1996 850 Wagon Oil Everywhere Underneath, Very Rough Idle

[PeteB]

Pete,,,I'm not thinking PCV is the source of your oil. Blown seal or oil line is more likely.

Are the ignition parts all new? What's the history on coil, wires, rotor, cap, spark plugs?

Don't know the history but it has always run fine. It was well maintained up to about 70K miles,
I'd say by the book. The timing belt was done for example. Rear brakes had the shims installed.
Then not much done other than oil changes to 100K miles when we bought it.

Why would an electrical problem arise at the same time as a blown seal?

Where are the oil lines that we should check?

[PeteB]

Are there any known problems related to the rough idle, no power, no codes condition?
Of course that might go along with oil loss?
I thought I read about a known ECU failure mode.

[dosbricks]

Are there any known problems related to the rough idle, no power, no codes condition?
Of course that might go along with oil loss?
I thought I read about a known ECU failure mode.

Massive vacuum leak like failed large PCV hose at TB connection, oil inside the distributor cap, plugs oil fouled--that's just trying to connect the oil leak with with the bad performance. If the two problems are incidental and not related, there are a host of other issues that could cause them separately. ECU failure is very rare. No oil lines to radiator on an NA. Buying parts prior to a thorough diagnosis is just throwing money into the unknown. Perhaps you should just tow it home and figure out what is going on.

[abscate]

If you have >30k miles on the ignition parts I would certainly show up,with all new parts. Deferring stuff on these cars usually ends up just like this, a poor running car with many things contributing. These are also cars the driver has to learn the quirks of these engines to avoid expensive cars. When they get hot, for example, you have seconds, not minutes, to deal with it.

[tryingbe]

When were the plugs last changed?

[stinger04038]

Has he checked the dipstick to see if there's oil in the engine still? I think that may be a good starting point.

[PeteB]

Yes, it was at the bottom of the stick and he added a quart, it doesn't loose oil when not running.

[PeteB]

Are there any known problems related to the rough idle, no power, no codes condition?
Of course that might go along with oil loss?
I thought I read about a known ECU failure mode.

Massive vacuum leak like failed large PCV hose at TB connection, oil inside the distributor cap, plugs oil fouled--that's just trying to connect the oil leak with with the bad performance. If the two problems are incidental and not related, there are a host of other issues that could cause them separately. ECU failure is very rare. No oil lines to radiator on an NA. Buying parts prior to a thorough diagnosis is just throwing money into the unknown. Perhaps you should just tow it home and figure out what is going on.

Ok, thanks. I probably should read a theory of operation for this complex PCV system.
I'm on my way there, if there is a massive leak can I just plug the large PCV hose, at
both ends for the drive home, is it still vented that way or do I need to leave the dip
up with good venting for the ride home?
This helped a lot since I'm wasn't sure if there was a possibility of a large vac leak.

I will of course check for continued oil leaks and keep it topped up for the ride. I don't mind
stopping 3 or 4 times.

[cn90]

I think the best bet is for you to go there as you said, so far it is all guess work, wasting your time.
Also, when you get there, take some photos and post so people can help you more efficiently.

The simplest way to relieve pressure in the crankcase is to lift the oil dipstick up 2-3mm, so the pressure can vent out.
Just let the dipstick sit loosely on the housing.

[PeteB]

I am here, after a quick look everything looks fine around the PCV area, can't really see
that well but so far.
There really is not a lot of oil anywhere, there might be under the car, but the PCV
area, throttle area, crank area are not flooded.
Took off the top cover and there is a bit of oil only close to the breather, nothing
major, nothing making its way down into the spark plug area.
Going to pull the plugs next.