2013 S60 T5 - oil smoking from under right side hood

[wcbeach30]

I have a 2013 Volvo S50 t5 2.4 liter engine that is using a lot of oil, an excessive amount, I posted a link of a video I took that I put on YouTube showing the problem. I drove it from Texas to Florida and had been smelling oil.

I thought the burning oil smell was initially some oil that was spilled onto the block or somewhere due to recently having had the timing belt, drive belt, tensioners, pulleys, water pump, etc replaced.

When I pulled over to get gas after only driving it about 800 miles I thought it's time to check the oil and it was dry. The video shows what the dipstick looked like, all the oil that is all over the back of the car, it's not smoking out of the exhaust, but when I open the hood there is smoke coming from the right side where the turbo is.

One friend told me he thinks it could be the brake vacuum pump, but honestly that doesn't make any sense to me as it is coming from the right side of the hood where the turbo is, while another Volvo guy I know says he thinks it's the turbo seals perhaps? Anyone have this problem before and what did it take to fix it?

Car has 95k miles give or take. Also I live in the Miami, Florida area, does anyone have any recommendations of a reputable Volvo mechanic?

[BlackBart]

Others are more knowledgable on this engine, but it seems like it could be one of several areas.

1. Has your PCV (crankcase ventilation system) been replaced? If it gets clogged, excess pressure inside the crankcase can push out oil seals in various places, including the top of the cylinder head, where it can pool and run down the back of the engine onto the exhaust.

2. The rubber flat gasket on the oil fill cap gets old and hard, and oil can get out and run down the back of the engine as above. (But why it's being pushed out may be the PCV)

3. An oil fitting that lubricates the turbo itself might be leaking or spraying on the turbo or exhaust manifold. THAT would make some smoke.

4. Other seals or gaskets towards that end of the engine letting oil run down to the exhaust / turbo area.

But if it's truly empty, that's a lot of oil to lose. It could be that 2 quarts short is below the tip of the dip stick, I'm not sure on that. It may be not be "empty," just very low.


<EDIT> NO oil is an emergency, don’t drive it. Add a quart of oil and see if it shows up on the dipstick. Add two and see if it gets up to the low mark. Then you can top it off carefully before starting it again.

[wcbeach30]

Thx for the reply, I replaced the gaskets on the vacuum brake booster pump and it is still smoking, just getting back to it after the holidays and family visiting so I will replace the pcv next as well the rubber flat gasket on the oil fill cap and pray to the Volvo gods that that will solve my problem before moving on to checking the turbo, thanks!

And yeah it's not too bad but a quart of oil every 800 miles of full blend synthetic is not getting any cheaper... yeah when I pulled over and oiled it up the first time I realized it was happening I think I put about 3.5 quarts in there.

[Krons]

I will replace the pcv next as well the rubber flat gasket on the oil fill cap and pray to the Volvo gods that that will solve my problem before moving on to checking the turbo, thanks!

And yeah it's not too bad but a quart of oil every 800 miles of full blend synthetic is not getting any cheaper... yeah when I pulled over and oiled it up the first time I realized it was happening I think I put about 3.5 quarts in there.

Hold up…before replacing the PCV I would check the crank case pressure. Very easy to do, just get a rubber glove or plastic bag and hold it over the oil cap opening. Does the engine suck it in? It should—if it pushes it out definitely need to replace the PCV.

Need to get this car on some ramps and identify the source of leak. At this point it may be so dirty under there that you’re gonna need some parts or brake cleaner to clean things up and see if it reappears, obviously want to use those cleaners when the engine is cold. If the PCV went too long, you likely blew some seals out which will continue to leak.

As for oil, I would use the cheapest synthetic that works for the viscosity in your manual. You’re burning enough it really doesn’t matter what quality is cause it’s gonna be gone soon.

[wcbeach30]

thanks for that, I am not much of a mechanic but I now know that the work I recently had done on it that the mechanic there did replace the PCV as it was causing some vacuum leak, so I guess now I will still do the glove test (just saw a video on how to do this) and hope for the best; doesn't give me much hope of an easier or cheaper fix knowing the PCV was recently replaced...

[scot850]

Is your engine a 5 cylinder being a T5? If so, if the PCV was bad, it could be the cam seals may have been pushed out if the PCV was blocked.

Neil.

[wcbeach30]

yes sir it is a T5, the PCV was bad and was recently replaced along with the drive belt, the water pump, and the timing belt. I recently replaced the seals in the vacuum pump and that didn't do any good either. I have no clue what I am looking at but it is a bit awkward to use a mirror but on the right side of the engine, underneath where the vacuum pump is, I saw oil being pushed out of the bottom of something. Like I said it is hard to see when I hold a mirror back there and observe where the oil is coming out between the block and some part.

I am looking around for engine diagrams so maybe I can see what the hell it is that is leaking and hopefully replace it.

I am getting closer to solving this frustrating problem.