2002 V70 XC AWD — Multiple Oil Leaks

rb97 · Post by **rb97** » 07 Oct 2015, 20:21

Hello! I have a 2002 Volvo V70 XC AWD.

It used to only have a very small leak from the charge air pipe on the driver side (it's a US car), but I recently changed my oil, and since then, the leak has gotten larger, and other areas have started leaking too.

Instead of rambling for several paragraphs, I decided to assemble a video and upload it to YouTube. I included background info about my car, symptoms, photos, and what I think might be happening.
Please, if you have any idea of what is happening/has happened, and/or how to remedy the problem, post a reply here or leave a comment on the YouTube video.

I truly appreciate any help offered!

Click here to watch the video on YouTube.

Post by **abscate** » 07 Oct 2015, 20:28

Take paper towels and clean all the oil off. Run the car and look for the origin of the leaks...once they start running down the block it's really hard to tell what's wrong

Take still pix and post here ...much more time friendly than video for both you and helpers!

( nice job with videos )

rb97 · Post by **rb97** » 07 Oct 2015, 20:43

abscate, thank you for your reply!

I actually did do my best to clean around where I thought oil was coming from, and it allowed me to identify that it seemed to be coming from the charge air pipes and turbocharger at the other end of the engine bay. Below are some of those photos, but if you click here there are several more (in case you want more).

My best guess at this point is that the PCV system has become clogged and the positive pressure is simply causing oil to be forced out of weaker points—but that doesn't exactly explain to me why oil is leaking out of a pipe that to my understanding is meant for air.

Here are some photos:

Charge air pipe area with oil leaked on driver's side

Closer photo of charge air pipe, right where it connects to the intercooler, on the driver's side

The other charge air pipe on the passenger side seems to have been leaking oil, too

The turbocharger has oil pooled/gathering on its underside—not sure where it's leaking from here, I can't get a better view than straight underneath.

Post by **abscate** » 08 Oct 2015, 04:13

How fast did the oil come back!?

If the induction pipe has oil pooled in it, it will come back pretty quickly of course.

It's normal to have a film or drops of oil in the charge air pipe, the first time I opened up my 1999 HPT the oil film moistened paper towels.

Have you run the glove test on the PCV? If you have crankcase pressure it's much cheaper to fix it before the rear main seal ( RMS) goes.

3carmark · Post by **3carmark** » 07 May 2016, 15:12

ok if you have positive pressure in the crankcase it is a very bad thing on your car it allows oil vapors to be blown into the intake tract (hope for this) because if you have oil in the intercooler there is only one other place it could come from and that is a bad thing is the hose from the valve cover to the pcv filter very hard? and do you see a lot of sludge on the oil cap?