99 S70 T5: Blown headgasket?

viriiguy · Post by **viriiguy** » 24 Apr 2009, 17:18

Well....
I was out looking over the vacuum lines again today with the flashlight, and I saw this..

Back side of the engine, seems to be oil right about where the seal is. I do not have any white film on my oil. It does smoke white smoke and runs rich. Idle has been rough for a while now, hence the checking of the vacuum lines.

What do you guys think?

Thanks,
Randy

bigric · Post by **bigric** » 24 Apr 2009, 21:58

That's just seepage at the upper head; the only thing that flows through there is oil. Not a big deal. The head gasket is under the lower head.

viriiguy · Post by **viriiguy** » 25 Apr 2009, 09:42

That is a relief

I went out today and scrubbed the entire engine bay, got rid of the gunk and muck left over from winter. I will keep an eye out for more leaks/seepage over the next few days. I still can;t find the reason for running rich and rough idle though. She run good under load, but idles just a bit rough.

Post by **MadeInJapan** » 25 Apr 2009, 10:03

air leaks....small vacuum hoses or even intake manifold...spray some carb cleaner around things at idle to see if there's a surge- maybe you'll find a leak.

a2matt · Post by **a2matt** » 25 Apr 2009, 12:14

Symptoms of Blown Head Gasket: bubbling coolant, oil in coolant, coolant in oil.

My guess is a bad rear cam seal. I had a lot of oil where you are showing. In my case, it was a leaking rear cam seal. It leaks on the side of the engine then makes its way to the back. $10 in parts and an hour or two your first time at it.

If you decide to do the cam seal, it is a great time to swap some of the old vac hoses for silicone, since you need to move them out of the way to get at the seal.

viriiguy · Post by **viriiguy** » 25 Apr 2009, 17:32

MIJ, I went all around the engine last week with carb cleaner and had no surges. I had considered replacing the vacuum lines anyway, assuming they are 10 years old. However, when I was scrubbing the engine, I noticed that the hoses all seem to be in very good condition. Not brittle at all. So I am guessing they were replaced not too awful long ago.

a2matt, I will keep a close eye on the leak and see what it does. In any event, I will be replacing a seal or gasket somewhere, I am sure.

Now I have asked a couple times on a couple Volvo forums, with no answer... What is the benefit of Silicon hoses over the OEM Rubber ones?

dan2286 · Post by **dan2286** » 25 Apr 2009, 22:25

Silicon hoses don't dry rot and crack like rubber does. I don't know if they are supposed to last forever, but if not, they should last much longer than regular hoses.

viriiguy · Post by **viriiguy** » 26 Apr 2009, 12:12

Ahh, so no performance gains or anything. They look cooler, but I am not sure if the price difference is worth it. Especially considering at 10 years old now, ANY new hoses would likely outlast the car.

Post by **MadeInJapan** » 26 Apr 2009, 20:29

You are probably right but I bought the Stylinmotors.com kit for my S70 and had plenty left over. When ever I see a bad hose, I just go ahead and replace it with the silicone (no matter what car)... great peace of mind.