Volvo RWD 120-130 Forum

Derek,

Poor crankcase ventillation came to mind shortly after the leaking oil became a nuisance. A couple of months ago (approx. 4K miles) the flame trap in front of the PCV valve was removed and flooded with carb cleaner until clear solvent came out. A new OEM PCV valve was installed in the spring and cleaned along with the flame trap. The oil filler cap was disassembled at the same time and shot with extravagant amounts of carb cleaner. PCV valve operation was verified good by blowing in either end.

I don't believe it is possible to install the valve backwards as the outlet hose between PCV valve and inlet manifold is too small a diameter to slip over the inlet (bottom) end of the valve.

I suspect that the timing was previously set too advanced since there was a pinging on steep hills. I could pull out the choke and stop the pinging. There was no overheating issues -- isn't overheating often associated with retarded timing? When setting up for static timing I just twisted the distributor counter clockwise as far as possible without marking exactly where it was previously located. In hindsight, it would have been a really good idea to have made a baseline before changing anything.

A year or so ago I was playing with timing with air cleaners off on a chilly morning. A fine mist of atomized fuel could be seen being blown back out of the carbs at a particular timing setting. Standing waves caused by inrushing fuel mixture hitting closed intake valves was offered as explanation for the effect.

BTW although blow by is greatly reduced and performance is greatly enhanced, about a quart of oil is still consumed in every 1500 miles.

Thanks for your thoughts,

Joe M in WV