96 850 turbo sedan, possible turbo issue

Dave in Maine · Post by **Dave in Maine** » 23 Oct 2018, 07:53

I have a regular, slow, and persistent oil leak. My mechanic said it was in/around the turbo, but he won't touch that - "go to the dealer".
Looking at the prices of new/replacement turbos makes me gag.
My car has about 205 k more or less. Switched over to synthetic this summer.
Is there a troubleshooting series I can go through to try to isolate the leak?
Is there perhaps a kit to replace the seals/gaskets feeding/removing the oil from the turbo, which may solve the leak?

Open to all suggestions.

WhatAmIDoing · Post by **WhatAmIDoing** » 23 Oct 2018, 08:12

If oil is leaking near the turbo, it is usually the Turbo oil return line. FCP and IPD sell the parts/kit. If you are not blowing a James Bond-esc smokescreen out the tailpipe, then the turbo is fine.

Do your best to clean up all the oil on/around the engine and turbo. Start the car and look for leaks. There should be a repair guide for the turbo oil lines.

Also, find a new mechanic. Any mechanic who sees a turbo and says go to the dealer is not the mechanic you want working on your car.

Post by **hausmeister** » 23 Oct 2018, 08:28

WhatAmIDoing wrote: ↑23 Oct 2018, 08:12 Also, find a new mechanic. Any mechanic who sees a turbo and says go to the dealer is not the mechanic you want working on your car.

Well, at least not when you have a turbo car

Post by **erikv11** » 23 Oct 2018, 08:32

WhatAmIDoing wrote: ↑23 Oct 2018, 08:12 If oil is leaking near the turbo, it is usually the Turbo oil return line. FCP and IPD sell the parts/kit. If you are not blowing a James Bond-esc smokescreen out the tailpipe, then the turbo is fine.

Do your best to clean up all the oil on/around the engine and turbo. Start the car and look for leaks. There should be a repair guide for the turbo oil lines.

Also, find a new mechanic. Any mechanic who sees a turbo and says go to the dealer is not the mechanic you want working on your car.

Great advice on all points. While you are in there, replace the two small, rubber turbo coolant hoses which are likely turning to mush. Ask/look around, in Maine you should be able to fin a mechanic with Volvo experience. These are routine repairs.

These turbos are super durable and the turbo itself is not likely the problem. And while it sounds like this leak warrants attention, keep in mind it is really difficult to not have some small oil leak around the turbo.

Dave in Maine · Post by **Dave in Maine** » 23 Oct 2018, 12:37

I have found another mechanic who specializes in old Volvos, old Mercedes and VW vans, especially the Westfalia models. He likes working on my car; he was not the mechanic who sent me on my way to the dealer. The mechanic who sent me to the dealer was the guy who I wanted to inspect the car (he failed it); my Volvo mechanic doesn't do inspections.

While I am blowing a little smoke, it usually comes up only after idling for a while - more than a few minutes. So, I'm guessing it's getting to the point I will have to worry about the turbo. But not yet.

But I just want to get past inspection and, right now, the oil leak is blocking me. And, besides, I'm leaving spots on my landlord's driveway and I want to be a good neighbor.

Post by **erikv11** » 23 Oct 2018, 12:46

Dave in Maine wrote: ↑23 Oct 2018, 12:37 ... While I am blowing a little smoke, it usually comes up only after idling for a while - more than a few minutes. So, I'm guessing it's getting to the point I will have to worry about the turbo. But not yet.
...

Are you saying the car gets some blue smoke out the tail pipe after idling for bit? That sounds like leaking valve stem seals, a very common problem. In that case it will also give a puff of smoke first thing in the morning, after oil leaks past the seals overnight.

Post by **Clemens** » 23 Oct 2018, 15:09

To pass inspection, you could always blast a few cans of brake cleaner on the target areas. This should help. You could always add: "I just had that line rebuilt, but the guy didn´t clean up the old oil very well."

Fosgate · Post by **Fosgate** » 24 Oct 2018, 08:12

Leaking oil from turbo area could be due to number of factors and not necessarily related to the turbo itself. As someone suggested earlier it could be from the return line gasket, however generally these do not fail. I had similar leak from back of the engine and it end up being the rear cam seal and oil leak from two of the head studs... Only way to find out is to clean the area completely with the de-greaser and then check in a day or so where the oil is coming from.
Also to note replacement of the turbo is not such an expensive exercise, you don't need to get a complete new turbo, you can easily replace the core for around $300-$400 or even upgrade it to a better unit for not much more than that. It is never worth rebuilding an old turbo as it can cost as much as $1000 depending what parts you need and at the end you end up getting a unit that doesn't give you any performance gains. There are better alternatives with 11 or 9 blade turbines depending on what you after from your setup... but that's a topic for a discussion in the future as I dont think your problem is related to your turbo.