Need help locating possible source of oil leak on my 850 non turbo

dubsetter · Post by **dubsetter** » 10 Mar 2016, 07:01

I am a new owner to a 96 850 non turbo and a new member to MVS. I recently purchased the car at an used import dealership in NC after searching for months for a clean, low mileage, manual, non turbo 850 wagon. The dealer seemed reputable and I decided to I would spend the extra money buying at a dealership. They had the car extensively serviced and they assured me the car should need nothing but an oil change. Under the hood looked fine, clean and lots of new hoses.The car ran fine and I drove it 5 hours home.

After getting it home I noticed a small puncture in one of the pcv hoses under the intake manifold that I didn't catch. I tested the pcv using a glove and also checked the dipstick, failed both tests. I contacted my old volvo mechanic I last used 8 years ago. I took it in after waiting a 2 weeks to get an appointment and he confirmed that I should just replace whole thing as there were no records of it being replaced. He didn't have all the parts and ordered them.

Meanwhile, I have been driving the car no more than 5min about 3 times a week. The car had been burning oil with no leaks so he said just drive it lightly and keep an eye on the oil level. My mechanic works alone and is usually very busy and hard to get an appointment. I have been waiting 3 weeks so far for the pcv parts. I called early this week and it seemed like he forgot to order it and has been overloaded with work. I have had the car for over a month and a half and haven't been able to drive it out of fear of blowing a seal because of the excessive pressure caused by the pcv. I find it hard to believe the dealership with 30 years of servicing volvos overlooked this especially after all the other work they did to it in preparation of the sale. I received no help from the dealership except "I'm sorry to hear that, we must have overlooked it or it must not have been an issue at the time".

Two days ago I looked under my car after doing my 5min drive and there was oil all over the back of the oil pan, and the wheel well area on both side of the front. Looking under the hood I couldn't spot any signs of the source leak. My mechanical knowledge is limited so I have attached pics, although they are not the greatest. Any idea what seal could be blown or source of leak? Also what is the best way to get it cleaned up so I can keep an eye on it while I wait for the parts?

I don't want to take it to another shop as my mechanic has always looked out for my family when we had volvos but I have been waiting patiently for a month to have him fix the pcv and now I have a leak. Any advice would be greatly appreciated.

Thanks!

Post by **abscate** » 10 Mar 2016, 07:14

Welcome to MVS

Plugged PCV are common on these cars as people drive them like they are leased, plug them up, then dump them.

Once you fail the glove test, you pull the dipstick and vent the gas to the ground with a heater hose to stop - um - the oil seals from popping out and leaking oil...

I think we were a bit late.

Good news is it looks like you have popped a cam seal on the front of the engine (right side) , not the rear main seal on the engine.

Cam seal is about 10 bucks, and a mechanic needs about 2 hours labor to put it in, so a couple of hundred job. You can also DIY.

The rear main seal (RMS) is also about 10 bucks, but 10 hours to remove the engine - so its a >1010 USD job.

These are not cheap cars to have fixed by others. There are getting to be fewer mechanics who can fix these 3 generation old cars, and even fewer who understand the high mileage quirks of them.

We are pretty blunt on MVS that if you can't take over basic maintenance on these cars, or have a good independent in your home town, you need to be idependently wealthy to run a Volvo.

Post by **cn90** » 10 Mar 2016, 08:33

- Pull the dipstick up a few mm to allow crankcase pressure to vent until you can fix the PCV.

- As abscate said, there are 2 ways to handle this: the credit card (aka VISA + a mechanic) or DIY.
Tons of DIYs in forum.

- The oil leak is classic of a FRONT cam seals, which are usually done together with the timing belt at this mileage. Detail in this thread I wrote a few years back. Even if you use the indy, make sure you go over the thread below and discuss it with him/her.
https://www.matthewsvolvosite.com/forums ... =1&t=53722

- Spend some time in forums with a piece of paper and pencil and copy down common issues. It will take a while to read through the topics, but common problems are common, they keep coming back in forum.

Post by **RussB** » 10 Mar 2016, 08:36

Order the PVC system yourself perhaps? You'll have it in a couple days from FCPEuro.com

Post by **cn90** » 10 Mar 2016, 09:00

Actually, don't order the PCV system. Instead, order ONLY what you need.

Look up the thread using "5/8-inch hose mod", and you will save money on the oil trap (clean and re-use it) and skip the $40 vent hose (from oil trap to PTC).
For the vent hose, use the 5/8-inch generic hose. Info in forum.

dubsetter · Post by **dubsetter** » 10 Mar 2016, 19:37

Thank you so much for the replies. I knew what I was getting myself into, I have been searching for and researching 850s for months now. I really want to learn to work on mine. Since my mechanical experience is limited to only an oil change I thought the pcv replacement was a little much for my first repair. The cam seal seems like it's pretty straightforward and I'm going to give it a shot. The timing belt was replaced about 10k ago. It is late but I'm going to try to pull the timing belt cover tonight and check out the leak.
I've been trying to not beat myself up about my purchase. I knew how to test the pcv system with a glove but I left it at my house. I felt really good about the car and took a gamble. Everything happened so fast, I was in love with the car as soon as I started it up.
After trying 3 times today to get a hold of my mechanic, I decided to call another volvo mechanic in my area and got a very reasonable quote. I am getting the pcv system replaced on Monday and I am about to order a cam seal. Thank you for the advice!

Post by **erikv11** » 10 Mar 2016, 20:55

I agree, PCV is a big handful of a first job. Be sure the PCV is done before you do the cam seal. Good luck, you're on your way!

dubsetter · Post by **dubsetter** » 16 Mar 2016, 13:27

Update:
I got the pcv replaced, leak is fixed. I picked it up last night and drove it to work today(about 60mi). I'm still getting positive pressure, no smoke though. I remember reading a post about this issue and others have experienced this, however mine is not smoking, just pressure when I tested with a glove. Would it be a good idea to continue to leave the dipstick out a little to vent the pressure?

Post by **JimBee** » 16 Mar 2016, 17:31

Yes, leave the dipstick out a 1/4" or so to vent off the crankcase pressure. For a future tweak, you might want to check out cn90's 5/8" heater hose for the pcv tutorial that he mentioned above. And where that hose plugs into the vacuum tree, there might be a clogged screen that's backing up pressure. The fitting is a twist and pull type. GENTLE controlled force is key here

You need to be careful of the hard plastic pipe that connects to that screen union via a rubber elbow, the pipe gets brittle. That's the one cn90 recommends replacing with heater host to increase flow.

Marty27 · Post by **Marty27** » 16 Mar 2016, 20:24

What is the glove test?