Questions about camshaft seals on a 02 V70XC

TacoSalad · Post by **TacoSalad** » 03 Jul 2023, 22:38

I have a 02 V70XC (B5244T3) and recently blew out a cam seal. It started leaking on a highway drive and I had to put in a lot of oil to make home. Upon inspection the front camshaft seal on the intake side was loose. So I went down the rabbit hole of googling and found this was a common problem, and ordered the parts and tool needed (camshaft locking tool).
It got a little more interesting though when I starting taking things apart, where I discovered that both sides were leaking from the rear of the cam, particularly because there was no seal on the intake side. These leaks weren't visible because they were contained by the cam cap and cam position sensor cover respectively. And it was just a little oil, they weren't full or anything.
So I ordered the rear seals, but I'm worried about the crankcase pressure in general. If I do the glove test on the oil filler it sucks in, but that doesn't mean much with blown seals. I found a video of someone with a similar problem and they found the same thing (missing rear cam seal) which they theorized was done intentionally to relieve crankcase pressure from a clogged PCV system.
I'm not sure what to do now, I need to get this car fixed in the short term so I can get to work. My fear is if I replace all 4 cam seals the crankcase pressure will rise and blow out other seals. I plan to service the PCV system in the next few weeks but I really need to get back to work. Should I do all 4 seals? Should I do 3 and leave that last one off and install it when I do the PCV system in a few weeks? Is there a better approach? Any insight would be appreciated!

Post by **jonesg** » 04 Jul 2023, 02:50

i would keep it as i found it. 3 seals.

Post by **abscate** » 04 Jul 2023, 03:56

In the dinosaur pre-1999 era you had two rear cam seals on the engine as both cam ends did duty driving the distributor and cam sensor.

When coil on plug happened, the distributor went away and you just get a cam plug , no seal.

….until dual VVT comes, you get another sensor, and two seals again!

It’s the circle of seal life….

Post by **vtl** » 04 Jul 2023, 08:24

Drive with oil dip stick popped up, or the new seals will be blown out again. Avoid pushing it hard - the compression rings are worn, there's a lot of blow-by gasses entering the crankcase.

Post by **Krons** » 04 Jul 2023, 10:39

In addition to the recommendation from vtl you can also cut a section of the oil cap seal temporarily to allow pressure to bleed off. May want a rag to catch any oil though as it could make a mess on the top of the engine.

Post by **vtl** » 04 Jul 2023, 10:52

Krons wrote: ↑04 Jul 2023, 10:39 In addition to the recommendation from vtl you can also cut a section of the oil cap seal temporarily to allow pressure to bleed off. May want a rag to catch any oil though as it could make a mess on the top of the engine.

It will make a mess. The third cylinder intake camshaft lobe is right below the oil filler cap, oil is splashing everywhere.

Post by **bmdubya1198** » 05 Jul 2023, 09:17

As Abscate said, that cam cap acts as the seal on car with single VVT. No need to install a second seal there, just replace the cap any time it's removed.
I would also recommend pulling the dipstick up slightly until you can take care of the PCV. That's almost certainly why the seal blew out in the first place.