PCV issue

DougonCapeCod · Post by **DougonCapeCod** » 20 Oct 2020, 13:11

I have 2001 S80 t6, 198K. Sold the car at 9AM on Saturday 10/17, took the car back at 3PM same day with a massive oil leak. Looks to be PCV related by all the reading I've done. My question is, when a leak like this happens is it certain that a seal is blown? Meaning additional work beyond the PCV? Oil is spraying up between the cams on the backside of the cams, so not directly out or down, perhaps it's just the air volume from the pulleys pulling it up. In the end I am questioning, do I go put the time into the PCV oil trap (lots of labor) with the hope that once the pressure is reduced, the seal won't leak? Or is time to call it a day on my beloved S80 (had since new).

DougonCapeCod · Post by **DougonCapeCod** » 22 Oct 2020, 08:48

Is there a 50% chance the leak will go away? Or does the PCV blowout typically lead to replacing a seal somewhere?

Attaching a pic. Arrow is where the oil is spraying up

lincolnshibuya · Post by **lincolnshibuya** » 26 Oct 2020, 11:56

typically as a result of PCV getting clogged. Typically you need to replace or clean the clogged ports on your pcv system before fixing the leaking seals.

Post by **SuperHerman** » 26 Oct 2020, 15:44

Did you do a glove test? Main reason is to see how bad the system is. If it is a serious clog, you have a decent chance of solving the PCV issue and resolving the problem, but then it does have high miles.

DougonCapeCod · Post by **DougonCapeCod** » 27 Oct 2020, 11:18

Thank you for the replies. I just did the glove test, attached is the pic., as you will see it's partially inflated.

lincolnshibuya · Post by **lincolnshibuya** » 27 Oct 2020, 13:06

yep, fix the PCV or else you're going to destroy your seals.. in the meantime if you want to drive it, pull the dipstick out slightly to vent the extra pressure.

DougonCapeCod · Post by **DougonCapeCod** » 27 Oct 2020, 15:59

Can I replace the oil trap and clean the hoses? Just trying to avoid putting big $$ into it until I know if I have seal issues or not.

Post by **SuperHerman** » 28 Oct 2020, 15:23

If you don't mind repeating your work - you can reuse any hose or part you find to be serviceable. Personally I would replace the fire box/flame trap as you suggest. You can also source bulk hose from the local auto part store and replace some of the hoses and use oetiker clamps for your joints. There are a number of write ups on what people have done to work around the Volvo hose issues. There are some brand hoses, that although they are cheap, have an extremely high rate of failure - avoid those.

You should pay close attention to where the fire box mates to the block as this point cakes up. It is not an easy clean as it goes in round and then appears to do a 90 degree turn to drain to the pan as a square. The entire "tube" can get caked up and some have had to drop the pan for a full clean. Do some searching on the site and you will find pictures of the problem (5 cylinder engines are similar). Some use a pick and pull out - then shove a bendable pipe cleaner that will not break to clean out the tube to the pan. Then they rinse with a solvent. (I have pulled the oil pan drain plug with car tilted so that drain plug is at low point and used gas to flush out the crud and sludge. When I am happy - I do a nice flood for good measure and then put the waste in the recycle bottle). Some blow air and listen for bubbles in the oil to make sure the path is cleared.

Post by **xHeart** » 29 Oct 2020, 13:34

DougonCapeCod wrote: ↑20 Oct 2020, 13:11 I have 2001 S80 t6, 198K. Sold the car at 9AM on Saturday 10/17, took the car back at 3PM same day with a massive oil leak. Looks to be PCV related by all the reading I've done. My question is, when a leak like this happens is it certain that a seal is blown? Meaning additional work beyond the PCV? Oil is spraying up between the cams on the backside of the cams, so not directly out or down, perhaps it's just the air volume from the pulleys pulling it up. In the end I am questioning, do I go put the time into the PCV oil trap (lots of labor) with the hope that once the pressure is reduced, the seal won't leak? Or is time to call it a day on my beloved S80 (had since new).

It can all be restored back to a fun drive. 198K should be the 2nd PCV service for the urban living. You want to explore Lubrication system service at this stage -- more than PCV.

A helpful thread https://www.matthewsvolvosite.com/forum ... 4&start=30
AND Pete's https://www.matthewsvolvosite.com/forum ... =9&t=92299

Post by **ndphotonl** » 08 Nov 2020, 04:51

I made some pictures when i cleaned my 2.4T. It was absolutely clogged and in need for attention.

I got triggered when I saw how oily the cold side of the turbo was, doing some investigation on the old interwebs told me that this was probably due to a failing PCV system. So investigation ensued

Volvo S80 2.4T Dirty Turbo Coldside by Andy Ramdin, on Flickr

And I found it to be clogged severely...

Volvo S80 2.4T PCV Repair by Andy Ramdin, on Flickr