98 S70 Oil Leak & Reason ... but how to repair

raykan · Post by **raykan** » 10 Sep 2014, 10:58

Hi guys,

I just want to share what happened to my dear S70 last weekend.

When I was driving with high rpm all the sudden the car began to lost power, I was pressing to the gas pedal but the car was shaking... it took 10- 15 seconds then turned to the normal.

5 minutes later I began to smell oil... I parked the car and oil was coming around the engine and under tha car. Oil dripping from the driver side was darkish but on the passenger side it was cleaner. P.S. I had changed the oil 3 weeks ago.

Anyway I checked the car and I think I found the source/reason of the oil leak. It was coming from under distributor cap. As you can see the picture the part/gasket whatever it is broken. No idea why/how did happen.

I hope this can help someone who has undefined oil leak.

Anyway, my question is there easy way to change that part? Do I have to remove the engine head to do that? If yes, what parts do you also recommend to change ?

Thanks for reading

Post by **erikv11** » 10 Sep 2014, 11:40

The rear cam seal blew out. In your picture, it is missing completely. It is a very easy repair from where you are in the pic: just press the new one in slowly and evenly.

Do some searching, there are several good DIYs for this job, posted in this forum. Use only SKF (or pay extra for Volvo brand) cam seals.

Most importantly: the cam seal probably blew out because the PCV is clogged. Fix that first. Again, search is your friend ...

raykan · Post by **raykan** » 10 Sep 2014, 12:26

thank you erikv11 . I took out the seal to be able to see what there is behind. The orange part has a broken part I think that's the problem.

The sad thing I did replace all PCV system approximately 7K ago.
Note that my S70 is approximately 205 K and I have the car since when it was 130K. Probably PCV system wasn't replaced before. I have another Volvo XC90 (2.5 awd , at 130K) and I did replace it's PCV system at the same time with my S70 and XC 90's PCV system was completely clogged.

Post by **jblackburn** » 10 Sep 2014, 12:38

A clogged PCV system stressed the old seal - I have had them pop out shortly after a PCV job. Double-check that your dipstick isn't smoking again after replacing the seal.

You may want to change the one behind the cam position sensor while you're at it (directly behind that one, towards the inside of the car, behind a metal plate). It's probably the weakest link of them all and may be next.

Post by **erikv11** » 10 Sep 2014, 12:49

That hole is a normal part of the head, it's fine. The problem is crankcase pressure, it usually takes out the distributor (intake) one first but the exhaust seal is also easy to replace. They are old and crackly by now anyway, I agree do them both. Front cam seals are another story; they tend to last longer and are harder to do, I never replace those until they start to leak.

Did you clean out the drain passage through the block back to the oil pan, at the bottom of the oil trap? If it isn't PCV, it could be blowby. But PCV is much more commonly the issue.

Post by **erikv11** » 10 Sep 2014, 13:15

Here's a pic of the head at the rear of the exhaust cam, so rear cam seal again, note the similar hole (it is a drain):

I couldn't find another pic of the front one offhand but rest assured, it is supposed to look like that.

raykan · Post by **raykan** » 10 Sep 2014, 16:13

Thank you guys....

I am talking about the hole marked with red rectangular in the following photo.
If the part is one of those, they don't have any hole.
http://www.fcpeuro.com/Volvo-parts/S70/?utf8=%E2%9C%93&keywords=cam+seal&year=1998&m=206&e=153

Post by **dosbricks** » 10 Sep 2014, 16:36

What you are looking at in the pic is not the oil seal. This is the oil seal which has gone missing.
http://www.fcpeuro.com/products/volvo-e ... -9443310-1

Look inside your distributor cap and see if the old seal is in there, or more likely, fell down into the bowels of the engine when you removed the cap, or fell on the floor and rolled off somewhere.

Post by **dosbricks** » 10 Sep 2014, 18:05

Here is an excellent DIY with photos for a '98 V70 posted by Senior Forum Member cn90.
https://www.matthewsvolvosite.com/forums ... =1&t=50752

You can skip the removal part. I use a PVC plumbing cap from the hardware store which is the right size to tap in the new seal. Just don't buy the Elring seal unless you want to replace it in a year or so. OEM or SKF brand only.

Post by **erikv11** » 10 Sep 2014, 18:46

OP says he took out the cam seal, so he already knows what/where it is.

raykan wrote:... I am talking about the hole marked with red rectangular in the following photo.
...

Yep. And you can see the same hole, same shape, at about 8 o'clock in the picture I posted. The hole is supposed to be there, it's fine, you just need to clean up the surfaces and install a new cam seal. If you clean it up real well the orange varnish will all wipe away and you will only see silver, but that is not essential. When you are all done the new cam seal will be placed outside the hole, so it won't be visible.