2002 V70 Oil Leak

kymg · Post by **kymg** » 30 Aug 2015, 16:15

I have recently developed an oil leak in my 2002 V70 N/A. It is not significant although it is causing some concern.

It appears only after a longish run - last trip about 550km round trip. Short trips do not seem to be an issue probably because the oil/engine does not get hot enough.

I parked the car in the garage and the next morning there was a row of droplets of oils on the ground. Now there is a chassis member that sits below and towards the rear of the engine. It seems to me that the oil is falling onto that and dripping off that hence the nice straight row of drips. There are also a couple of scattered drips forward of that line of drips.

The car has done 115,000km (71,500 miles). I have had the car for a couple of years now and done about 37,000 km in it.

Since I have had the car I have only used Synthetic oils with changes at around 5,000– 7,000 kms (3,000 - 4.500 miles). I have been trying to avoid the dreaded PCV issue.

I appreciate that putting the car on a hoist would be the smart way to identify the problem but I don’t have a hoist lying around.

Any thoughts as to where this oil may be coming from would greatly appreciated.

Post by **xHeart** » 30 Aug 2015, 16:36

I will remove under the engine protective cover and then look closely for the source.
Is this an AWD?

kymg · Post by **kymg** » 30 Aug 2015, 17:06

It is a two wheel drive basic V70.

I am concerned that it may be the PCV and will do the test tonight. This becomes a major exercise if it is the PCV.

Post by **vtl** » 30 Aug 2015, 21:07

Our 2002 V70 with N/A engine (B5244S2) was terribly neglected when I bought it in 2010. Many things were bad and broken, but PCV was not among them. I replaced it last year just for the peace of mind, old one was clean: passages are free, nothing really inside of oil trap when I split it.

Post by **abscate** » 31 Aug 2015, 10:53

For a base V70, its either cam seals or RMS. There is no substitute for getting it up on ramps and finding the HDS on the engine.

HDS = Highest Dry Spot

kymg · Post by **kymg** » 31 Aug 2015, 16:32

Thanks abscate,

Looks like a job for me on the weekend then.

I will look for the HDS although I am not suet what an RMS is - rear main seal?????

If it is a Rear Main Seal then, on a north-south engine is would be at the rear of the engine. On an east-west engine it will be on the side. Correct??

And if it is the RMS then that would suggest a dodgey PCV.

Doncha just luv the acronyms

Cheers

Post by **GBS** » 01 Sep 2015, 09:08

If you get it on ramps and the skid plate off, I'd recommend taking some pictures and posting them here. Location, color, smell and texture can all be used to assist finding it and coming up with a fix. Of course only location and color would show up on a picture, but it would worth a thousand words....

Post by **abscate** » 01 Sep 2015, 10:02

kymg wrote:Thanks abscate,

Looks like a job for me on the weekend then.

I will look for the HDS although I am not suet what an RMS is - rear main seal?????

If it is a Rear Main Seal then, on a north-south engine is would be at the rear of the engine. On an east-west engine it will be on the side. Correct??

And if it is the RMS then that would suggest a dodgey PCV.

Doncha just luv the acronyms

Cheers

RMS is real main seal.

666 lashes with the MVS lash of Shame for using AWODS (Acronyms without definition) to me.

kymg · Post by **kymg** » 01 Sep 2015, 15:59

So on the weekend I will check the PCV using the glove test. This will determine whether I need to replace that because I am guessing that it may the cause of the crook RMS. Replacing it may even to some extent delay the replacement of the seal too although I suspect that it has gone to God anyway. I will also take the skid pan off and have a squiz underneath. I will take some photos too. The oil that I have seen is fresh as it was changed only a week ago.
I am thinking that replacing the PCV paraphernalia is not a physically demanding job. I am heading into Hospital soon and am thinking that I could replace it in the latter part of my sick leave period as long as I take it gently.
Cheers

Post by **GBS** » 02 Sep 2015, 08:57

That's what I thought too, fix the PCV and seal will fix itself, no such luck and most will say that won't happen. For me it was the front cam seals and the difference between that and rear main seal in repair is substantial, it could also be the rear cam seals which is probably the easiest of these seals.

Good look underneath and above will certainly help pinpoint. I didn't understand if the oil was changed a week ago or if it just looked like it was, but if this started after an oil change you might want to look around the filter and drain plug. Keep in mind my front cam seal had oil coming down the front over the filter so looking higher than filter is also recommended.