oil leak!

JonFreeman938 · Post by **JonFreeman938** » 23 Mar 2011, 10:41

i have had oil leaking from my volvo for awhile. just a minor leak, nothing too serious. but the problem is i cant figure out where its coming from. it looks like its dripping from the transmission, but its not transmission fluid, i know that for a fact. its oil. i wiped off the oil and waited awhile to see where it was leaking and it looked like it was leaking from some of the cracks of the transmission. which is weird. maybe its just dripping in a way that makes it look that way, but im at a loss. If there is anyone that has had this problem or knows what it likely is, please let me know. thanks

Post by **Juan62** » 23 Mar 2011, 11:31

Hve you replacedd your PCV or (aka) Flam Trap Kit lately? Check out www.ipdusa.com for more info. Usually that would be the first culpirit, also make sure your oil filter is tighten good...by hand.

DelM01 · Post by **DelM01** » 23 Mar 2011, 12:41

I had a leak that turned out to be the oil cap gasket(very inexpensive fix)the oil had leaked all over the top of the cam cover and down -I thought it was a seal leak.

Alecw81 · Post by **Alecw81** » 23 Mar 2011, 12:54

DelM01 wrote:I had a leak that turned out to be the oil cap gasket(very inexpensive fix)the oil had leaked all over the top of the cam cover and down -I thought it was a seal leak.

That's usually a sign of positive crankcase pressure, which is generally caused by the PCV being blocked up.

tblindt · Post by **tblindt** » 23 Mar 2011, 14:52

Yea I second that oil out the cap. Prob PCV. Any smoke out your dip stick?

Post by **Glencoeteen** » 23 Mar 2011, 22:55

yeah but he says it looks like its leaking from the transmission, which only means the rear main seal is leaking, which is most likely caused by the PCV system being clogged for too long and it is seeping around the seal. with the motor warm and at idle pull the oil dip stick if it has steam puffing out then its time to change out the whole pcv system before it causes more damage.

XennoTech · Post by **XennoTech** » 24 Mar 2011, 08:59

Glencoeteen wrote:yeah but he says it looks like its leaking from the transmission, which only means the rear main seal is leaking, which is most likely caused by the PCV system being clogged for too long and it is seeping around the seal. with the motor warm and at idle pull the oil dip stick if it has steam puffing out then its time to change out the whole pcv system before it causes more damage.

ive got a 94 850 non turbo that, once in a while, has a whisp of smoke coming from the dipstick when testing. you mentioned the PVC system. do you happen to have a pic of that system? the black/white pix in my repair manual are old and dont show much.

Post by **jblackburn** » 24 Mar 2011, 08:59

+1. Take care of the PCV system if it is at all clogged. Then see if that relieves pressure/dripping from the rear main seal.

You may want to try a high-mileage oil with seal conditioners that will help slow down any existing leaks. If you've tried everything to no avail, then it ultimately means separating the engine and transmission and replacing the seal (a very expensive job for a $20-something seal).

Post by **jblackburn** » 24 Mar 2011, 09:00

ive got a 94 850 non turbo that, once in a while, has a whisp of smoke coming from the dipstick when testing. you mentioned the PVC system. do you happen to have a pic of that system? the black/white pix in my repair manual are old and dont show much.

Look at my write-up in the 850 forum; it is one of the first few pinned posts at the top of the forum.

JBC · Post by **JBC** » 24 Mar 2011, 09:19

I had an oil leak on my 1998 V70 GLT and it turned out to be the rear Cam Shaft seal was bad. The leak looked like a rear main seal because the leak stared high on the engine and dripped down into the rear main seal area. Easy to replece this seal - 30 minutes.