PCV system clogged XC70 2005 AWD-turbo 107k

[F250]

I just got through chasing this particular issue in my daughter's '07 S60 with 166K miles. (https://www.matthewsvolvosite.com/forums ... =9&t=76320). Do the work now, or you can find yourself leaking oil unexpectedly while on the road and getting into worse trouble (like my daughter did).

A COMPLETE PCV kit is available from IPDusa for $347. Shop charges for a PCV service will be $600-$800, depending on their hourly rates, and will probably not include a complete system replacement. I'm also not so sure that will include dropping the pan.

I CHOSE to drop the pan on mine, but was second-guessing that choice until I actually had it down. The horizontal drain port into the engine block was only partially plugged, so I expected to discover the vertical section of that drain port into the pan would also be open. HOWEVER, the vertical section was completely plugged right below where the port changes from horizontal to vertical, and I would NOT have been able to clean that out from the top side of the engine.

Also, get a new oil fill cap seal because it is probably already stiff and not sealing well from heat exposure. The replacement seal is only about $6-$8.

Also, you should plan on cleaning your throttle body while you have the intake off, and if you do this job yourself, you are going to need a crow's foot 10mm wrench to get the last bolt on the bottom by the power steering pump.

Another check item would be to make sure that your cables are tight on your starter. They can get slightly loose over time and cause slow start issues.

My saga is explained in the link above. I'm just finishing the timing adjustments tonight after having included timing belt, water pump, tensioner, idler, cam seals, BOTH VVT cam hubs, and other stuff in my effort.

Hope it works out well for you.

[adrian22]

I have a stupid question
What do you mean by dropping the pan.-I hope is noting to do w the transmission?
And also
Does the PCV system has a oil box -if yes where is locate -can be seen under the manifold?

[F250]

Not a stupid question at all, and I apologize for having not been more clear, but was trying to avoid my tendency towards being too verbose.

Yes, there is an "oil box" (Volvo calls it a canister), and it is located under the intake manifold and you cannot get to it without removing the intake manifold (and several other items like the intercooler to turbo pipe running over the top of the engine and the fan shroud), and you can see the setup in the picture below.

PCV Canister under Intake Manifold.jpg (49.28 KiB) Viewed 1424 times

"Dropping the pan" means removing the oil pan from under the engine. That is the only way to ensure that the entire oil drain port is clear because you cannot gain access into the vertical section from the horizontal section above. The sketch below show you what I'm referring to.

[adrian22]

Excellent answees thanks so much
last question if I ask the mechanic to unclog the pcv system that means he must replace all parts(box and hoses) with a kit or there is a way to just clear the clog and keep all old parts.

[abscate]

If you look at the hoses in the bottom picture above, you can see there are coolant hoses

A good mechanic will try to persuade against breaking a 11 year old coolant line off its fittings and reinstalling it, especially since you can't see it if it starts leaking,and will recommend replacing it with new parts (since the labour is already being done)

[F250]

My choice was to buy the whole system and replace all parts. However, that was my choice partially because I was going to do all of the work myself, and I almost always choose to use my own personal labor (savings from NOT paying a mechanic) as the means and justification to purchase new and/or upgraded parts. If the parts are metal, I try to re-use them... Gaskets and clamps, I replace... I also generally replace rubber and plastic parts unless I know for a fact they are in great shape (because I replaced them myself "last time" or because they are not very old).

There is no doubt that the effect of having those "soft" parts living so closely to the engine block for 11 years has taken it's toll on their remaining life expectancy, and that is why a lot of these jobs result in some broken parts during the removal process.

Having now done the job myself, your mechanic will spend just as much (or more) time cleaning the old parts or having to be extremely careful to NOT break them during removal, you just won't save any labor time.

That means that the only difference between your choices is the cost of "a few parts" versus the cost for "a complete kit". At that point, you have to decide whether or not you can afford the extra parts cost.