1998 S90 rear cam seal

[thefisch]

1998 S90 at 145k miles. We've had a slight oil leak evident on the rear passenger side of the engine for a few months now but it's gotten worse lately. I had a mechanic friend go over the car and he suggested it was coming from the rear cam seals. I looked into the repair looking at threads like this one (viewtopic.php?t=62029) and videos like this one (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=i_7isYyyyXQ). I couldn't see how I could even get my hands back there like these others have done, but then again my hands aren't what they used to be.

So I took it to a local shop that has worked on the car before for bigger jobs. They're telling me to replace the rear cam seal that they need to disassemble the cam assembly which is very labor intensive. I asked about tackling it from the rear side and they said that's not the way it should be done given the lip that holds the seal in.

I might check with another shop or two but I thought I'd ask here if I am barking up the wrong tree. Perhaps this rear side approach is just something the advanced DIY'ers do as a shortcut.

[thefisch]

Just an update - I chatted with an experienced mechanic at the local Volvo dealer and another at a shop that specializes in Volvos and they both said the rear side approach is the correct approach. They estimated about 1.5-2 hours of labor plus parts.