99 S70 NA - Cost to replace cam seals and valve gasket?

krenekj · Post by **krenekj** » 02 Jun 2025, 18:32

1999 S70 NA 5sp, 250k mi
Original owner

My son has the car in SoCal (Costa Mesa area), and he discovered a pretty good oil leak during his last oil change. The local shop did a full diagnostic inspection and found leaking cam seals and a valve cover gasket. The items have never been replaced, so this is not unexpected. The shop quoted the following costs:

1. Remove and replace valve cover gasket - $1700
2. Remove and replace both cam seals - $1100

This is the cost if they do them both at the same time.

I've done most of the work on this car myself, including timing belts and water pumps, and frankly, I don't understand this cost. What am I missing? Is this reasonable?

There is also a coolant leak somewhere they cannot find, and I suspect it might be the head gasket. So, while we're in there, why not add that to the list! And yes, I know there are a bunch of other things to consider if we're going to be in there, but that's another discussion. I'd like feedback here on the cost of these items.

Anyway, as always, your insights are much appreciated.

Thanks.

Post by **abscate** » 02 Jun 2025, 21:06

6 hours to remove the cylinder head cover and replace all the gaskets would be reasonable.

6 x shop rate = labor

Parts are $50

Tax, tip, shop supplies, boat payment

One of the above is taking you to 2800 quoted.

Note the car doesn’t have a gasket on the valve cover in the traditional sense , it uses anaerobic sealant between the cover pieces

Post by **FireFox31** » 02 Jun 2025, 22:40

6 hours for the cylinder head, but is the valve cover a lot easier and less involved? How long might that remove / reseal job take?

Where are the cam seals? I thought they were either behind the timing belt gears/pulleys, or on the opposite end of that shaft and rather accessible.

krenekj · Post by **krenekj** » 03 Jun 2025, 07:21

Thanks for the quick replies.

So 6 hours to pull the valve cover, re-seal it, and replace the cam seals. I don't see $2800.

Cam seals are behind the timing belt on the front of the engine.

Post by **Sveedy** » 03 Jun 2025, 08:53

Wow ! I obviously chose the wrong business.
If things are leaking like that, then you might have PCV issues as well. That could be done with the head gasket job.
Bottom line in my opinion - either do it all at one time ( at a different shop ), or just keep topping off the oil till you can get it all done.
It's a shame that it's so far away from you, as you could do all of the work yourself ( based on what you have already done ) and save a lot of $$$

krenekj · Post by **krenekj** » 05 Jun 2025, 16:01

A quick update.

We asked for further breakdown of the quotes and the details are not adding up. They estimated about 12 hours to do both jobs. We are taking the car home while we determine what to do next.

I don't think the shop is trying to pull a fast one; The shop does great work on European cars, but I don't think they do many Volvos. And given the age of this one, it's probably not something they regularly see so there might be some 'best guessing' going on.

Thanks again for the insights.

Post by **Sveedy** » 05 Jun 2025, 17:23

If your going with their quote, then just have them do the cam shaft seals ( all 4 ) for $1100.
Resealing the cover is a necessary part of that job, so it should obviously be included.
No need to pay twice.

Post by **abscate** » 06 Jun 2025, 00:12

I don’t think alldata will give you 12 hours to do seals and cam cover , so that labor estimate is high. It could be 3x high. Shop around

Post by **Chuck W** » 06 Jun 2025, 05:19

I wonder if there's an MVS-er in your area that can put eyes on your issues. That quote is kind of BS, IMO. I do all the work on my cars, so I don't follow shop pricing, but that all looks like they're double-dipping on you for labor. Dealing with shops is why I started doing all of my own work.

To *properly* reseal the cam cover, you need to lock the cams/timing, so you'll be into the rear seal area anyway, and they take about 5 min to replace at that point.
The timing gears and belt will need to be removed to do the front cam seals, and depending on when they were last done, at the very least the belt/tensioner should be replaced while it's apart. (Perhaps even the water pump, which also might be your coolant leak). That car has exhaust VVT, so that's another step a shop needs to make sure is re-assembled properly.

Now, one thing I might consider doing while the cover is off and the cams are out is to replace valve seals. This would be the time to do it.

Post by **foggydogg** » 06 Jun 2025, 21:55

If the known leak is at the cam seals, they can be replaced without pulling the cam cover - which is presumed to be the "valve" cover in the thread header. Calling out a separate line item for the cam seals is highly suspect, because after the cam cover is removed the seals fall on the floor ( sort of. )
If this is a sudden substantial oil leak, it's possible that crankcase pressure has pushed a cam seal out, usually one of the fronts.
Easy enough to diagnose by pulling the timing cover.
No matter what the scope of work, getting an estimate for that kind of spend on a 26 year old car with 250k on it should give cause for pause. Getting the car home is likely a good next step.