98 V70 what caused the head to leak oil

Post by **scooterlovesvolvos3** » 06 Dec 2016, 15:32

at the outset, let me say that I really appreciate the forum, it has been very useful through both my 97 850, which made it to almost 300,000 miles before retiring, and the current 98 V70. I've never had to actually post until now. I am disabled, so I depend on a mechanic as the nearest dealer is an hour away.

1) my mechanic says he cannot find a flat rate for head gasket R&R, so could someone give me the flat rate and citation?
2) my next question is, what caused my head gasket to start leak during one use of the turbo for admittedly longer than I had ever spun it: described below?

Cars history: I bought it with almost 100,000 miles on it in 2013 with complete records from the date it was new. I have never been able to get 28 mpg like my 850 gave me, the V 70 usually hovers around 23 to 25 mpg I have tried to keep up with the maintenance schedule and always jump on any mechanical problems. I have no past documentation that any mechanic worked on the vehicle because of overheating, and I have never allowed the temperature gauge to have any kind of excursion from other then normal position. I use the following OBD2 Bluetooth reader and Volvo database purchased from EasyDiag, with an iPod 4th gen:
http://mycar.x431.com/pad/landingPageIn ... iag.action
It was past the milage for PVC R&R when I bought it, and was throwing the code for a bad PVC, and was missing slightly at idle at stop lights for instance. So I bought the PVC kit from ipdusa.com, but my wrench said I did not need to install the kit, If I could live with the miss and the engine light.
3) could I have blown the head gasket causing it to leak because of too much pressure in the oil galley? obviously, I'm worried about a warped head, which will increase significantly the cost of swapping out the head gasket.

this is the first time the V70 has leaked oil
My low pressure 98 Volvo V70 with 140,000 miles on it began leaking after I used the turbo to safely get around someone merging onto the freeway at 35 miles an hour. I floored the accelerator and The turbo spinning for at least five seconds but no more than 10 for sure. A half-hour later when I pulled into my driveway there was a strong smell of oil burning when we opened our doors. The next day a puddle of oil was obviously below the engine where the turbo and exhaust area are. From the engine compartment, it looked like the oil leak was coming from the turbo area.
On inspection, my mechanic took the covers off of the turbo area and reports the head is leaking at the gasket in the rear corner of the motor on the turbo side (driver-side). It is leaking synthetic 5/30 very close to 1 quart every 60 miles, Although I just bought a cheap non-synthetic 10/30 to feed it until I can pay for the repair.

Post by **misha** » 06 Dec 2016, 18:49

Bad or clogged pcv would blow off every single seal on the engine before it would blow headgasket.
Headgasket failure could not be from bad pcv system.

My guess would be that turbo have something to do with it.

I would wait to see what owners of turbo cars have to say about this.

Post by **tryingbe** » 06 Dec 2016, 18:50

Turbo is made to spin, it can spin for minutes without issue.

Are you sure the head is leaking, and not the turbo oil feed or oil return tube? I'd get a second opinion.

Post by **erikv11** » 06 Dec 2016, 19:02

It sounds like it could even be the rear cam seal on the exhaust side that is leaking oil.

Second opinion for sure, it is very hard to imagine how one spirited drive (or even a few of them) would cause the head gasket to leak. But it could blow a cam seal.

Post by **polskamafia mjl** » 06 Dec 2016, 19:37

As mentioned, this doesn't sound like a head gasket issue. The turbo is meant to spin for longer than just a few seconds at a time.

Post by **BEJinFbk** » 06 Dec 2016, 19:57

+1 on a second opinion.
Get it from an independent Volvo specialist, if at all possible.
And as mentioned, that turbo is made to spool - Let it run free!

Post by **cn90** » 06 Dec 2016, 20:19

Absolutely REAR Cam Seal b/c I never heard of rear HG oil leak in the 850, S70 series.
If you confirm this to be the case, use Corteco seal (rmeuropean dot com), about $10/each.
You need 2 REAR Cam Seals.

Post by **scooterlovesvolvos3** » 06 Dec 2016, 22:22

Thank you everyone, Your answers and feedback helped confirm the possibility that it may not a leaking head gasket, and what I need to do next.

"turbo oil line"; "get a second opinion."
tryingbe, your comment about the turbo oil line makes me wonder if I could help prove by testing that it was that line; running it hard on the freeway, installing oil pressure gauge, or pressure testing for leaks…
a second opinion would be difficult because we are fairly rural and isolated, with no Volvo specialist that I know of. Maybe a rational conversation about disassembly and looking at the turbo oil feed (which is what I first suspected), and the rear cam seals as erikv11 and cn90 suggest. I did convince the wrench once to R&R the heater core from the front passenger foot well, from the bottom, instead of pulling the entire dash.

"…But it could blow a cam seal."
with the exception of misuse and abuse, it is rare for a B5254T motor with this kind of recorded history, low miles and a lot of time parked, to have a head gasket fail. to paraphrase misha, it's a seal thing not a gasket thing.

" that turbo is made to spool - Let it run free!"
Absolutely with you on that one BEJinFbk. I could tell this wagon had never had the whip taken to it, so I increased the pace across the first 3000 miles I owned her, and with that low boost turbo signing on early and often, at something like 1800 RPM the system got a workout, and whooshed right along, running stronger and handling better than any family wagon has a right to, just like the 850GLT wagon

"Corteco seal" on new rear cam seals
thank you cn90

Post by **tryingbe** » 07 Dec 2016, 00:42

scooterlovesvolvos3 wrote:Thank you everyone, Your answers and feedback helped confirm the possibility that it may not a leaking head gasket, and what I need to do next.

"turbo oil line"; "get a second opinion."
tryingbe, your comment about the turbo oil line makes me wonder if I could help prove by testing that it was that line; running it hard on the freeway, installing oil pressure gauge, or pressure testing for leaks…
a second opinion would be difficult because we are fairly rural and isolated, with no Volvo specialist that I know of. Maybe a rational conversation about disassembly and looking at the turbo oil feed (which is what I first suspected), and the rear cam seals as erikv11 and cn90 suggest. I did convince the wrench once to R&R the heater core from the front passenger foot well, from the bottom, instead of pulling the entire dash.

What's your zip code? I bet I find can you a mechanic within 100 miles.

I don't mean to be rude, your car is leaking massive amount of oil and you want to run it hard on the freeway?

That is not how you diagnosis an oil leak. Put a dye in the oil, clean up the oil mess, and idle the car and see where the oil is leaking from with a UV light would be way more reasonable.

Stay away from your "mechanic" as he obviously have no access to Volvo repair manual or internet to search for youtube videos on how to do a job.

By the way, when was the timing belt and water pump last changed? They are due.

Post by **sleddriver** » 07 Dec 2016, 13:44

OP: Count me in as a third re: rear cam seals. When the exhaust one leaks, it makes a big mess all the way down, covering everything in its path in GUNK, and dripping on the floor.

Camshaft seals live a hard life and will rot/harden over time, even in a low-mileage vehicle.