'97 855 GLT Can you help me find the for source of oil leak near exhaust manifold on passenger side?

Post by **jreed** » 30 May 2020, 16:23

Oil is getting onto the exhaust manifold near the front of the engine (timing belt area). I'm not sure if it's dripping down from above or being flung upwards from below.
I checked the spark plug area at the top of the engine and it's dry -- no oil pooling up there that could be leaking down. I checked the camshaft seal on the exhaust side at the timing belt end and it looks like it's in place and dry. I checked the turbo oil drain line and it's dry at the turbo and at the oil pan. The coolant line coming off the back of the water pump and the turbo oil inlet line had a lot of oil on them. I checked the banjo bolt fitting on the turbo oil line at the connection to the engine and it was tight. I'm not sure if it's leaking or not. I put a 19mm socket on it and couldn't tighten it any tighter by hand with a short 1/4" drive ratchet wrench. I could see the copper washers are in place and look OK as far as I could tell.
Has anybody seen an oil leak pattern like this one, and if so what was the cause? What other areas should I check to find the source of the leak?

The turbo oil inlet line covered with oil at end, with banjo bolt arrowed:

: Screen Shot 2020-05-30 at 6.22.18 PM.png (1.03 MiB) Viewed 1671 times

Post by **manovlov** » 01 Jun 2020, 11:20

Hy Fox !

I'm a newbie. Anyway, i would clean all the areas very well with brake cleaner and try to restart the engine and have a closer look by "zone". A stupid idea also, could it have to matter with this damned oil seal on the top on the engine, where you fill oil in it ?

Manov

Post by **ZionXIX** » 01 Jun 2020, 13:48

You can try putting a fluorescent dye into the oil as well

Post by **jreed** » 01 Jun 2020, 16:51

Thanks. I was thinking it could be the front main seal behind the vibration dampener. Has anybody seen oil like this from a leak in that area before?

nmontague81 · Post by **nmontague81** » 02 Jun 2020, 01:41

I had a leak similar to what you described, turned out the rear main seal needed to be replaced.

Post by **jreed** » 02 Jun 2020, 05:38

Thanks. Out of curiosity, did you do the replacement yourself? Or if you had someone do it, do you recall about how many hours of labor it took?

Post by **Chuck W** » 02 Jun 2020, 06:19

nmontague81 wrote: ↑02 Jun 2020, 01:41 I had a leak similar to what you described, turned out the rear main seal needed to be replaced.

How can a rear main seal leak be causing his problem?

If you haven't yet,clean everything down. Let it dry, take a couple pics. Drive for a day and get back under there and examine everything.

Post by **xHeart** » 02 Jun 2020, 07:06

jreed wrote: ↑30 May 2020, 16:23 Oil is getting onto the exhaust manifold near the front of the engine (timing belt area). I'm not sure if it's dripping down from above or being flung upwards from below.

Is that the coolant drain at the block? if so...
The wetness is where water pump is mounted, and behind the inner tb cover. The issue appears to be with lubrication system, front camshaft seals, and oil pump gasket and seal.

Post by **bmdubya1198** » 02 Jun 2020, 09:33

Is there any oil lower on the back of the engine? Maybe around the oil pan? It's possible that it's being pushed up from wind.

It could be slinging up from the front crank seal too, take a look down there in the timing cover and see if there's any oil residue.

nmontague81 · Post by **nmontague81** » 02 Jun 2020, 09:56

Chuck W wrote: ↑02 Jun 2020, 06:19
nmontague81 wrote: ↑02 Jun 2020, 01:41 I had a leak similar to what you described, turned out the rear main seal needed to be replaced.
How can a rear main seal leak be causing his problem?

If you haven't yet,clean everything down. Let it dry, take a couple pics. Drive for a day and get back under there and examine everything.

Apologies, I should have clarified my previous post. In my case, the PCV system was clogged which caused a pressure buildup in the crankcase. The Volvo tech didn't go into detail, but it sounded like the pressure buildup dislodged or damaged the rear seal, causing the oil leak. I had the rear main seal done professionally, and I changed out my breather box (a.k.a oil separator box) under the intake manifold. Additionally, I also replaced the small seal on the oil dipstick. The oil leak stopped.

One way to test for this problem is remove your oil dipstick, put a balloon over the dipstick tube and rev the engine. If the balloon inflates, your PCV system may be clogged. I've also heard that this can be done by removing the oil cap and securing a nitrile glove around the oil port, rev the engine and check for inflation.