1997 S70 T5 Strange oil leak

[Fosgate]

Hey guys,

I been having bit of an oil leak issue with my S70 T5 and all inductions are that the leak is between the head and the block. The leak is right next to the tab where the engine number is near the first 2 bolts of the exhaust manifold. I have put the car on the hoist and degreased everything at the back of the engine, started the car and looking from the top (where the engine number is printed on the block) that area just got wet with oil. I have removed the timing belt cover thinking it could be from the front exhaust seal however everything is dry there. I have also checked between the top and bottom sections of the head and the leak is not there as everything is dry there.
The car drives great there is no missing or anything like that, only thing is that it blows big puff of smoke in the morning when starting cold, however after couple of second the smoke goes away. I have a feeling its due to worn stem seals but not sure if it could be related to the oil leak as well.

So I wanted to ask if anyone has experienced a leak between the head and a block? I thought that can only happen if your head gasket is gone.

Here are some pics

[Fosgate]

I have been searching the forum and some people have indicated that the oil can leak from the exhaust manifold bolt stud... does it mean the exhaust manifold bolt studs go through into the head and the oil can pass through the thread of the studs?

[Fosgate]

Anybody?

[FLXC90]

I'm a little disoriented in the pix but I think the second picture is behind the engine looking up a little. Are the metal tubes turbo oil feed/return lines? Might one have a pinhole and be spraying where the wet area is? Other than that, it does look like a gasket breach.
I don't know enough about the motors to know if there is an oil passage in that area of the head/block though. If the stud passes through into an oil gallery, and oil can leak past the threads, then maybe if you loosen the manifold, unscrew the studs a bit, apply some thread locker, and reseat the studs it may seal.

Edit-oil cooler lines?

[rspi]

Look at the front cam seal on the exhaust cam to see if the seal looks pushed out. I would replace that before doing anything else.

[Fosgate]

The pipe in the second pic is the coolant pipe going so there is no oil in it, the oil just drips form the top on to it, thats why it was all covered in oil.
I have removed all the plastic covers around the cam gear and checked for any oil stains around the exhaust cams and I cant see any oil there. The timing belt is clean, the head behind the cam gears is clean so I don't think the leak is coming from that seal.
I'm now more inclining towards a leak from the exhaust manifold studs themselves, if they protrude into the head itself... as if the oil was leaking between the block and the head the exhaust manifold would not get oily at all as its above that point.
So if anyone could confirm if the exhaust manifold studs protrude into the oil gallery of the head that would be great.

Thanks

[MrPc]

I had an experience similar to yours, but at the other end of the head. Oil was leaking from the exhaust manifold stud closest to the cam position sensor.

https://www.matthewsvolvosite.com/forums ... ad#p344375

I removed the stud, which wasn't very tight, cleaned it and put it back in with sealer. The oil leak stopped. I noticed that the Haynes manual recommends using sealer on all of the exhaust manifold studs, so it seems plausible that other studs may penetrate oil passsages as well.

It was very easy to do and only took a few minutes, so why not go ahead and try removing the stud and sealing it?

Paul

[Fosgate]

Thanks Paul, I'll try to remove the stud this coming weekend to see if I can put some sealant around it before tightening them up.