1997 850GLT Extreme crankcase pressure event

[chrisV2]

Our 1997 850 GLT wagon my daughter inherited and is driving back/forth to college. It had developed a moderate oil leak, I could never tell if it was the pan or the RMS but resigned myself to adding 2 quarts of oil every month.

Last Saturday I did this, but was in a hurry and instead of allowing the oil to pour out of the plastic quart container, I squeezed the container and dumped the oil *very* quickly into the engine.

She went to drive the car and it would not start. I tried to start it and it did start, but immediately blew the dipstick nearly out of it's holder, smoke starting pouring out of the distributor cap, around the turbo and the oil filler cap. Blinking CEL.

I let it sit for a day and it started up fine but was running rough, blinking CEL.

Now the car has a *massive* oil leak, it is nearly pouring out from somewhere underneath, I'm talking a 2' by 2' small puddle after running for only a few minutes.

Any ideas what the heck I did to this car? My theory is that by forcing oil into the filler I may have plugged up a PCV path somewhere, and the downward piston stroke pressure into the crankcase had to go somewhere. I really hope it isn't the end for this car, it was running great before this

[rspi]

Hi and welcome to the forum.

Has the PCV system been serviced lately?

I doubt you did any damage by adding the oil, however, if you added to much you could have an issue there.

[cn90]

For now, lift the dipstick 2-3mm to allow some crankcase pressure to ventilate.
Then:

1. Consider doing the PCV overhaul...
DIY: 1998 Volvo S70 GLT PCV Modification, how to get rid of smoking dipstick!
https://www.matthewsvolvosite.com/forums ... hp?t=53448

2. The leak could come from any seals:
- Front cam seals (Timing Belt area)
- Rear cam seals (near the cap/rotor, CPS area.
- RMS, this is your worst nightmare, to replace the RMS, it is an 8h job.

So, fix the PCV system first. Take time to read through the thread above.

[chrisV2]

Thanks for the responses. Yeah I am totally up to date on *all* standard maint on this car, including a very recent complete rebuild of the PCV system. The car does not emit any positive pressure out of the dipstick tube...other than this catastrophic event that just happened.

I have a feeling I blew several seals on the motor, including an already weak RMS.

What I was really wondering: is the fact that I FORCED oil at a high rate down into the filler cap the reason why I this happened? Like I said on Friday the car was running like it was brand new. On Saturday after I added oil, it had this happen. Seems like a vent path inside the motor got plugged and the crankcase pressure had to go someplace (else).

I am probably headed to either a motor pull or finally saying goodbye to this car

[misha]

On Saturday after I added oil, it had this happen....

It seems that you overfilled the engine.
0.5l-1l more than it needs(after max mark) can blow a head gasket.

[difflock54]

Assuming it is currently overfilled with oil as misha suggests, try draining the oil sump, replace the drain plug and refill the engine to the exact correct volume specified.
Your regular top ups may have been gradually choking her up with excess oil without you realising it.
Reuse the oil only if it is reasonably clean otherwise replace with fresh oil and in that event do the filter too.

[chrisV2]

Nope, the oil level never went above the 3/4 range on the dipstick...trust me on this I am very careful about not overfilling oil. The regular top-ups were only done in the morning when the car was sitting overnight, so the oil level on the dipstick should be accurate. I only added oil when the oil level didn't even touch the bottom mark on the dipstick.

I seriously believe that squeezing the oil container and forcefully shooting oil into the motor somehow plugged a PCV path in the motor, somewhere. I don't have an exploded view of the engine so I can't tell if that is even a possibility.

[rspi]

The thing is, many of us fill the oil with the new large mouth bottles, like I used yesterday. The chances of you filling the motor faster than I did is unlikely.

I have taken these motors apart several times. The cam is under the oil fill hole with a lot of air space. Dumping 1 quart of oil into the hole and starting the motor will unlikely cause any odd pressure in the head that could cause a sudden blow.

[erikv11]

Are there any codes?

About the running rough and whether or not the engine is toast: Since it blew the cam seal(s) including the one under the distributor, you need to pull the cap and clean it out thoroughly with electrical parts cleaner. There is a ton of oil in there so of course the car is running rough. Check the cam position sensor, too. After cleaning, he cam seal(s) will need to be reseated, you will need to clean the seating surfaces. But maybe this will solve the running rough issue.

The big puddle sure sounds like the rear main seal also blew out.

Could be something like this that caused the event: https://www.matthewsvolvosite.com/forums ... =1&t=61027

[misha]

I only added oil when the oil level didn't even touch the bottom mark on the dipstick.

You SHOULD top up with oil when oil is around or AT min mark.... not below the whole dipstick.

If you have a fluorescent dipstick handle(as you should with '97)...min to max mark take 1.5l of oil.
If you have a RED dipstick handle(being a '97 you should not have it)...min to max mark take 1l of oil.

You are saying that you constantly add around 2 quarts of oil which should be around 2l

2l of oil missing in the engine is a LOT under min mark.Untill you add those 2 quarts,the engine is starving for oil.It's bad for every engine even for these... almost bulletproof ones.