Cause of intake cam seal leak?

[peterz54]

2001 s60 2.4 T w/150K miles. I keep up with oil changes and basic mainetence.

I have indication of either a bad O2 sensor or cat converter for last year, but have not fixed.

Experienced a significant oil leak after several months of very modest leaks (about 1 quart a month)

Mechanic told me source of oil leak was that the exhaust intake cam seal (not VVT) popped out. He pushed back in place. Doesn't appear to be leaking now.

I did a test this morning of PCV system by warming car up and looking for smoke out of dip stick hole, and putting a plastic glove over oil port. No smoke and the glove sucked in. So am assuming PCV system is OK

Any ideas? What caused pressure build up to pop seal?

thanks

[jonesg]

It could have started before you owned it.
Or before the pc system was serviced.
Is the car new to you?

[peterz54]

@ jonesg

no, bought with 35K miles, have owned for 10 years. Have been very good about basic maintenance (frequent oil changes, etc) except for following up on rotten egg smell from exhaust. Has only begun to loose oil in recent months and then only about 1 quart a month until the last couple of weeks.

[jonesg]

I recently installed a turbo boost/vacuum gauge
To monitor the system.
I want to know what it's doing at 65.

Last yr I had cam seal leaks, timing belt soaked with oil, it passed the glove test. Car was new to me so no telling what went on beforehand.

Did you raise the idle to 2k rpm?
Otherwise you may have a false reading.

Has the pcv system been cleaned out?
Oil trap changed?

[peterz54]

Yes, I raised RPM to about 2K. Also rechecked after a slow drive of about 20 miles and PCV still passed.

Am just now investigating PCV options - clean vs replace even though test suggests PCV is clear. There is also mention of PCV valve which I need to locate, as opposed to a full replacement kit. I'd like to avoid pulling manifold if possible

Have done nothing else.

Will look at what's involved with oil trap also.

Also trying to understand how system works and what the full range of causes for excess crankcase pressure could be.

Does it make sense for cam seal to pop out and leak on its on without excess crankcase pressure?

[jonesg]

No expert but it becomes apparent from reading the seals have no retainers, vacuum holds them.
Pressure will eject them.
Volvo seals are not prone to falling out, some after mkt seals are prone to slipping out.

Did you actually see your timing belt?
With the amount of loss it would surely wet the belt.

The intake manifold has to come off to do that job.
Was the timing belt done on this car?

[peterz54]

Timing belt was not done. I did not see the belt because it was the mechanic who located to the leak and repositioned the popped out seal. We did not discuss belt. None of the associated parts have been replaced or worked since I've owned the car starting gat 35K. 150K now.

I'm wondering if a PCV kit should be installed even though the vacuum test (with oil cap off) passed. Mechanic said crankcase pressure could build up over time on the open road when driving at speed for a while, implying the oil cap test, when engine hasn't run very long, may not be totally valid.

[jonesg]

Well it would seem some of the maintainance is behind schedule.

[cn90]

Doing timing belt etc. on a 2007 S60 with 115K miles...

While there, I replaced the cam seals bc the cam seals usually leak around 125K-130K etc.

- Corteco seal is a perfect match with factory.
- Do one seal at a time so you have reference.
- I used a PVC plumbing coupler and mark with Sharpie so I know how deep to install.

- Overall, a very poor design!

1. If 1-2mm too deep, it leaks bc the sealing edge falls off the end of the VVT hub shaft: the VVT hub could have been designed with a longer outer shaft, it is more forgiving this way.

2. If installed as factory (outer edge of the seal sits flushed with the beveled edge), it may come loose bc
Corteco seal should have been mfg'd with a slightly slightly bigger O.D. FYI, virtually all seals stay in place
bc the O.D. is made in such a way it requires some force to install so the friction keeps it in place.
If I ever do this again, I will add a bit of RTV on the outer edge of the seal, install and let it sit overnight.

Seal is tricky business: brand name, technique of installation are important.

Anyway, I put together a photo to show the Volvo VVT setup: factory vs a bit too deep (1-2mm deep can create leak bc the VVT hub shaft is not long enough). Note the selaing edge is surrounded by the garter spring. Over
the course of 100K miles+, a groove is created in the shaft of the VVT hub...

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[abscate]

I’ve been using a thin schear of permatex on my seal jobs. Volvo or Corteco only.

Mechanic said crankcase pressure could build up over time on the open road when driving at speed for a while, implying the oil cap test, when engine hasn't run very long, may not be totally valid.

Yeah, that’s advice worth not taking. I don’t know why they make this stuff up. There is a PTC nipple that has to be cleaned every 50k per Volvo thst gets neglected, has that been done?