Losing Oil

pman7373 · Post by **pman7373** » 27 May 2010, 23:30

Hi all,

My Volvo is 10 years old and has about 109,000 miles on it. I recently went on about a 2,000 mile road trip and noticed even before i left my oil level has been going down and on the trip it went down more rapidly. I just changed from mineral oil to a full synthetic on my last oil change. I hope the synthetic didn't overly clean my seals and cause a leak. I doubt (although not positive) that my car is burning oil. When parked the car does not appear to drip although the plug sometimes drips if the car has been parked for days (I've bought a new plug and washer).

I know this information is limited but is this common and does anyone know where to look for a leak or have input?

Thank you so much to all those who put their time into this blog and share information to help one another fix their Volvos!

P-Man

Post by **Ozark Lee** » 28 May 2010, 00:01

What kind of oil consumption are we talking about? A quart every 5,000 miles is more or less normal, a quart every 500 miles is not.

Since you have very little evidence of an actual leak we must assume it is being burned so an oil treatment to clear up sticky rings might be the solution.

...Lee

Post by **jblackburn** » 28 May 2010, 06:28

The turbos tend to leak oil anywhere they can.

You may not see a leak on the ground when parked, but there are chances it's all over the engine somewhere. A starting point would be under the spark plug cover; next after that, the turbo might be covered in oil (you can only see that from underneath it). An oil cooler line into the radiator might do it as well - these are on the passengers side of the radiator.

Since I cleaned my PCV and finally got my car to stop leaking oil everywhere I THINK it can, it hasn't burned anything in 4,000 miles. One simple indication that your car is burning oil is to start it up in the morning, let it idle for about 30 seconds, and then punch the gas in Park kind of hard and look for a cloud of smoke behind you.

pman7373 · Post by **pman7373** » 28 May 2010, 08:04

Thanks guys. Lee Thank you for the DIY abs module fix I did that 2 weeks ago. We're probably talking closer to a quart every 500-1000 miles. My PCV has never been cleaned. I saw the fix on the board it seems pretty time consuming. Should I start there and see if the oil continues to burn/leak? Would I need any new parts or could I just clean the existing ones?

Again Thank YOU GUYS!
P-Man

Post by **jblackburn** » 28 May 2010, 08:09

Check and see if it's clogged first. A balloon over the oil dipstick or just the simple check for smoke will do. No point in doing it if you don't need to

If it is clogged, that is where I would start, yes. I would highly reccomend getting the kit, because the old hoses are going to be brittle and fall apart on you as soon as you touch em.

If it doesn't look clogged to you, look around for other oil leaks.

pman7373 · Post by **pman7373** » 30 May 2010, 11:34

Hi Again,

Thanks for all you help and diagnostics.

I do not seem to be burning oil because there is not a cloud of smoke after idling for 30 seconds and punching it.
Also the only time I've ever noticed smoke coming out of my dipstick was when my engine was extremely hot on a road trip. The test I did I used my car for about 15 minutes and put a balloon over the dipstick for a minute. It did not fill whatsoever. Do you think the system is clogged or do you think the oil was just hot and steaming? Here is a link of some pictures I took. I think the oil on the engine is from spillage of a pour. The part in the second picture always seems to have oil on it too. I feel like a new plug/washer is too easy of a fix but am doing it. Any other suggestions I'd appreciate! This car has a new surprise for me around every corner!

Thanks Guys!
P

Post by **1997volvo850** » 30 May 2010, 12:28

jablackburn wrote:Check and see if it's clogged first. A balloon over the oil dipstick or just the simple check for smoke will do. No point in doing it if you don't need to

If it is clogged, that is where I would start, yes. I would highly reccomend getting the kit, because the old hoses are going to be brittle and fall apart on you as soon as you touch em.

If it doesn't look clogged to you, look around for other oil leaks.

The PCV system is definitely a system, if neglected, will cause a hurt of damage
everywhere else with seals and such.

That said, you might want to check the condition of your PCT valve (Turbo) or Flame Trap (non-Turbo).
If they are clogged clean them. Some folks just toss the flame trap screen but after reading
about the function of the flame trap (to keep backfires from igniting gases in crankcase) I
would not do it myself. I'm lucky I have Turbos.

From what you said it doesn't sound like the PCV system is a problem yet.

adjulius · Post by **adjulius** » 31 May 2010, 13:48

Based on the pics you posted of the underside of the car (#2 and #3), it looks like your turbo oil return pipe is leaking. It will cover the back end of the block, oil pan, transmission, and subframe with oil. These leaks are common and can be anywhere from mild to hideous. The parts to replace are the line-to-turbo gasket and the line-to-block o-ring. You can get both from FCP for cheap. The DIY job is a pain, but easier since you have a FWD and not AWD. There's a short write-up on volvospeed here.

It sounds less likely that the PCV is causing the leak, although at over 100k miles, I would be surprised if the system didn't need servicing. Since the balloon over the dipstick tube didn't fill, you can just remove the dipstick when the car is idling at normal operating temperature and see if there is smoke. You can also remove the oil filler cap under the same conditions to look for smoke.

Keep us posted.

Post by **Pauloil** » 31 May 2010, 20:50

adjulius wrote:Based on the pics you posted of the underside of the car (#2 and #3), it looks like your turbo oil return pipe is leaking. It will cover the back end of the block, oil pan, transmission, and subframe with oil. These leaks are common and can be anywhere from mild to hideous. The parts to replace are the line-to-turbo gasket and the line-to-block o-ring. You can get both from FCP for cheap. The DIY job is a pain, but easier since you have a FWD and not AWD. There's a short write-up on volvospeed here.

It sounds less likely that the PCV is causing the leak, although at over 100k miles, I would be surprised if the system didn't need servicing. Since the balloon over the dipstick tube didn't fill, you can just remove the dipstick when the car is idling at normal operating temperature and see if there is smoke. You can also remove the oil filler cap under the same conditions to look for smoke.

Keep us posted.

+1

pman7373 · Post by **pman7373** » 01 Jun 2010, 10:28

Thanks! I ordered the parts this morning. We'll see how it goes! Could this be from the switch from mineral to full synthetic? Did the synthetic clean the deposits on these parts too much?