C70 1999 Oil Leak and Check Engine Light

csquare6 · Post by **csquare6** » 09 Jan 2009, 21:00

Thanks for your interest! My car started this oil problem several months ago. I took it to a local mechanic and he thought it was fixed. The problem kept coming back. I will tell you something that I just thought about, the car just stopped running one day last year. I was driving it and it lost all power. The power train, I am not sure if that is what you call it, was replaced and the car ran well. Then the oil problem came back.

I do wish I could get my car to you guys so that you could look at it. Right now, I am hoping to be able to take it to one of the places listed. The car, over all, has been a good car and I really don't want to let it go right now. I hope to get an outside evaluation of the car next week. This does sound wrong and I am very upset because the dealer seems to be acting in a strange manner. The dealer did not call me, the salesperson called and gave me the $6,000.00 quote. The salesperson is the same person who sold the car to me but I did notice he was not acting as involved as he normally acts. Perhaps it is just me but the more I thought about how quickly he wanted to trash my car the more I thought I should get some outside advice. I know it is his job to sell new cars but it just didn't "feel" right talking with him.

Post by **MadeInJapan** » 09 Jan 2009, 21:01

The more I think about it...mmm, square oil leak mark on the pavement....could it be as simple as a bad oil pan gasket? The shop you took it to tried to really torque down the bolts hoping to alleviate the oil leak (this is not the way to do it, btw) and stripped them out, making the leak even worse? Would explain everything described, including the square leak.
What you would have to do is pull the oil pan off (might as well replace the oil pickup o-rings while you're in there- then roll on the special anaerobic liquid that makes a gasket and use a bolt hole repair kit like a helicoil (basically a thread screw insert) and then use new bolts to torque everything back down to spec again... It wouldn't be an expensive fix. Anyway, I'm sort of thinking with my fingertips. Would just make sense from everything I've read in this thread so far. If this is truly what has happened here, I would take pictures, and take the bill to whoever mangled this job up in the first place and if they refused to pay, I might even go to small claims court.

Well, I'm curious now- can't wait to see what the verdict is on this.

EDIT: Wow...just read what you had written...didn't realize that you had your transmission replaced (at least this is what it sounds like). I wonder if it really needed that? Seems your leak wouldn't be the rear main seal if they put in a new transmission unless the place that did that work did a really shoddy job (and didn't replace this $15 part?). The rear main seal (worst leak you can have with these cars) is suppose to be replaced as it's a part that fits between the engine and the transmission. Anyway, typing as I'm thinking with my fingertips again. Best thing is to wait and see what one of these shops says at this point and stop guessing.

I re-read what you wrote- you said "power train," but you sure it wasn't the electronic throttle module (ETM)? These are prone to go in your car but have been under warranty for 10 years or 200,000 miles whichever came first...and yes, the car would just quit responding when you push on the gas. If you paid a dealer to have this done, you can be reimbursed for this service by Volvo- they shouldn't have charged you.

csquare6 · Post by **csquare6** » 09 Jan 2009, 21:22

Goodness, I wish I had known about this site when all of this started. They did replace the throttle and they did not charge me. I cannot wait to take my car to one of the guys you told me about. I plan on taking care of all of this on Monday.

You have given me hope and I will call all of them tomorrow. I just hope they are open

csquare6 · Post by **csquare6** » 09 Jan 2009, 21:29

Ok, it was the timing belt that broke first. Does that give you something else to think about in this puzzle?

csquare6 · Post by **csquare6** » 09 Jan 2009, 21:42

You know, I think I will print out this information and put in a little study time

Post by **MadeInJapan** » 09 Jan 2009, 22:41

csquare6 wrote:Ok, it was the timing belt that broke first. Does that give you something else to think about in this puzzle?

Well, that certainly changes a lot of the perspective. A broken timing belt often causes the internal parts of the engine to become mangled and typically means that at least the top of it called the head will need to be rebuilt or exchanged- or in the worst case, a complete engine replacement. The main thing is to see if the valves are bent or not. This is accomplished through doing a simple compression test so if you think that the engine damage from the broken timing belt was not taken care of properly, ask the shop to perform this test. If the head was rebuilt and reinstalled already, and it was not done correctly, then it is possible the oil leak is from this. Your car seems to run correctly except for the oil leak right? Anyway, if the head was not installed competently, you can have it redone properly. There is a very reputable place in Florida that sells rebuilt heads for about $550 shipped but you receive a core charge refund (works out to around $400 total, I believe) when you sent your bad head back to them (which of course the recycle and rebuild for another customer). After you receive the rebuilt heat, you have a reputable mechanic install it. Either way, all of what you've said is much less than what you were quoted earlier for an engine replacement. Here is a picture of how the head comes to you:

Clearwater Cylinder Heads
5100 Ulmerton Road.
Clearwater, FL 33760
1-800-572-1963 • 727-572-1958
http://www.cylinder-heads.com/
Their website doesn't list everything that they have available- plus if you need a head for your car, you can call them up, give them your car's model year and trim level (high pressure turbo, low pressure turbo, non-turbo, etc) and they will "make-up" a head for you in a few days. Anyway, like I said, your information that the timing belt has been broken certainly adds a new angle to everything and I posted some of the potential issues and solutions related to this. Certainly if the repair was done correctly, then we're back to the other less intense and hopefully less expensive solutions.

csquare6 · Post by **csquare6** » 10 Jan 2009, 09:37

Ok, the head was rebuilt. All the valves were . replaced in the head. The bolts that hold the cover down stripped out. They were rethreaded but the oil is still leaking. The mechanic said that I should get a new head and that would solve the problem.

Please tell me what else I need to order with the new head to get it installed correctly. The mechanic was trying to save me money thinking that I would trade the car. The dealer knows that it needs a new head and they were going to fix it and then sell my car for a ton of money. I am so angry!

Carole

Post by **MadeInJapan** » 10 Jan 2009, 10:29

Okay...so they have already told you that you need a new head, but why so if it was already rebuilt? Is it damaged again? The bolts stripped out (as mentioned above) is not a huge problem because there is a way to use helicoils or other devices to still lock new bolts into the engine block even if the threads in the engine are stripped out. You really need a new bolt set (I would say all of them). Volvo doesn't recommend that these be reused, though careful mechanics can use a set twice without issue.
My thinking at this point is that the person who put your rebuilt head on reused the head bolts and way over-tightened them, stripping them out or didn't use the correct head gasket set. The correct set is now made by Elring and can be bought here for a savings- For non-turbo and low pressure turbo (since I still don't know which trim level C70 you have): http://www.eeuroparts.com/Main/PartDeta ... =3531017K2 The high pressure turbo set is made by Elwis and can be found here: http://www.eeuroparts.com/Main/PartDeta ... id=275234E
Anyway, this stuff is really important and if not done correctly will cause a leak like you see (wrong gasket set or tightened incorrectly)....or the rebuilt head was never "true," meaning that it was not machined to be completely flat to fit on the block (by the way, the block has to be true too- rare but there are instances that this mating surface has to be shaved, so get them to check it too)- this is so important. If the head was already machined and is not true and the specs on it are too thin (these can only be machined so much) then you will be in for another rebuilt head. If this is the case, I would recommend you order from the guys in Florida that I linked to- they are tried and true and everyone who has used them has been very pleased.

I believe these are your next steps:
Have a competent mechanic take the head off and check it (and the block) to make sure everything is true- if not, have the head (and/or block) shaved (again?) so that it is, then install it with new bolts with the correctgasket set. The torque specs on the head bolts are very specific and a good shop should have access to this information. If you need to know for some reason (to make sure they know what they're doing), I can post them up...basically they are tightened in sequence from the inside out and after a certain torque, they are tightened again to a much higher torque and then a third time to a certain amount of angle torque.

I would definitely print this entire thread off and take it to whoever is going to work on your car.

Btw, are there any other surprises??

csquare6 · Post by **csquare6** » 10 Jan 2009, 10:50

Ok, I will print all of this out and take it with me. I am going to call him again and ask him what else happened to the car when he was trying to fix it.
I will follow your directions to the T and I'll contact you later on today to let you know what he says.

Thanks again.
Carole

Post by **MadeInJapan** » 10 Jan 2009, 10:58

Carole, I am editing as you type- I was wrong about just the roll-on stuff I mentioned earlier...there is also more than 1 gasket...actually a gasket set, depending on which '99 C70 you have. I am also looking for your head bolt set so hold on a bit before you print this thing. Btw, eeuroparts has free shipping over orders of $40 and another good place to order from, http://www.fcpgroton.com has a sale right now ($10 off if you put "JANFREEZE" in coupon box at check-out)....they also offer free shipping after you purchase so much.

As a side note, before they start taking the engine apart, it might be good for them to check your engine light code- it could be related to a part inside (I'm suspecting variable valve timing) which could be related to some of your engine issues (minus the leaks) and could necessitating replacing a part inside while everything is apart- just a note about it because you don't want everything back together just to find out there is a part inside that needed changing.

One more question- it would be good to know if you have a non-turbo, a low pressure turbo or a high pressure turbo C70...do you know which one? If not, if you'll PM me your VIN# I can look it up- this is important as parts are slightly different for each....could be that the mechanic made a mistake on this to begin with- cause of your leaks.
Btw, I would still find out from who ever is going to do this work where the foul-up was, so you could go back to who did this shoddy job earlier and possibly demand your money back...pictures along with their documentation would sure help, so ask your new mechanic if anything was done incorrectly, if it would be okay to take "proof" pictures to help you in this quest.

Okay- just found this: Cylinder head bolts (your car needs 12 of these): http://www.eeuroparts.com/Main/PartDeta ... id=6842347 On FCPgroton's site they are a bit cheaper (same pieces): http://www.fcpgroton.com/product-exec/p ... ory_id/121

Also made a mistake on the gasket sets (well, sort of- or maybe not, but it depends). Basically, if the head has already been rebuild correctly (like if you order a rebuilt one), you won't need all of the gaskets mentioned (that are internal to the head)...you'll just need one between the block and the head. For 2.4 engines (non-turbo and low pressure turbo): http://www.fcpgroton.com/product-exec/p ... ory_id/121 For 2.3 engines (high pressure turbo): http://www.fcpgroton.com/product-exec/p ... ory_id/121 Eeuroparts have the same parts and for the head gasket, prices are about the same. It is important that we confirm from your VIN number exactly which engine you have (there were at least 2, and maybe 3 different variants for your model year C70).