Pics, missing bolts, coolant leak, oil leak...

caymran · Post by **caymran** » 22 Mar 2010, 09:57

Ok, so a little background.. bought this volvo 850 turbo 1996 last year for <$400. It had a used engine dropped in it, by someone who obvioulsy did not know what they were doing (half the vacuum lines were missing PTC clogged, engine ran rough, hence the good deal). So I fixed all of that, got it to the point that there were no more fault codes, took it for a test drive on the interstate and then ran into three new problems...

I am leaking coolant pretty bad back behind the engine next to the turbo.

The coolant is running down what I think is the rear motor mount, and dripping through the hole pointed to in the picture. Could this be the turbo leaking (since it is sitting directly on the rear motor mount, or is it more likely bad hoses? It is really hard to see in there. I'm going to buy some small mirrors and check more closely.

I have a pretty bad oil leak...

Coming from a weep hole in between the engine and trans... is this the RMS, or could it be the oil pan?

And maybe the cause of the other two is that I also noticed that I seem to be missing 3 bolts on the engine (any idea what size bolts theses are?)

I think they mount the engine to the rear motor mount.

Any help would be greatly appreciated.. I've already used this site a good bit it's a great site, with all the answers, soo glad it is here!

Post by **wheelsup** » 22 Mar 2010, 11:04

No idea on the coolant issue, I don't have a turbo.

Here is the rear engine mount bolts circled in red.

: engine mount.JPG (51.66 KiB) Viewed 3011 times

The top bolt might be an engine to tranny bellhousing bolt, it's hard to tell. Here is an unmolested (as of yet) engine/tranny pic taken about from where yours was. Ignore the red circle it is for the flexplate/torque converter bolts.

Might be the RMS, it leaks here:

: rms.JPG (52.69 KiB) Viewed 3011 times

Looks like your rear engine mount might be leaking too, I know because the first time I pulled the engine out and dropped it down it hit the rear mount and it leaked oil all over the place.

caymran · Post by **caymran** » 22 Mar 2010, 11:36

Yeah, looking at your pics, it looks like you are right. I am missing the rear motor mount bolts, and a Tranny bell housing bolt. Any idea what size/hardness replacement bolts I should use?

Thanks,
Caymran

C@lvin · Post by **C@lvin** » 22 Mar 2010, 12:00

I agree with the RMS leak. Your picture shows the weep hole between the engine and the bell housing. That looks pretty bad......sorry to say - more than a drip.

On my non turbo 98 S70, the lower radiator hose connects to a pipe just above the area behind the motor where you are getting coolant drip. I'd look there first. That's a booger of a place to work at getting the hose on the pipe. The hose end is a very tight fit on the pipe and I had to lay on top of the motor in order to get two hands down in there to work it on. Of course that's assuming it's the same location on a turbo......

I had the engine rebuilt on my 99 Saab 9-5 by someone who was recommended to me, but I have had nothing but trouble with things that were left loose - camshaft position sensor, oil pressure sensor, turbo hoses, electrical connectors etc. If I ever need to replace an engine I have decided I will do it myself even though I've never done one before because I know I will be extremely disciplined about getting it back together right.

caymran · Post by **caymran** » 22 Mar 2010, 12:25

Yeah, I've been suspecting RMS, but hoping I was wrong. I've got 10w-30 in it, where I am, it rarely drops below freezing, so I am thinking about going to a higher viscosity oil as a temporary way to slow down the leak (15w-50 mobil1). Really don't want to pull the engine/tranny to replace the RMS. But as you said, if it does get pulled, I am going to be the one to do it (this car's seen enough shady mechanics).

This weekend I'll pull the air intake, lay a board across the engine bay and see if I can tell anything from the top.

Still, if anyone knows the bolt sizes I need, please let me know. That's a tight area to get some calipers into.

C@lvin · Post by **C@lvin** » 22 Mar 2010, 13:48

I had good luck slowing down the RMS leak (98 S70 192K) by switching to 10W40 Castrol GTX High Mileage (contains seal conditioners). It pretty much stopped my leak within a couple of thousand miles. Then I switched to 10W40 Mobil 1 High Mileage (again with seal conditioners) but at my last oil change I noticed some slight weeping beginning again. There are also seal conditioning additives you can add to regular oil, but I didn't try that so can't speak to its effectiveness.

On the lower radiator hose, I found the very best view of it from below (on ramps - but your turbo may be in the way) but the only way I could find to get two hands on the task was from above.....

Wish I could provide the bolt sizes, you might try calling a dealer to get a quote on the bolts. They might be affordable from a dealer, but if not you maybe you'll luck up and get a helpful parts guy who will tell you the sizes.

Post by **wheelsup** » 22 Mar 2010, 21:10

I'm 130 pictures into a engine/tranny pull, I'll also include pictures replacing the RMS and tranny input shaft seal. Y'all can learn from my mess-ups!

Regarding the RMS leak, mine was/is slowed down considerably when I pull the dipstick out. There is pressure from somewhere, no idea where it's not the PCV system as it's clean.

Post by **wheelsup** » 22 Mar 2010, 21:15

caymran wrote:Yeah, looking at your pics, it looks like you are right. I am missing the rear motor mount bolts, and a Tranny bell housing bolt. Any idea what size/hardness replacement bolts I should use?

Thanks,
Caymran

I'm not home now, work is killing me it's really slowed me down on this whole project but I can get pics/sizes for you in a few days if you don't have it by then.

But to be honest the parts guys at the dealers are pretty good, they get me the bolts and part numbers for me quickly. I would buy dealer bolts not something from Home Depot. To replace the flexplate bolts I'm looking at $29...in BOLTS ALONE. Couldn't believe it!!

caymran · Post by **caymran** » 23 Mar 2010, 07:44

I'm an hour away from the nearest dealer. I'll give them a call when I get a chance. But if you do get to those bolts, definitely let me know. I'll have to order them either way. I can only work on this project when I have a weekend, like you, I stay busy at work. As for your pressure issue, did you check your PTC? Mine was clogged and caused the pressure build up in my volvo. Here is a good write up http://www.lakesidedp.com/uploadpics/pcv/index.html#ptc I pulled the whole intake, removed the ptc, cleared out the vacuum line connector (the small one on the side) with a small drill bit (it was really clogged). Cleaned it with brake cleaner. Then shoved it with it's rubber seal back in, no more pressure on my dipstick/oilcap.

caymran · Post by **caymran** » 23 Mar 2010, 09:52

My bad, I just realized you said yours was a non-turbo, so you may not have a PTC valve. I think you have a flame trap and not an oil trap, so you may not have a PTC.