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233k miles na 2004 v70
mobil 1 every 7,500 miles
Had oil leak for the past 2-4k miles, thought it was from the top of the engine, maybe the cap seal. Have not lost much oil, but it is leaking.
In the last week the CEL has come on twice and gone away. It's out now.
Mechanic checked mounts at my request, discovered oil on the passenger side of the engine covering the mount. Mount had failed. He suggested all the seals should be changed. Getting deeper, I asked why they failed. Suggested to me that the motor has lots of miles and worn rings might cause excess crankcase pressure. I don't know if he is preparing me for the worst. I just put a lot of parts into the car. He has a pretty good track record with me. I trust him.
I called my other mechanic friend who has 20+ years at the dealer. He says the way I maintain the car it does not seem likely I would have engine wear. Volvo says they designed the motor for a minimum 250k miles before any failure. I guess I'm close.
Second mechanic said I should check for vacuum at the oil cap. Excess pressure would cause oil to blow past the cap and engine seals. Could be caused by clogged breather, and hopefully not engine wear.
Went to check the cap with the engine at idle. Pressure was not negative.
Is there anyway to check the breather and engine wear? Am I getting the advice I need from my mechanics?
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I'm stuck on Volvo and Volvo's stuck on me....
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A couple of weeks ago with the engines warm I placed a light paper over the oil fill with the caps off and engines at idle.
Both the 2003 XC with 88K miles and the 2004 V70 with 140K miles indicated negative pressure that that increased (it appeared) when the engine was reved a little.
I plan to look for a VAC port to see if I can get a gage reading as Klaus suggested.
Art
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Darn, hit return rather than tab...
There should be a small amount of negative pressure at the oil fill cap and the oil dipstick. It is not possible to get a negative reading on either one of those openings, but it should not be positive - meaning air blowing out.
The natural vacuum inside the intake manifold will draw a small amount of pressure from the crankcase, by design. If there were a large hose to the intake, the additional air would push the revs to breaking point.
So not having positive pressure is about the best you are going to get. A plugged PCT or vacuum line will cause the crank pressure to go positive. Same for a clogged oil separator.
On the older cars, the oil separator usually needed replacing by about 150K miles, mainly because the hoses degraded and cracked.
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Get the motor mount replaced sooner than later. Take the timing belt cover off and look at the two cams and see if the seals are leaking (usual cause on the front of the engine).
The cam seals leak because of crankcase pressure. First, take off the PVC/flame trap next to the throttle body and check for obstructions. If there is still a plastic screen in there, throw it in the trash. Then check the small vacuum line connected to the PCV - it must be clear.
As these engines get older, the valve stem seals wear and begin to leak. Usually, not a problem until it gets so bad that the exhaust smokes a lot. The extra burning of oil causes the O2 sensors to get coated as well as the Cat converter. Repairing the valve stem seals is usually not worth the expense - reconditioned head and lots of labor.
The CEL coming on/off bothers me. It would be nice to know what codes are pending.
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My name is Klaus and I am a V♂lv♂holic
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Mount urgent? Easy to do? Lift engine....?
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I'm stuck on Volvo and Volvo's stuck on me....
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When the mount fails, the engine rests on the subframe. The engine also moves around during acc/decelleration which can stress oil lines and wiring, exhaust, etc.
I like to put the car on a jack stand, with the right wheel off, then carefully raise the engine about 1/2 inch with a 2X4 on a hydraulic jack.
Please, first take the Tbelt cover off and find where the oil is coming from.
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My name is Klaus and I am a V♂lv♂holic
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The local dealers did not have the right side mount in stock. Kind of surprised me. And told it took a week to get it unless I paid freight. Also surprised me. I don't remember them being this way.
I picked up the Hutchinson mount ($60) at Swedish Engineering in Ann Arbor (MI). My local independent mechanic put it in this morning.
I just took off the upper timing cover. There was a good amount of oil on top of the valve cover, in the little nooks and areas on top of the engine. From the top of the engine I could see there is some oil on the toothed belt, but none on the visible camshafts or the inside surface of the sprockets on the end of the intake and exhaust camshafts. Top of the head looks pretty clean to me. There was a lot more oil near the bottom, on the subframe, than would seem to reason, if the camshaft seals were leaking.
I took the car to Auto Zone last night. The car has P0420 stored twice, but the CEL is off now. Their device said 'cat below threshold' and 'bank 1'. I replaced the cat at 178,000. And the front O2 sensor. I used an aftermarket DEC. For a very long time (100-150k miles) I've had a slight 'tick' when the car starts cold that goes away in a about twenty seconds. I've always attributed it a gasket leak where the manifold meets the head. As soon as the car warms up a few degrees the sound goes away.
The crankcase ventilation has never been cleaned or checked. I'm going to pull apart the components going into the throttle body and look for blockage. I need to get some clamps to replace the crimped ones from the factory. Mechanic wants me to pull throttle body off and look inside the intake manifold for any sludge material. Said if there is anything in there it means trouble.
I've done most of the work myself till now. I bought the car five years ago with 42k miles and I've spent $5,600 for maintenance (including tires). I've got to fix this and look at all options. Can I go another 100k miles and a couple more years? Do I need to look for another car? Does it make sense to do a compression test and get a general overview of the condition of the motor?
Everyone please chime in all at once......thank you in advance for your help.
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I'm stuck on Volvo and Volvo's stuck on me....
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Be careful what you ask for, the right side mount faces the front of the car and you wanted the front engine mount which faces the passengerside. The 'front' mounts seldom fail.
Oil under the spark plug cover can come from 2 places, the oil cap seal and the block vent coming loose unser the cover. Sometimes, those people that add oil will spill a little and the oil does not evaporate much.
There is another potential problem. On newer cars, such as yours, there is a VVT solenoid on top of the Tbelt cover, it is oil pressure driven. Make sure that is not leaking. It is an easy task to clean the solenoid, a dealer will just replace it of course.
With your mileage, I would keep an eye on the oil separator plumbing. Ask your mechanic about AutoRx or another engine cleaner. It really does work to remove the varnish and gunk.
The light tapping you hear on cold start is an hydraulic lifter starved of oil. It goes away when the oil heats up and forces its way into the lifter base. This is not a concern, unless the noise never goes away. It is also a sign that the engine needs cleaning.
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My name is Klaus and I am a V♂lv♂holic
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What did you think about the code? I keep thinking I'm doing the right things, using the best parts and doing the preventative maintenance. Lately this car keeps coming back and biting me....lol.
At 244k miles it's understandable that some of the components are approaching the limit of their service life. With the 940, after three of them, I could almost predict what would go next. They are consistent.
In examining the breather components I can see from above, the system seems very clean. I'm going to look at that solenoid again tomorrow.
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I'm stuck on Volvo and Volvo's stuck on me....
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I assume you used an aftermarket CAT and that could contribute to the code, the ECU is quite picky and aftermarkets are not as 'clean' as OEM. All you can do is investigate why the engine is running slightly rich. If you are using 87 octane, try 89 or premium in a tankful and see if the code goes away.
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My name is Klaus and I am a V♂lv♂holic
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The code came back and stayed on. Just for kicks I ran a tank of 91 octane (gas got cheaper all of the sudden). I was feeling rich.
Anyway, the cel is off now.
Is it possible, or have you ever heard of 'flushing' a cat. Maybe removing accumulated carbon with a solvent. I'm assuming the ceramic matrix in the cat material would be okay.
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I'm stuck on Volvo and Volvo's stuck on me....
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The CAT cannot be flushed. It operates in excess of 500F to burn off any contaminates. The aftermarket CATs are not as efficient as OEM, so the use of a higher octane might be helpful, depending on how well the gas is burned in the cylinders.
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My name is Klaus and I am a V♂lv♂holic
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These postings caught my eye because of the oil weepages noted.
My wifes 2003 XC has shown some oil dampness around the TB cover.
The car has only 84K miles and has been on fully Syntec oil since 40K miles and I suspect she seldom works the Turbo.
Anyway, Your posting and Klaus, have helped me better understand where to start looking.
I will check the PTC, then the VVT (which at this time I am not sure her car has that valve and if so is it under the TB cover??).
Then with great dread,if I have to I will consider the Oil separator, etc.).
Keep your findings posted....They are a help, Thx. Art
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Check for oil leakage under the top cover which also covers #1 spark plug. If there is a CVVT solenoid, that's where it is located.
You have a LPT which engages the turbo at around 1600 rpm. What hurts these engines is the short/cold trips that do not allow the engine oil to generate enough heat to burn off impurities.
I suspect that the oil spearator is not clogged yet. If there is a spare port to the intake manifold, it would be easy enough to attach a vacuum gauge to check the vacuum at idle. It should be negative 15-20psi with a warm engine.
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My name is Klaus and I am a V♂lv♂holic
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Art- do you have negative pressure when the engine is running?
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I'm stuck on Volvo and Volvo's stuck on me....
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The front side mount was toast. VADIS refers to it as a 'pad'. Must be Swedish ...
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I'm stuck on Volvo and Volvo's stuck on me....
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