White smoke during hard acceleration

seerdman · Post by **seerdman** » 23 Apr 2012, 16:47

Apologies in advance for the newbie, mechanically illiterate question. I have a 2002 2.4L S60 that recently began leaving a trail of white smoke when hitting the acceleration pretty hard. I got under the engine and had a helper step on the gas while I watched for the source of the leak. It's a small amount of engine oil coming out of a small port (about 3/4 inch) on the rear side of the block right in front of the exhaust. Oil hits the exhaust - boom - smoke. I've dug around this forum and the web trying to find a manual or images that show what this "port" is. There doesn't seem to be any threads in it that something would screw into. My father-in-law thinks there's a breather tube that's missing. My question is - anyone know what this mysterious hole is and whether there's supposed to be something in it? If nothing is missing, any thoughts on the possible causes? Photo from underneath the engine attached pointing at this "port."

: View of rear engine block from below; photo.JPG (70.05 KiB) Viewed 7642 times

Post by **RobTheModd** » 24 Apr 2012, 07:34

First...

If you are blowing white smoke on accl then it might not be an oil leak...
Its going to require alot of oil to create enough smoke to see while you are driving.
how much oil are you loosing?

Are you 100% positive that it is white?

White is usually coolant.
Blue is usually oil.
and black is usually gas.

seerdman · Post by **seerdman** » 24 Apr 2012, 08:51

I guess I would call it a bluish-white. I've only seen it myself once - at 100 mph.

) Went away as soon as I slowed down. Oil levels looked normal. Father-in-law thinks that when the engine is at a really high rpm, the crankshaft is throwing oil up into this port where it just freely exits. I watched it come out and it splattered all over my face. Father-in-law got underneath while I revved the engine and saw the same thing, so we are sure where the leak is coming from and that it's oil. The question is - what is this area of the engine and does it appear there's anything missing from this "port"?

Rocky · Post by **Rocky** » 28 Apr 2012, 10:35

Check your coolant level. You may have a head gasket problem allowing coolant into a cylinder.

seerdman · Post by **seerdman** » 30 Apr 2012, 12:16

Does anyone recognize the area of the engine shown in my photo and know whether there is something missing from the engine block or not?

Post by **dcarlson12** » 30 Apr 2012, 14:05

Couple of pages from VADIS re parts diagram and list. Perhaps it is Item 11 sealing plug?

Post by **confused_al** » 30 Apr 2012, 19:08

I cant really tell if that is the turbo oil return line from your pic. Is something like this?

awahldo4 · Post by **awahldo4** » 30 Apr 2012, 20:07

That is the oil return line from the turbo. Here is a pic without the axle in the way

seerdman · Post by **seerdman** » 30 Apr 2012, 21:36

Thanks everybody! Turns out this is a non-turbo model, and the part that's missing is the turbo drain PLUG, which our Volvo mechanic says will cause a little bit of oil misting onto the exhaust. Hence, the smoke seen in the rearview mirror at 100 m.p.h. DCARLSON12 - you totally nailed it! Now to figure out if I can replace it myself and save the $75 estimated repair!

BerettaMan · Post by **BerettaMan** » 03 Sep 2012, 18:11

DANG, I have the exact same problem on my non turbo V70. Missing turbo drain plug!! Where do I get one??