2000 S70 (non turbo) oil leak on intake

Pirate99gs · Post by **Pirate99gs** » 15 Jun 2009, 21:42

I wish that this wouldn't be my first post, but I guess beggers can't be chosers.

I recently bought a 2000 S70 (NA) with 30 000 miles (certified). I had the car inspected (june 4th) by CAA, it came back clean. Did my oil change, noticed I had a small leak... no big deal. Fast forward to today. As I was trying to adjust the hood latch, I decided to take off the timebelt cover to see the condition. Found oil. Took off plastic intake cover, only to find a pool of oil resting at the back of the intake. Cleaned everything, and one of the intake bolts was finger loose. Tightened all intake bolts, but couldn't do the torx bolts, as I didn't have a big enough bit.

My questions: First off, can this one loose bolt be the cause of my "leak"? The intake gasket is dry, and by the looks of it, this is a fresh leak, as there was no sediment or dust in the oil. I am slightly mad, as this obviously has now compromised my timing belt, making me have to change it a lot earlier than planned.

thanks for any help

Pieter

Post by **Ozark Lee** » 15 Jun 2009, 22:04

Welcome to MVS Pieter,

A loose intake bolt would not cause an oil leak, it will cause some other issues but not an oil leak.

If the leaking is behind the timing belt cover then the usual suspects are the cam seals or the oil pump itself. The oil pump is run by the crankshaft.

only to find a pool of oil resting at the back of the intake

Elaborate on that a bit more, was the oil on the top of the intake manifold or inside of it?

A clogged PCV system can cause a lot of oil pooling on the top of the intake and it will also flood the top of the cam tower under the spark plug cover with oil. It could also just be a bad oil cap gasket. I tend to change the oil cap gasket on every 2 or 3 oil changes. It is a dirt cheap part

If the PCV is an issue (search the database) the ultimate problem is that you will blow the cam seals or even worse, the rear main seal. Very cheap parts with a very expensive labor bills.

...Lee

Pirate99gs · Post by **Pirate99gs** » 15 Jun 2009, 22:20

Oil is on top of the intake, and not inside. I am at a loss, because the amount of oil present would easily be identified during an inspection, esp. since they did a compression test. With the plastic cover off, you can see that both of them (timing cover and spark plug cover) are clean. There is no dripping oil or film on them.

Is there a quick way to check if my pcv valve is clogged? I cleaned most of the oil, and ran the car for few minutes. No leak was detected. No oil appears to be coming from the dipstick.

Pieter

Post by **Ozark Lee** » 16 Jun 2009, 05:22

Is there a quick way to check if my pcv valve is clogged?

Find a small balloon and put it over the end of the dipstick tube. If the balloon tries to inflate the PCV needs to be serviced. Unfortunately there is no PCV valve on these cars, it is a PCV System that includes an oil trap and a series of vacuum lines and hoses.

...Lee

Pirate99gs · Post by **Pirate99gs** » 16 Jun 2009, 07:19

I just went outside with a balloon to test the pcv...it is sucking (mildly) and not blowing. Thank goodness for that. So, ruling out the pcv system, what else can cause a leak like this?? I will be going to buy a gasket for the oil cap, and changing the clamp on the vaccuum hose, but am lost after that.

Pieter

Post by **Ozark Lee** » 16 Jun 2009, 08:19

That is good news on the PCV. Is there any way you can snap a picture of the areas where the oil is pooling and post them back? I'm having a hard time figuring out exactly where you are finding it.

...Lee

Pirate99gs · Post by **Pirate99gs** » 16 Jun 2009, 09:17

Lee

I'm at work right now, but if you give an email address I will try to send you a picture.

When you remove the cover for the spark plugs, the oil is pooling all along the back of the VALVE COVER (closer to the firewall). (D'OH! I just realized as to why this seemed confusing). It doesn't seem to be collecting more at one spot than another. I cleaned most of the oil yesterday, and will check later if there are any leaks under my parking spot.

Pieter

Post by **Ozark Lee** » 16 Jun 2009, 15:03

Actually you can upload the pictures directly with your post which is helpful as other members may have had your same problem and immediately identify the source.

Directly below the reply screen there is an upload attachment screen. Browse your local system, identify the picture or pictures you wish to upload, and click the add the file button. Once the picture uploads a "place inline" box will appear at the bottom of the reply screen that has the picture(s). Just add the pictures to the post and then hit the submit button.

Matt made this real easy for us!

...Lee