Only my second time posting—first time was a few days ago when I was doing a PCV job.
I've recently acquired a 2002 V70XC fairly inexpensively to replace a 2000 V70XC that got front-end damage. The 2002 blew a cam seal within days after I got it (I was already waiting on PCV parts), so I replaced the timing side seals and the timing belt, and did the PCV service—new box, hoses, clear PTC nipple, etc.
Now my problem is that I seem to have developed a new oil leak, but I can't for the life of me find it. At idle, there is no leaking that I can find. 20-30 seconds at 3k RPM and I start to get a drip from the bottom of the oil filter canister and from the corner of the oil pan nearest to it. After a trip down the highway for an hour with the splash guard in place, the entire bottom of the oil pan was coated, as was a decent amount of the subframe on the passenger side.
- - Timing area is dry as a bone, cam sprockets, crank, timing belt, cover, etc. all dry
- When I did the timing belt, I checked all the bearings for moving parts and all felt smooth and tight
- PCV area (also suspect since I just did it) appears dry
- Block generally appears dry, front and back
- Back side of engine (opposite of timing side) appears dry, very clean all things considered
- There is one droplet of oil on the bottom of the turbo, but the area otherwise looks too clean to be contributing to "drip, drip" speed oil loss
- Oil cooler + hoses are dry
- Rear main seal area is dry
- There is some oil under the spark plug cover, but not the kind of mess I'd expect if the oil cap was the source of the leak, and I'd also expect to see oil higher up on other components if it was the source
- Dipstick o-ring area appears not to be the source either
- Glove test shows healthy suction all the way to 4k RPM
- ???
I'd appreciate any pointers that anyone has on things to look at for oil leaks on the lower front (passenger side) of the engine at when the above list has been gone over. Or if I am to double, triple, quadruple-check the list above, what are the most likely culprits?
And more generally, what is the best method to track down an oil leak? Right now my only idea is to keep cleaning off the lower engine area and trying to spot the leak repeatedly, but so far that hasn't been working, which is why I'm thinking that I may be looking in the wrong place.
