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oil leak - front seal[200/1986] posted by Mark Fletcher on
Thursday, 10 September 1998, at 7:30 p.m.
A friend of mine has been working on a 1986 Volvo 200 series w/B230 (I think) engine. Car loses 1 quart of oil for every 300 miles through the front seal! Front seal has been replaced twice. Flame trap has been cleaned. He will perfom a compression test and a bleed down test. I don't know where else to look for this kind of excess crankcase pressure. Any assistance/ideas would be greatly appriciated.
Mark
Re: oil leak - front seal[200/1986] posted by Don Foster on
Thursday, 10 September 1998, at 7:52 p.m.
Mark --
In addition to cleaning/replacing the flame arrestor, you really should clean out or replace all parts of the ventilation system. Often the problem's not the arrestor, but the small hose or the brass fitting into the intake manifold. Also, it might be good to check the so-called "breather box" -- it's a black plastic box on the side of the block, under the flame arrestor, onto which the assembly sits. It can be removed (one bolt, I think -- maybe two) and washed out.
Perform the "jiggle test". With the engine idling, loosen the oil cap and let it sit there. If it jiggles and bounces around, there's too much crankcase pressure. On the other hand, if your vacuum's OK, it'll hold the cap down.
Sometimes seals fail because they're defective, installed wrong (or damaged), the crank may be worn, or the seal might not have been lubed correctly when installed.
If the car has been used with excessive crankcase pressure for awhile, be sure to check the other seals, and be sure to check the large plug in the back of the head. This plug is only a friction-fit, and will eventually be pushed out. Then you'll have a lot of oil everywhere. (That happened to my '86 after I had replaced all the front seals.) IPD now sells a strap you can bolt to the head to retain this plug.
--Friday, 11 September 1998, at 9:43 a.m.
I have been thinking about replacing the breather box on my 1986 740 SW,
but got intimidated by the thought of pulling the breather hose
out of the crankcase and not being able to put the hose back properly.
I've seen pictures of the hose being held by a bracket to the
oil pump assembly inside the crankcase.
When you pull the breather box, does the hose come out too?
If not, I guess I'm home free. If it does, is it easy to
put it back in its retainer bracket?
Re: oil leak - front seal[200/1986] posted by Don Foster on
Friday, 11 September 1998, at 11:57 a.m.
John --
I've also heard others express caution about pulling the hose out.
I've cleaned this box on two of my cars. In both cases I removed the box slowly and carefully (to avoid the major surgery necessary to reinstall the hose) -- and both times the hose stayed in place.
So my answers to your questions are, "Not necessarily and probably not." (Have you ever pulled the pan on a B21/B23/B230 with the engine in the car? I've done three, and that's enough!)
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