of watery oil, but probably < 2 oz. I suppose you could try sucking what's left in there out with a shop vac.

Post by **tailor** » 03 Jan 2010, 19:47

VolvoS70Driver wrote:With the small hoses off, I can indeed see crud in the nipples on the PTC thing so I know it needs cleaning. I just don't know how to get it off.

It is not a good practice to pry off the PTC nipple, what normally happens is the rubber grommet deteriorates due the oil in the area and then unmetered air gets into the system, you prying off the nipple may just be the last straw, and the turbo hose may have to be replaced. The rubber grommet is not sold anywhere as a separate item. The post here is good reading.......
https://www.matthewsvolvosite.com/forums ... turbo+hose , particularly the last bit at the bottom of the post.
As you have already done the dirty deed of pulling the PTC off the Turbo hose, I would recommend using a hair dryer to soften the turbo hose when you re-insert the PTC nipple. If you have an unheated garage like most of us, using the hair dryer to seat the hose on the turbo and onto the airbox in this cold weather, will be a time saver, do not distort the ends with too much heat.

Good luck

Post by **jblackburn** » 04 Jan 2010, 11:41

I "borrowed" this from Klaus over on Brickboard about cleaning the intercooler:

When it warms up outside, remove the top and bottom IC hoses, tape up the bottom hole, and fill it with hot soapy(foamless dish washer) water to break up the oil, then flush until clean. Use the soapy water to also clean the IC piping.

VolvoS70Driver · Post by **VolvoS70Driver** » 04 Jan 2010, 16:10

I actually did not pull the PTC out of the air intake hose but I do have the entire assy soaking in biodegradeable solvent. After some playing, I figured it was not a good idea to try and pry it out.

Luckily, I do have a heated garage (90k btu propane and just blew 12-14" cellulose in the attic space last week

) Though I keep detouring from my original project, I am past the point of no return and am going to go ahead and pull all the air hoses off and clean them.

I like the idea of filling the intercooler with hot soapy water and will probably do just that. In fact, with the hoses still attached, it will take care of several things at once. Great idea. Now if I could just get a pump in the middle to circulate the water through it.........

VolvoS70Driver · Post by **VolvoS70Driver** » 09 Jan 2010, 10:25

Tried the hot, soapy water in the intercooler this morning to try and clean out any oily residue.

No one mentioned that there is a small vent (moisture drain?) hole in the bottom of the intercooler. A good half gallon of soapy water had drizzled onto the floor before I caught it. The hole is small, somewhere around .080 - .100 diameter.

Wanted to note this in case anyone else tries this trick.

A little duct tape over the hole and it's soaking again.