PCV service turns into oil pan work.

SVO LOU · Post by **SVO LOU** » 11 Jun 2022, 14:01

Noticed an oil puddle near the pass/front wheel on our 06 2.5T v70 with 170k. Once I lifted the car and looked, most of the wet area seemed to be at the front crank seal although there's oil on the belt and both cam pullies also (pulled off the top of timing belt cover too), may be leaking from the cam seals or just slung by the crank seal leak, don't know yet. From what little I could see between the intake runners it looks like the PCV canister/system has been serviced before (not by me) so I ordered the PCV kit from IPD along with a front crank seal and TB kit and they got it to my door on the east coast in 5 days, kudos to them.
Watched a bunch of videos, dove into it, and blam, lower port appears to be totally plugged, can't blow air into it so I guess I'm now dropping the pan.
Originally I thought I'd do the PCV service then run it and see how bad the leak still is, maybe save the timing belt and crank seal for a later time but now I'm totally flustered knowing I'll have all this apart at one time.
I'm really discouraged now and will probably forget where half the bolts go by the time I finish.
ut of it do you think I should ...
1) Change both front cam seals and exhaust VVT hub also? I read that one will lead to leaks much more than the intake one.
2) Do you have to pull the oil pump to change the crank seal? If so I guess I'll order a seal/gasket kit for the pump also.
3) Any tips on taking off the harmonic balancer so the shaft doesn't move?
I have a cam locking tool already, anything else specific I may need?
Thanks for any help.

Post by **firstv70volvo** » 12 Jun 2022, 08:48

SVO LOU wrote: ↑11 Jun 2022, 14:01 Noticed an oil puddle near the pass/front wheel on our 06 2.5T v70 with 170k. Once I lifted the car and looked, most of the wet area seemed to be at the front crank seal although there's oil on the belt and both cam pullies also (pulled off the top of timing belt cover too), may be leaking from the cam seals or just slung by the crank seal leak, don't know yet. From what little I could see between the intake runners it looks like the PCV canister/system has been serviced before (not by me) so I ordered the PCV kit from IPD along with a front crank seal and TB kit and they got it to my door on the east coast in 5 days, kudos to them.
Watched a bunch of videos, dove into it, and blam, lower port appears to be totally plugged, can't blow air into it so I guess I'm now dropping the pan.
Originally I thought I'd do the PCV service then run it and see how bad the leak still is, maybe save the timing belt and crank seal for a later time but now I'm totally flustered knowing I'll have all this apart at one time.
I'm really discouraged now and will probably forget where half the bolts go by the time I finish.
ut of it do you think I should ...
1) Change both front cam seals and exhaust VVT hub also? I read that one will lead to leaks much more than the intake one.
2) Do you have to pull the oil pump to change the crank seal? If so I guess I'll order a seal/gasket kit for the pump also.
3) Any tips on taking off the harmonic balancer so the shaft doesn't move?
I have a cam locking tool already, anything else specific I may need?
Thanks for any help.

The lower PCV box drain port can be clogged shut in the engine block and oil pan from photos I've seen (attached). For added cleaning convenience the passage in the oil pan is j-shaped (see photo). Dropping the pan isn't too bad and a good time to replace the oil pickup o-rings and oil cooler o-rings. Get the oil pan seal kit to have it on hand and anaerobic sealant, I used Permatex anaerobic sealant and it worked well. There is a tightening sequence to follow for the pan bolts. there's horizontal in the back and all the vertical pans bolts. I think the vertical pan bolts are lightly tightened then the horizontal bolts are tightened to spec and then the vertical pan bolts are final tightened to spec.
Did you get the full PCV kit with the long main hose/tube assembly? If not there's a hard plastic vacuum tube from the top of the PCV box to the manifold banjo bolt fitting that will be brittle and likely break. This should be replaced and there's a Volvo part for the XC90 that can be used (see FCP Euro PCV video). You should also make sure you have the latest revision Banjo bolt.

You don't have to pull the oil pump to do the front crank seal but you do need to pull the lower timing belt pulley off the crankshaft (see photo) and you need to be careful not to turn the crank while pulling the lower pulley off. You'll notice in the photo I left the timing belt on while pulling the lower pulley off just in case the crank did move as a precaution. As the timing belt pulley comes off you don't have to crank as hard on the puller and there's less chance of turning the crank. The timing belt will slide off the pulley as it comes out.

When doing the PCV work I had a very difficult time getting the banjo bolt under the manifold started and finally moved the power steering pump and alternator out of the way, which is more work but I spent more time trying to get the banjo bolt started then moving things out of the way. Pull the radiator fan and housing for more room and you need to do this anyway if you loosen up the alternator.
Your oil leak is probably one of the cam seals. How bad is the leak? It might be best to get all the PCV work done and see if the oil then stops and if not replace then replace the cam seals. The crank seal may not need replacing but you'll need to replace the timing belt if a lot of oil has gotten on it.

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Post by **abscate** » 12 Jun 2022, 08:58

My hint in this job is if you warm the crank pulley nut (30mm hex) before you remove the timing belt it will impact off easily. Also loosen the m6 harmonic balancer nuts , 10 mm hex

Usually a two arm puller will get the crank pulley off

Post by **DonnVa** » 13 Jun 2022, 20:34

This happened with my S60 when I did the PCV 2 summers ago. Carbon in that block passage was hard as cement. I was a bit discouraged, but I powered through trying to take my time and stay organized. I did not do all the seals right away. I took care of the clogs, cleaned the oil pan and pick up tube, replaced those seals down there and wrapped up the PCV job. I made sure everything was running good and I drove it to the spray car wash and cleaned all the oil residue around the timing area and below. I then just drove it for a few weeks to see what was actually leaking and how much. I ended up doing the cam and crank seals and the VVT O rings at a later date. It wasn’t too bad that way. I just did a normal PCV job on my XC yesterday. Nothing was clogged, but it still took me all day doing it at a leisurely pace.

Post by **jonesg** » 14 Jun 2022, 04:32

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the crank pulley is keyed to the crank, it can only go on in the correct position.
If the crank shaft moves, mine did, reinstall pulley and move it back until the pulley lines up relative to the timing mark on the block.
Its a non issue. A bit of white touch up paint to make it more visible.

Post by **abscate** » 14 Jun 2022, 04:47

Another tip using gear pullers I learned in 2020

If you put a rubber band around the legs while setting it up it’s really easy!!

Post by **vtl** » 15 Jun 2022, 07:31

Did a few crank pulleys using a corded 7.5 amp 1/2" impact wrench. It can take up to a minute or more, certainly a few attempts, but never had any real problem with this 36 mm nut. Never. More more hassle with taking the pulley out, it is usually frozen to the crankshaft.

Also you if you see cracks in rubber, it makes sense to replace the pulley. I used Cortecto.

Post by **vtl** » 15 Jun 2022, 07:34

My exhaust VVT hub failed (started to leak) at around 220k miles. You may have another 50k miles. Or not.

In any case, you may want a new O-ring, fcpeuro sells it for $9.99.

SVO LOU · Post by **SVO LOU** » 10 Jul 2022, 19:20

Thanks for all the suggestions all, I was finally able to re-schedule a couple of things and dropped the pan and cleaned out the PCV drain passages. Have to admit, took me longer to clean out the passages then dropping the pan, especially with that baffle in place. Took a couple of cans of brake cleaner and tie wraps to clear it, and for the life of me, can't figure out the reason for the J-bend at the bottom...Of course any sediment will settle there at the bottom clogging the port.
I thought about drilling a small hole (right where the knife's point is) in case the passage clogs again in the future to give the oil a way to return to the sump but didn't ending up doing it.
Now back to my regularly scheduled preventative maintenance and hoping I don't have to replace seals. I do see a small leak at the base of the thermostat housing so I figured I'd just change the gasket and thermostat, can you not buy just a thermostat? Do you have to buy the whole housing with sensor?

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Post by **abscate** » 11 Jul 2022, 07:00

I do see a small leak at the base of the thermostat housing so I figured I'd just change the gasket and thermostat, can you not buy just a thermostat? Do you have to buy the whole housing with sensor?

AH, Welcomethe p2 thermostat nasties…

There is a thread here about sourcing and replacing just the thermostat instead of the entire, costly assembly.