2004 XC70 oil pan condition

ignatz · Post by **ignatz** » 12 Jan 2021, 05:02

My oil pan removal job was for one crooked o-ring too. Mine was on the oil pickup tube.

arrrxivvv · Post by **arrrxivvv** » 12 Jan 2021, 22:42

I have installed the updated pickup tube and put it back. So far no apparent problems.

Thanks everyone for the input.

arrrxivvv · Post by **arrrxivvv** » 24 Feb 2021, 19:01

After a while the oil pressure light still came on some time at idle.

Brought to a shop, measured hot oil pressure at 10 psi idle.

They replaced the oil pump, now hot oil pressure is 14.5 psi at idle, higher than the spec minimum (13.2) but still lower than most cars they've worked on (more than 20 psi).

Because of the relatively low pressure they suspect bearing wear, though the engine sounds fine.

The shop also recommends thicker oil. The owner said he always put 20w50 oil in p2 cars and never had any problems, and recommend such viscosity.

Any thoughts?

Post by **- Pete -** » 24 Feb 2021, 20:42

To measure your rod bearings the rod caps have to come off & Plastigage is then used. Without removing/disassembling the engine & mic-ing the journals this is the easiest way. It may not be ultra accurate, but you can at least get an idea of if you are close and also it gives you a glimpse of your journals. I am assuming you have the pan back on the engine?

The small bump in oil psi could have been due a small parasitic loss with the original due to old, hard, cracked/brittle seal/gasket were the original pump meets the sump. Hard to say for certain, but these pumps are very robust and will outlast the engine, proven good to 500K miles.

You can probably get by on 20w-50 for a while, but if your rod bearings are worn thin and/or are the source of your oil psi loss it will steadily worsen. It may be a good idea to check your rod bearings. If the journals aren’t scored you may be able to extend the life/resurrect the oil psi with a new set of rod bearings/shells.

Just FYI, the rod caps are “cracked”, and thus must be oriented EXACTLY as they were when you removed them. This means you need to number each cap & which direction it was facing for each cylinder. “Cracked” means they are hydrocracked (broken) off the bottom of the connecting rod, leaving a unique landscape on the surface of both faces. The two are “married”, in other words. Jimmy57 took a good deal of time to help me out with my own difficulties with this same topic a couple years ago. I’ll try to dig up the thread.

I am forever grateful to MVS, the moderators, all the helpful & knowledgeable members (and, of course, Jimmy57) for all of the insight so freely given here.

arrrxivvv · Post by **arrrxivvv** » 25 Feb 2021, 00:05

Yes, the pan is back on for a while.

The shop advised me to drive for a while and see if there is any sign that the problem worsens, mostly if the engine gets noisier.

Post by **abscate** » 25 Feb 2021, 05:06

The oil light is allowed to come on after hard driving but has to go off when revved. I suspect you can drive for a long time in worn bearings if you keep a close eye on the oil level.

People freak out a bit at oil pressure problems but minimal oil pressure on bearings on a around town car will do the job. I once drive my Dads cars around a village with no oil in it for a day due to a mixup with my brother , never noticed the oil light because there were girls outside. We drove that car another 20 years with the same engine

If you are driving it hard , you need the new pump or engine work. My experience with SAN driving is mostly idling in traffic

arrrxivvv · Post by **arrrxivvv** » 25 Feb 2021, 10:15

Thanks for the comments, the shop did tell me that the engine may still go on for quite a while.

arrrxivvv · Post by **arrrxivvv** » 25 Feb 2021, 11:14

I've already had them replace the pump, did improve the oil pressure a little bit.

What oil viscosity do you use? Factory 5w30 or something thicker like suggested by my shop?

ignatz · Post by **ignatz** » 26 Feb 2021, 05:02

I use 10-30 Pennzoil Synthetic in my 2001 V70 2.4t all year round. I think our coldest morning this winter was 20 deg F. 10-30 of your choice of synthetic should be fine.

Post by **abscate** » 26 Feb 2021, 07:49

Dont get too hung up on the oil pressure number. As long as you have enough pressure ot keep a film on the bearings under load, you will be fine.

Be honest with yourself about driving habits. If you can keep your foot light and drive the worn engine like an older work horse, you can get five more years.

If you cant do this, sell it now as a $1000-1500 runner before you blow it up and make it just $200 scrap value

2004 XC70 oil pan condition

Re: 2004 XC70 oil pan condition