I typed this up a couple weeks ago. Please let me know if there are any corrections I need to make.
I had a decent oil leak, & this is what happened after some investigation.
This is a pretty well documented topic so sorry for repeat information, but there's a good bit of stuff in here I was unable to find online. There’s quite a few DIY threads on these topics already so this is more to show the differences in seals available & just general notes/comments/tips on the whole procedure.
Before I start I need to say (another) thank you to CN90 for his guidance as well as his lengthy & detailed posts on this topic. Also many thanks to Jimmy57 for his VVT hub cutaway thread. This project was (hopefully) the last in a tumultuous & seemingly never-ending journey to get to "stage 0" on this car. Despite it's mileage I've chosen to reward it (& myself) with a stage 1 tune which should be uploaded to the ECM soon.
Give me a little time & I'll try to link all the threads I referenced here, consolidate my photos & post links for various parts/seals. Sorry for the pics not showing up, I'll correct it.
Preface
VVT stuff:
VVT inner bore (w/out o-ring) - 45.14mm
VVT inner bore o-ring channel - 1.65mm deep (I can measure width if anyone needs it)
New eBay o-ring CS (cross-sectional) width - 1.79-1.81mm
Old VVT w/old o-ring ID - 44.98-99
Cam end over which VVT/ oring goes 44.94mm
New VVT w/oring ID - 45.04mm - I believe the o-ring depresses a bit when opening the caliper, thus the disparity in mm between this & cam end measurement.
I took a measurement of the old VVT with the new o-ring but discarded it. On the old VVT w/new eBay o-ring I found the fit sloppy, ID/OD too small & CS width seems too small. I conversed quite a bit with the seller I purchased the o-rings from & they said the manufacturer must have sent out a batch of incorrect sizes. He apologized & then I was sent a refund from the manufacturer, not the seller. The seller I dealt with was very communicative, apologetic & quick to respond so I am not holding him accountable for the mistake. Also, I did speak with but have NOT ordered the o-rings from volvonest seller on eBay so can’t speak to their dimensions, fit, etc. The reason I included this in the thread is just to caution any DIY'ers about to throw on a set of new inner VVT o-rings. Test fit everything, use common sense, then proceed or halt.
VVT axial play measurements:
Intake - .66mm
Exhaust - .54mm
New - 0mm on both
Both original VVT's were leaking from the inner O-ring & not leaking at the front cam seals like I had anticipated. It also appeared that the crank seal was leaking.
Cam seal findings:
Neither of the front cam seals showed any evidence of leaking. The only evidence of leaking could be traced back to the inner o-ring on both VVT hubs.
Only the exhaust rear cam seal had a very small leak. I replaced both. Elring on intake & Corteco on exhaust for “testing purposes”.
Corteco front cam seal
ID - 49.41mm - 49.31
OD - 65.33mm
Thickness - 7.00mm
Elring front cam seal
ID - 49.69mm - 49.57mm
OD - 65.14 - 65.34
Thickness - 7.05 - 7.12mm
- 593CA8AD-1696-4963-A1D5-40FE95EAB8A7.jpeg (94.55 KiB) Viewed 7368 times
- 68A316FE-886F-41B3-8AA0-D3A704E60B2B.jpeg (123.53 KiB) Viewed 7368 times
- 8024204E-77B9-484C-A212-B03B4B3CA88D.jpeg (157.9 KiB) Viewed 7368 times
- 246A021A-2253-4E49-B1E1-26159A365013.jpeg (164.39 KiB) Viewed 7368 times
Corteco rear cam seal
ID - 28.95-29.00mm
OD - 47.18mm
Thickness - 7.01mm
Anatomy: smooth outer sealing surface, “wave” on ID. NOT the same as the seal that came out of head.
Elring rear cam seal
(^^^link wasn't working when I posted this)
ID - 28.67mm
OD - 47.27mm
Thickness - 6.84mm
Anatomy: First off, these are NOT as pictured on FCP's site. They are exactly as I have shown in pictures, which to me is just fine as it looks identical to what came out of the head. “Ribbed” outer sealing surface, angular ribs on the ID that direct oil back into the head. Elring seal is identical to seal that came out of head. I believe the cam seals were replaced once around 120k on this engine, so I do not know if they used Volvo or Elring seals at that time.
Based on the measurements, the overall design & construction, and the fact that identical seals were there previously, I would have to say that Elring seals are superior over Corteco on the rear of the cams. I’m sure both are fine though. I used one of each, to see which gives up an oil leak first. I ordered both Corteco & Elring seals for the front of the head also but ignorantly didn’t compare the two or take measurements so I will update this when I have specs for both (updated). The reason I neglected to compare the two for the front cam seals is everything I’ve read on the forums said, unanimously, to use Corteco as the Elring seals have been shown to run small or leak early etc, something along those lines.
.
Other notes:
Take care with your rear cam ends where the cam locking tool goes. Measure the nubs that go into the cam slots & profile them down if necessary. My intake cam cracked simply with having the cam locking tool installed. Also noteworthy - both cam slots were left bruised from the cam locking tool.
Overall I was actually impressed with how relatively easy the entire task of replacing VVT hubs, cam/crank seals etc was. It’s really no different than retiming one of these if your timing is off, or even just doing a timing belt et.al. It’s far more daunting to just continue reading and re-reading about people’s horror stories & all the confusing steps Volvo has. Getting over the cost of the hubs was the hardest thing for me. The labor was enjoyable, but time consuming.
.
Lastly, I was concerned about setting the depth of the rear cam seals. As it turned out, the ones that came out of the head had been seated all the way in. After painstakingly setting the exhaust seal to what I thought was the exact same depth as the seal that was previously there, I had a thought that it (depth) didn’t matter. As a test I put the intake rear seal in all the way til it stopped. Lo & behold it was the exact same depth as the previous seal. So long story short, I just smacked both seals in all the way & have zero leaks.
Crank Seal
The crank seal will test your patience pretty good. I used the neck of a funnel which I had trimmed down to allow the seal to ramp it’s lubricated way up & over the stepped nose of the crank. Took a few tries & had to put the spring back on the seals‘ inside lip twice, but I got it eventually. Next time I’ll install the oil pump first & then install the crank seal.
I didn’t take a picture of it because my middle finger was in the way, but if you re-use your oil pump bolts be sure to clean them off very good. Then use some sort of sealant around the threads near the head & also under the head. I used Volvo’s anaerobic holy crap that’s pink sealant on mine.
Crank seal + oil pump o-ring & gasket
Buy the kit as it is cheaper to get the crank seal + the other 2.
.
