If the main seal blows first, replace the clutch at the same time. If the clutch goes first, replace the main seal.

A $1000 repair spread over 10 years is about $0.27/day.

Or you can lease a BMW 750i for $929/month with $3500 down right now!

-BTC

'98 V70 T5 5-speed, 167k mi, front IPD stabilizer bar, rear factory HD bar, Bilstein HD, Volvo strut tower brace and skidplate, E-codes, V-1, Lidatek, XC grill, Mobil-1 since new

-People sleep peaceably in their beds at night only because rough men stand ready to do violence on their behalf.
George Orwell, (attributed)
English essayist, novelist, & satirist (1903 - 1950)

I had mine replaced at 90K miles at $600. OUCH! The front seal is now starting to go. Add to that, the steering rack has also developed a leak.
I'm now here looking some answers/alternatives for the last problem I will need to solve. I've never had a car so costly to operate. Even my Chevy Celebrity was more reliable......ANY car will go 400k miles if you are willing to replace eveything on it.
good luck to everyone who still has the passion.....

Lexus, here I come!!!!!!

Too bad you're in CA. My indy at home in Westminster, MD did the job for $550 in two days (including alignment and "free" pcv system cleaning). This was a year ago with no oil problems since.

I suppose I lucked out something fierce compared to some on this board...

yeh if your splitting it its nuts NOT to do the clutch and the gearbox seals etc while your there - the money is in the labour not the parts!

Our 95 850 finally burped some oil through that rear main seal at 200k miles. This was about 3-4 weeks ago, and I'm still in a bit of denial (ie, haven't made any appts). Quote was $800-900 from dealer and "more than $1,000" from indy. I haven't had my diagnosis confirmed by a mechanic yet, but I'm 90% sure.
Part of my denial process has been changing out oil, replacing with 10W/40 (instead of 10W/30), and adding one of the better (or should I say "less ineffective") stop leak products, No Leak from Sta-bil. Hey, I admitted that I was grabbin for straws here.

You can guess the result . . . the leak MAY have slowed a SMALL amount, but I wouldn't even say that much for sure. Yes, I'm headed down that thousand dollar road for sure. The only consolation is that my clutch is getting tight and adding the clutch job only adds a few hundred, hopefully.

yeh its a known issue on 850's, normally 85-150k...one of the reasons i just got rid of my 100k 850 was i could see it comming and didnt fancy the expense - the job would have cost 50% of what the car was worth....supposed to be a real bear (engine out) job, but i havent done one so thats just scuttebut!

It will be expensive to repair even at a independent garage. When you have it done, spend the extra money and have the pcv (positive crankcase ventilation) system services...replacing its hoses and oil separator (oil trap). This was most likely the cause of your RMS leak. There is a nipple on the end of the intake hose (from air box/Maf location to the turbo) where the pcv hose system begins that also gets clogged...make sure they clean that out too...replacing everything while that is still clogged will be the same as not having done anything. Good luck! BTW, www.fcpgroton.com sells a pcv "kit" for your car. If your maintenance guy lets you take in your own parts you can save quite a bit of money by calling fcpgroton and ordering the specific parts for your car. Also, you'll need an intake manifold gasket and possibly a throttle body gasket (very cheap) if you also have the forced air, larger hoses from the intercooler also taken off and cleaned. Good luck with the RMS...I don't envy you at all.
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1998 S70 T5 Emarald Green Metallic, 2004 V70 2.5T Ruby Red, Previous Owner of Black '94 850 Turbo Wagon. My cars have been running so well lately they've got me worried.