Massive Oil Leak, top of engine under plastic cover

volvospeeds70 · Post by **volvospeeds70** » 17 Mar 2013, 11:48

I have a 98 s70 t5 and it has a major oil leak. I noticed it was coming from the rearside of the engine, next to the brake booster. Its been like this for a couple of months. Today, I was changing spark plugs and wires, I noticed oil under the plastic cover over the spark plugs. there is a pretty good amount of oil there. I don't know where it came from. I think that's where the oil is leaking from top and slowly runs down along the side. I attached pictures, any help would be great!

9T9V70T5m · Post by **9T9V70T5m** » 17 Mar 2013, 11:56

How's your oil filler cap look? the gasket could be shot and it's letting the oil out. Also if you can get the car up on a lift ( while running) the turbo oil lines could be seeping...You need to get under it and look for the leakage culprit..

Post by **cn90** » 17 Mar 2013, 12:16

1+,

Either the Filler Cap gasket is bad, or......

Oil is accidentally spilled during oil change.

I removed the plastic cosmetic cover and stored it away.

louty · Post by **louty** » 17 Mar 2013, 13:37

I would not be so concerned with that oil iunder the "valve cover". I agree with the answers listed and doubt its causing the leak on the side of the engine
could be a cam seal
how many miles
when was the pvc system delt with

louty · Post by **louty** » 17 Mar 2013, 13:48

the picture of oil on the side of the engine are all near the pvc hose connections back near turbo

Post by **mikealder** » 17 Mar 2013, 14:35

The PCV top pipe connects to the head/ cam carrier between cylinders one and two, between cylinders two and three on your engine is another port, try to establish if oil is coming up through that hole, if it is then its gasket/ sealant breakdown within the engine, only seen this a couple of times but worth checking - Mike

volvospeeds70 · Post by **volvospeeds70** » 17 Mar 2013, 23:12

thanks guys for the reply. Will check oil filler cap in the morning. the car has 251k on it and not sure when the PCV system was checked. what steps should I follow?

volvospeeds70 · Post by **volvospeeds70** » 17 Mar 2013, 23:14

oh and another thing, the oil is leaking both when the car is running and stopped. there is a puddle of oil on the ground every night, and you can smell the oil burning when it hits the exhaust pipe while driving. so i don't know what the problem could be. I'm going to seafoam it soon, hopefully to restore some power.

louty · Post by **louty** » 18 Mar 2013, 10:45

I would still suspect the pcv and the rear cam seal
with the engine running , if you pull the dipstick and get smoke, pressure, chances are the pcv is plugged
Its a several hour job with lots of write ups
same with the cam seal, many write ups on it too
you can look at the articles, they will go into more detail on testing , and it will help you norrow things down

when was the last timing belt.... with that many miles, the belt and pvc system both have near the same service interval
chances are the cam seals at the timing belt are starting to seep also
the turbo oil return pipe in the back has a tendency to leak, it too will give a smoke smell when driving and put a oil on the ground when parked

louty · Post by **louty** » 18 Mar 2013, 10:47

a lot of those write up, btw , are by cn90 who also posted an answer above
his write ups have helped me a lot in not only the diagnositcs but also the repairs