ETM/Oil Pan seal issues? Idle Problems.

andrewbryan12 · Post by **andrewbryan12** » 12 Sep 2011, 19:24

Hey guys, I have a non-turbo 2001 s60 and I live in Salt Lake City with temperatures 65F - 90F. I'm having some idle issues... When I'm at a stoplight and my engine is warm (usually after 5 minutes of normal driving), I get the message: "Low oil pressure, stop engine" or "Low oil pressure, stop engine ASAP". My rpms dip to like 500-600 when i'm slowing down, then they bounce back up to about 750-850. The message flickers on and off while the idle steady is at 800. However, my car works completely fine when the engine is cold. I have cleaned my ETM myself, I'm on the verge of replacing it because i feel like that is the issue. However, I have heard bad seals/gaskets in the oil pan can cause this problem too. I know this message is displayed when the oil pressure is below 7psi. Also, my A/C sometimes stops working and blows hot outside air. I'm not sure if this problem is related, but for all i know it could be. I've also tried running premium fuel as well, only to experience the same problems. Someone help me! I'm a college student on a tight budget. I don't want to end up replacing something that I don't need to, and I especially don't want to kill my Volvo. Thanks!

Post by **precopster** » 12 Sep 2011, 19:39

Does your ETM have the yellow sticker? How many miles has the car done/ETM done? When you cleaned the ETM did you fully remove it and clean BOTH sides and put in a new gasket?

The oil message will come up due to a low idle speed as not enough pressure is produced. Once the low idle is fixed, the oil message will not light.

andrewbryan12 · Post by **andrewbryan12** » 13 Sep 2011, 13:56

precopster wrote:Does your ETM have the yellow sticker? How many miles has the car done/ETM done? When you cleaned the ETM did you fully remove it and clean BOTH sides and put in a new gasket?

The oil message will come up due to a low idle speed as not enough pressure is produced. Once the low idle is fixed, the oil message will not light.

There is no yellow sticker on my ETM, but when I cleaned it I was pretty anal about it. The thing is spotless all around. However, I did not get a new seal. My mechanic told me the seals was made of metal and that it would be fine to reuse. I just need to know what to fix to make the oil message go away. I'm being told it's either the ETM or the oil pan gaskets/seals.

Edit: My car has 99xxx my ETM has never been replaced. And the ETM is OUT OF WARRANTY by 3 MONTHS!!!!!!!!!!!

Post by **precopster** » 13 Sep 2011, 19:28

Some of the more experienced forum members might want to chime in here with regard to the ETM being related to oil pressure warnings. Doesn't ring a bell with me. Under Home hover your mouse and you'll see the Volvo ETM Page or under Volvo Forums hover again and you'll see Don's ETM Room

See if the oil pressure light is one of the reported symptoms of ETM failure. Are your tappets noisy?

Did you mean 99K miles? If so this seems a little early for ETM failure. Most seem to occur at over 125K miles but anything's possible.

First things first, buy some NEW OIL & FILTER & change it as you haven't said how old the oil is or what grade you're running.
Semi-Synthetic is a minimum for a NA car around 10W/40. The fact that the message doesn't happen when the car is cold seems to point to oil viscosity.

If this doesn't fix it, and oil pressure warnings are NOT part of possible ETM failure it may be time for oil pan removal to replace the O rings. Part number is 30750783 and FCP Groton list them and it's a DIY job, but a messy one.

andrewbryan12 · Post by **andrewbryan12** » 14 Sep 2011, 17:37

Yes, my car has about 99k. I can't really tell if the tappets are noisy, It just sounds like the normal 'clicking' the inline 5 makes. I just got a new oil filter/change yesterday, I went with the cheapest oil Jiffy Lube had to offer. Still, same problems, but obviously related to the oil viscosity/seal leaks. When I pull my engine cap off while it's running, I can see little tiny bubbles that come up from time to time. After reading deeply into ETM issues, it seems as though my ETM isn't the problem. YET. Is it worth paying to get my car diagnosed first, or should I just have a shop change my oil pan o-rings. If so, what do you think a fair price would be? Assuming I stay away from the dealer.

Post by **precopster** » 14 Sep 2011, 18:57

Again I wouldn't have ANYTHING changed until they can hook up a reader to your block to measure the OIL pressure. Get on the phone and find an indy Volvo guy and tell him your miles and car specs, ask him if he can read oil pressure before embarking on the job. I would say three hours for this one as there's a fair bit of cleaning to do before re-applying the sealer.

Honestly I would say it's a level 3 out of 5 in complexity and there's got to be a write-up here somewhere.

Most member of MVS have done the oil seals themselves and for $15 for the parts you can't really go wrong.