2001 V70 T5 Cam Seal Blown 229 K miles

[junko1]

Hi All,
I am facing a decision about repairing a 2001 V70 T-5 wagon with a blown cam seal. I have read various posts about oil leaks and PCV repairs and have not seen any comments regarding mileage on the vehicles in question at the time of the repair and how long the vehicle has run afterwards. I have a very reliable mechanic, he's worked on the car for 5-7 years as needed and is warning me that I could spend the money and it may still not work correctly. Looking for any advice. Tim

[abscate]

PCV repairs on these cars is labour intensive but very simple. Perform a compression and leak down test on the engine first, to assess engine condition. There is no reason to think "it won't work" on an engine with good compression.

[precopster]

Kind of funny in this instance that you mention that other people fail to post mileage at the time of repair yet your own mileage is a mystery

As abscate mentioned the tests to perform will give you an idea of the engine condition. PCV back pressure can be the result of a blocked PCV system or the result of worn cylinder bores.

Your mechanic may not fully understand how the Volvo whiteblock behaves with a blocked PCV and may believe your bores are worn. Does your car burn excessive oil between changes? The leakdown tests abscate mention will narrow this down and also let you know if valve stem seals are at fault or if compression loss is occurring.

[abscate]

In the title line, mike

[precopster]

As if that wasn't half obvious. Remind me to not post before coffee time

[oragex]

The pcv clogs depending on the kind of trips the car is doing. It can clog at 80k miles if the car does short city trips using mineral oil, or at 200k miles if the car has seen mostly highway driving using synthetic oil.