1998 V70 - Is My Drain Plug Hole Salvageable or Is it Time for a New Oil Pan?

Ezra · Post by **Ezra** » 02 Dec 2016, 16:51

Hi all, here's a shot of my 1998 V70 GLT 2.4L oil pan.

Give it to me straight: any chance I could jury-rig with a Timesert (or similar) and a hope and dream for a couple of weeks, or do I need to definitely need to replace the pan before I have any shot at driving?

Post by **tryingbe** » 02 Dec 2016, 20:19

You need a new pan.

Flat tire and broken pan, did you drive over a curb? Did the shut the engine down immediately?

Ezra · Post by **Ezra** » 03 Dec 2016, 15:13

No, and the tire's not actually totalky flat, I just haven't been able to refill it with air since I had to have it towed home. There's a minor crack in the wheel from when I got hit by an uninsured driver (also a bunch of other body damage) so until I replace that, I've been able to keep the new tire going with air. What's baffling is there was no hit when the oil suddenly drained, just a bad bump in the road, but it's been pretty low to the ground since the accident.

Sucks to hear the truth but I'm glad for a response, thanks!

Post by **cn90** » 03 Dec 2016, 15:31

The oil pan is kaput, the part where the threads normally sit is ripped off badly.
Oil pan is cheap on ebay, about $100 or so.

Or junk yard...
Make sure you use the Volvo sealant during installation.

PS: My theory is whoever did your oil change over-tightened it like a gorilla, causing microscopic crack (metal fatigue) and boom...
You are lucky the motor didn't seize.

Post by **oragex** » 03 Dec 2016, 16:13

Is it sure it wasn't just a loosened bolt? As above, if the engine was running even for 1 min without oil, even without an oil light, I'd check the rod bearings

Post by **scot850** » 03 Dec 2016, 16:49

The bolt hole is broken clean off. Either been hit or hit something, or over-tightened. whatever, new oil pan needed assuming the engine hasn't been oil starved and run the bearings.

Neil.

Post by **theWIFES_S70** » 03 Dec 2016, 17:04

oragex wrote:Is it sure it wasn't just a loosened bolt? As above, if the engine was running even for 1 min without oil, even without an oil light, I'd check the rod bearings

Does anyone else remember those ads for synthetic oil that used to claim synthetic was soooooooo much better than conventional oil that you could run it in your car even if you drained the oil? I know you should NEVER run a car without oil. But does a high quality synthetic protect an engine for a few more minutes than conventional oil during a catastrophic failure such as this?? I hate to admit it, but I think I swear by synthetic because I imagine it protects better, more, than conventional oil. Am I totally off here?

Jaguar xjs · Post by **Jaguar xjs** » 03 Dec 2016, 17:32

Looks to me like the pan has had multiple hits. The aluminum is rolled back and there are hairs and threads of metal pointed up. Need a new pan no doubt. Hopefully no spun or oil starved bearings.

Gordon

Post by **cn90** » 03 Dec 2016, 19:28

Just search youtube and saw this funny video, 2nd attempt to kill a Red Block engine (B230 engine used in the Volvo 240).
This engine had 230K on the odometer, painful to watch (LOL) but you can see the effect of no oil...

Post by **polskamafia mjl** » 04 Dec 2016, 21:09

At idle you can run the engine without oil for a long time with no damage. Unless you were racing the engine when it suddenly lost oil everything should be fine.