2001 V70 2.4T Oil pooling in the wells around ignition coils, Permatex 51813 cam sealer Topic is solved

Post by **prwood** » 08 Nov 2017, 08:10

Oil is pooling in the wells around the ignition coils on my 2001 V70 2.4T.

First off, I found this thread from a few years back which gave me a few things to go on:

viewtopic.php?t=38014

In terms of possible causes, I can confirm that I replaced the complete PCV system on 8/5/2017, replaced the oil filler cap on 8/23/2017, replaced the front and rear camshaft oil seals on 10/29/2017, and at that time also retightened the crankshaft vent hose on top of the cam cover.

My next guess is that maybe it's a leak from around one or more screws on the cam cover, and maybe I should retorque those and possibly put some thread sealer on them. Or possibly the replacement cap I installed on 8/5 was sub-par (it was a Duralast part) and should try replacing that.

Any other ideas?

Post by **abscate** » 08 Nov 2017, 08:54

Yep - don't aftermarket parts suck?? You need a good Volvo oil filler cap gasket to keep that engine top dry.

Post by **prwood** » 08 Nov 2017, 10:07

When your oil filler cap is leaking, does the oil spray out in all directions from under the cap, or is it more or less aimed at one area? Just wondering why the entire engine compartment wouldn't be covered with oil if this is indeed what's happening.

Post by **precopster** » 08 Nov 2017, 15:32

I've used the 50c (when on special I buy 30 or 40) FCP oil filler cap gaskets on all my Volvos for 8 years and never had an issue if I replace at each oil change.

They do seep quite a bit when old and hard though, especially when I've purchased a new to me car or serviced a customer's one for the first time.

Do you have any PCV positive pressure ?

Post by **prwood** » 08 Nov 2017, 15:53

I haven't tested for positive crankcase pressure since I replaced the PCV system earlier this year. I'm not getting the smoking oil dipstick symptom, but I haven't done the rubber glove test on the oil filler. I can do that and see how it turns out.

I did run out to the Volvo dealer today and pick up one of their oil filler caps (with gasket). The first thing I noticed is that the gasket on this cap was about twice as thick as the one in the Duralast cap, and is also made of a completely different material. The Duralast gasket was solid black in color, flexible and easily moved around underneath the tabs in the cap, but unyielding to the touch. The Volvo gasket was grey in color, yielding to the touch - almost like crafting foam or foam rubber, and didn't move much underneath the tabs in the cap.

I put the new cap on, but haven't cleaned up the oil yet. I'll do that and then see if it comes back.

Post by **June** » 08 Nov 2017, 16:53

prwood wrote: ↑08 Nov 2017, 15:53 I haven't tested for positive crankcase pressure since I replaced the PCV system earlier this year. I'm not getting the smoking oil dipstick symptom, but I haven't done the rubber glove test on the oil filler. I can do that and see how it turns out.

I did run out to the Volvo dealer today and pick up one of their oil filler caps (with gasket). The first thing I noticed is that the gasket on this cap was about twice as thick as the one in the Duralast cap, and is also made of a completely different material. The Duralast gasket was solid black in color, flexible and easily moved around underneath the tabs in the cap, but unyielding to the touch. The Volvo gasket was grey in color, yielding to the touch - almost like crafting foam or foam rubber, and didn't move much underneath the tabs in the cap.

I put the new cap on, but haven't cleaned up the oil yet. I'll do that and then see if it comes back.

I'm not sure what the whole cap cost, but I replaced the oil cap gasket this year on my S80 and my dealership sold me just the gasket for the cap for $5.00. To my knowledge no oil leaked out, but I noticed the gasket was cracking all the way around. I can't complain as the original from 2004 was still in place. June

Post by **prwood** » 09 Nov 2017, 06:49

I did the rubber glove test last night at the oil filler neck, and it was sucked in nice and tight.

I cleaned all of the oil off of the valve cover and plan to do some heavy driving today to see if the oil comes back.

Post by **prwood** » 09 Nov 2017, 12:14

After cleaning the oil off and going for a long drive, the oil has come back.

Post by **Rattnalle** » 09 Nov 2017, 12:27

Clean it off again and go for a short drive. Stop and see where it is before there's a lot of it.

Perhaps just let the car idle while you watch the engine even. A helper could rev it a bit for you. Oil pressure will be the same regardless of actual enginge load.

Post by **prwood** » 09 Nov 2017, 13:32

I can give it another try tonight and just drive around the neighborhood until the engine comes up to operating temp, then idle for a while and examine the engine.

Just for reference, here is a photo of the cylinder head taken a while back before I had cleaned up the oil. Since then I cleaned up the oil, and after my long drive there is now oil back in most of the same spots, although not as much. Most of the oil currently is concentrated in the wells indicated by arrows.