It's oil trap time.

Rocky · Post by **Rocky** » 15 May 2012, 06:36

Two weeks ago while checking the 03xc before it was taken on a 500 mile drive I discovered the oil level two quarts low. Now for a car barely a two months post oil change this was a little worrying.
No obvious leakage anywhere. I had previously noticed that the oil fill looked dark and black.
Dropping the sump shield evidence of oil. Several parts of the Engine were lightly bathed in a sheen of oil.
After taking some of the inlet hoses off and discovering evidence of oil the PVC etc system became suspect number one as the turbo seemed clean and dry.
Once we had a new oil trap and inlet manifold gasket my mechanic went to work. The OT was bung up with sludge, pipes into and out of we're also sludged as were the ports into the sump.
We cut open the OT and found a thick layer of sludge.
Replaced everything and refilled with fresh oil with plans to change it again in a few days after with some seafoam being added just before the change.
This car only has 88k but suffers from many short commutes.
Appreciate any thoughts and insights as to whether something else may be going on. We'll be checking the hoses again at oil change time. Btw, how can you clean an inter cooler?

repacs0103 · Post by **repacs0103** » 15 May 2012, 09:47

I'm in the same boat with my 04 V70- it recently started consuming a bit more oil than usual and began leaking from the front side of the engine around the PCV components. I'd rather not spend 2 or 3 hundred on an entire kit, so I was hoping to just clean the hoses and only replace the Oil Trap itself. I also ordered a catch can kit that I'll be installing additionally as I'm running a 16T and full 3" turbo-back exhaust on my 2.5T and will be getting a large front mount intercooler and a tune in the next few months after I get to a proper stage 0.

Were you able to clean the oil and sludge out of the PCV lines pretty well? Obviously if they are damaged I'll need to replace them, but if they're just sludged I'm hoping a cleaning will take care of things.

As for your intercooler, you'll need to use a solvent, so the question is do you use an oil based solvent like brake cleaner, or a water based type drgreaser. I'd just use a water based product like Simple Green and flush with fresh water. You can then blow it out with some light compressed air and let it air dry a few hours before re-installing. The trick is getting all the dirt and debris out of the fins so that you're getting maximum airflow and cooling efficiency. A little oil on the internal passages is normal and inherent in most any turbocharged engine.

Rocky · Post by **Rocky** » 15 May 2012, 12:59

Makes sense to pull the intercooler since that's the only unclean part and get into it.
Let's see how it does over the next few days. It's sure going to be interesting to drain the oil when it gets back

Rocky · Post by **Rocky** » 22 May 2012, 23:37

Did a drain and refill of oil after 350 miles. Quite dirty. Filter changed too. Checking weekly oil level etc. doubt I'll keep this oil on much more than 1000 miles