-very first Volvo, 89 240DL, but am seasoned motorycle/backyard mechanic

-needed winter car, googled 'best winter car of all time': Volvo 240's came up

-zero 240 cars for sale in my area in the Okanagan desert, western canada

-was on vacation a few hours from home, touring on motorcycle, saw one in a back yard of a house that was for sale, knocked on the door, they sold it to me for $900, zero rust car, metallic beige, automatic, runs great.

-car had been relatively maintained through it's life, but has 311,000kms on it

-previous owners had never done the timing belt though, so I was a little hesitant, but after researching, knew I could handle it.

-I had done enough research to learn these cars sounded just excellent as designed, and great to work on so I bought it with the intention of owning it for some time to come, and putting some money into it

-previous owner told me it had developed an oil leak....and so he 'fixed' all that by using RTV silicone all over the oil filler cap, valve cover, water pump etc.

-I had returned from vacation, did some more research before I went back and got the car, and realized that it must be a clogged flametrap. all evidence leads to this.

-so I get it home, and first thing's first, do a complete and thorough coolant flush, new water pump and timing belt and oil change.

-everything went really well, the car is an absolute dream to work on.

-now after starting it and running it in the yard 20 times, I am getting really worried about this pressurized crankcase because I've read the horror stories of blowing out seals, and this thing is definitely pressurized. it wont suck a paper towel onto the filler hole, it just flaps. without the paper towel on it, the cam flings oil up out of the hole. if I only put the cap on finger loose and rev it, the valve cover is covered in oil within seconds

-I realize I gotta do the whole trap so I do.

-very small orifices in plastic 'Y' but it's good shape, hoses are nearly clogged but are in good shape, I clean the shit out of everything including oil separator which did not have an o-ring.

-oil separator was indeed quite dirty, but I got quite a bit of junk out of it, not a lot of sludge anywhere mind you, it was all a dry kind of deposit.

-I can breathe or blow compressed air easily through all orifices on oil separator.

-the short, plastic drain back tube was broken off the separator and remains firmly in the rubber drainback tube. it's about an inch long, but I left it there, I figured it would seal better.

-I figure this is fine, but I got a coat hanger and poked it down there: completely blocked

-I could not jam that coat hanger down for the life of me...this was concerning

-I got a 1/8" rod, and jammed it in there, I sincerely hope I didn't wreck the bottom by doing this, I have no idea what it looks like down there or if there is a bend in the tube, but it just felt clogged

-finally, I hammered it through with a small hammer! then tried to slide it up and down hammering out the sides a bit...IMPORTANT: did I dislodge a bunch of crap into my oil pan? will this get filtered before it gets pumped through the engine???!??

-when I first broke through, I could finally hear the rod tap the bottom of the pan, and clean oil was on the bottom of the rod, now at least I new that there was a pretty good air passage

-buttoned everything up again, put new o-ring (not sure if correct, was the only one that fit from the local parts store) and started. I still have positive pressure.

-vacuum gauge on small hose to Y is a strong, constant 20lbs

-I blocked the small hose on the Y and on the manifold and now measured vacuum on the big hose, I understand that the small hose is for low rpm and the big hose is for higher rpms: but when I measured, I get zero vacuum impulse from the snorkle side

-I recheck the hose, it's clear, I check the intake snorkel port, it's all clear, but there is just no vacuum present on the big hose when I rev it....maybe there shouldn't be...maybe it's more of a 'vent' and 'scavenging' idea and maybe there isn't a ton of vacuum present before the throttle plate in the snorkle?

-if the oil separator, (because the broken drainback tube and missing oil ring), was a massive vacuum leak, you'd think the car wouldn't run great, and you could test it by pinching off the small hose to the Y: no big real difference in running that you can hear

-still, at this point, even if it is sucking air at the separator, you'd think it would also be venting pressure to atmosphere here, yet there is not a ton of oil around it, and it was bolted on very tightly to begin with, (almost like it had never been off, but I'm sure it has been)

-I had pressure washed the living shit out of the entire engine bay before this because everything was so dirty (because so much vapour venting I am sure)

-previous owner definitely stated that it had developed an oil leak that was difficult to stop

-I was almost about to run it with no separator on it at all, just so I could lay a paper towel across the filler hole just to see if I was still getting 'flapping' but I feared it would spray oil everywhere

-I am at the point where I want to install a brass fitting into the valve cover and make a catch can

-has anyone made a catch can to remedy crankcase pressure?

-some may say: excessive blow-by, and this may be true, but this engine just doesn't stink, doesn't have dark exhaust, and the entire car has been reasonably cared for.

-can anyone offer any advice, on what else to check or where the best place is to install a vent port for a catch can?

-if you are a backyard mechanic, you know the horror of looking at a motor held together with RTV silicone...not only was it covering the entire cap area, but he sealed around the entire valve cover and water pump. at least I renewed the pump and got those areas all cleaned up, but it's got nice new blue plug wires, and THOSE are coated in silicone too, he didn't even take them off before he did his 'seal up' job.

-should I pull the oil separator and try running it for a minute, just to see if that absolutely stops the pressure in the valve cover?

-if I still have positive 'flutter' at that point, would it be absolutely related to blow-by?

-I don't see how this would be possible because the entire crankcase would be connected via the drain holes in the head, it should all be the same chamber

-at the oil separator, did I do any damage by jamming that rod down the drainback tube? do I really need to buy another separator, especially if I create a catch can?

-I DO NOT want to blow that rear cam seal out

LASTLY (and this is scary), it was cold last night when I finally moved the car. I realized I had quite a bit of water coming out of the tailpipe..and vapour. this may have been normal for a cold motor in the cold evening air but...it seemed like quite a bit...but did not smell at all like antifreeze...or did it feel greasy...just quite a bit of condensation. I feared badly that I had somehow screwed something up and blew a head gasket but I did not perform any work at all that could have made that possible. I guess I should do a compression and leakdown test though just to kind of get a feel for current conditions. Haven't pulled a spark plug yet either.

ONE MORE LAST THING: I hear ZERO fuel pumps when I put it in 'run' position. Yet it starts on the second hit every single time, and many times on the first hit. I drove it home 70km, on the highway, up and down some serious hills and it seemed to run great. I did buy a replacement fuel relay just to have as backup, I guess first step would be to install that and see if I hear anything?
I don't know about you, but for me, you'd think it would start like crap without some line pressure.
I may have to get someone to do the key while I lay underneath listening.

On the topic of positive crankcase pressure, some may say, 'you may have a clogged catalytic convertor'. Car just runs too good to be that. Seems like it is breathing just great out the back. I've heard and seen clogged catalytics before, it's like you've got a rag up the tailpipe.

Okay people, thanks for reading this long, Volvo virgin post.

Start with the easy things first, as Amarin said you have to clean the brass nipple leading into the intake manifold for the small hose. It provides the vacuum source that makes the whole system work. Also make sure the small hose is clear and has no cracks. Next if the separator has any cracks, that's a problem because you lose your vacuum. Make sure the Y and the hose between it and the separator have no cracks and are clear.

You should consider removing the broken piece from the tube before it can fall into the crankcase.

I think I would replace the separator and O-ring with a genuine Volvo part. I hear the aftermarket ones have a bad reputation for cracking. They can be found here fcpeuro.com
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Bruce S. near D.C.

I stated a couple times now that I am pulling a steady, strong 25lbs of vacuum from the nipple on the intake.

Appreciate all the info, but I still feel that the oil separator is passing air well enough thought all orifices, and there is no flametrap, just the 'Y' fitting.

I need to install a catch can.

Hello Gunga,


"I blocked the small hose on the Y and on the manifold and now measured vacuum on the big hose, I understand that the small hose is for low rpm and the big hose is for higher rpms: but when I measured, I get zero vacuum impulse from the snorkle side"


--> There is NO vacuum on the big hose. The big hose is to VENT the crankcase pressure OUT into the intake hose just before the throttle plate. You are correct in that the small hose is for low rpm (idle) as the throttle plate is shut closed this time. Ensure there is vacuum at the small hose at idle. You could clean the brass nipple (use paper clip or small wire) where the small hose is attached to the intake manifold to ensure adequate vacuum.

Now the big hose relies on suction from the throttle plate as it opens when the rpm gets higher. There should be some negative pressure within the intake hose (thru AMM) from the air filter box to help with this. So check your air filter element. See that it is not torn due to age. Torn air filter lets the air in so easily in that there is inadequate negative pressure to suck the crankcase gasses from the big hose.

Crankcase pressure comes from combustion gasses that had escaped past the piston rings during engine operation. You could use cleaners to clean the carbon at the rings so that it seals better. One method is to start using synthetic engine oil. Another is to use oil additives which might do the same eg. Marvel Mystery Oil / Techron / Seafoam. Volvo doesn't recommend using oil additives but this is no spring chicken and even you had the thought of putting in an oil catch can.

A compression test would be another method to evaluate the blow-by scenario.

Also clean your throttle body so that your throttle plate is able to stay fully shut to ensure strong vacuum at the small hose during idle.

Regards,
Amarin.

Moisture you saw out tail pipe was just condensate....accumulating after idling etc....should not be a problem as long as it doesn't smell sweet(coolant).

Replace the flame trap. It will just clogged up faster with all the burnt oil crust inside. Busting anything loose into the engine will only clogg the oil pump pick up screen. Replace the flame trap before the main seal pops out. My 84 Volvo 240 blew and I had to remove the transmission to fix. My 83 245 Volvo was safe from oil seal because I replace the oil trap with a new one. Cleaning them only gives a short amount of service because of the crust inside collects and cokes the oil after shut down while the engine heat soaks.

In 28 years of driving a 240 the only time it came close to breaking down on the side of the road is when the rear cam seal popped. IPDusa.com(103560) sells a retainer but I made mine out of scrap aluminum. The bolt holes are already there as the 740/940 used a cam mounted distributor.

I believe its quite common for the intank pumps to not be working. Main pump and filter are mounted on under carriage.

Replacement parts are readily available and inexpensive. My I suggest you keep on the look out for some 15" alloy wheels as found on the 740/940.

Show me the best factory alloy for my car and I will buy a set.

I think they are all quite unsightly, can you show me an example please?

All the alloy wheels that I use are vintage, either Virgo's(came on early 240's) or some of the other wheels that came on the 740/940. there is probably 10 or so different styles that fit. Some of the names are Virgo, Aires, Hydra's, Multi X, etc. Most if not all the wheels I have (8 sets) came from craigslist. Personally I like to run Hydra's(16") in the summer with a summer tire and switch to a 15" wheel with snows for the winter. I would suggest checking craigslist for someone with something local. If you find something check back with the BB to make sure they will fit.

There's a bit of a bend in that tube as it is clamped in place above the pan, but not enough, I think, to present any obstruction to an eighth-inch rod or even a coat hanger scrap. The end is supposed to be under the oil level.

It sounds like yours was just packed with coke from years of poor oil habits, but because it is certainly brittle by now, you may have just broken off the end.

Sluggish/stuck rings might be preventing your ventilation from keeping up without blowing blue smoke out the back (I've never seen a 240 do that) so you might just wean it from conventional oil, keeping an eye on the seals and ensuring that orifice in the manifold, and small hose is open -- rightly pegged as the idle PCV.

Keep track too, of the oil collecting in the AMM hose once you're on the road with it. If you're worried about the cam plug in the back of the head, put a strap over it, held in place by the threaded holes meant for head-mounted dizzy. That's about the only place you'll have a really sudden side-of-the-road oil slick disaster. The crankshaft seals allow for a slower flow.

Also, keep using the model and year drop down, so your threads stay on track. No other forum gives that advantage. If you're really into catch can solutions, check out Turbobricks M&NP forum.
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Art Benstein near Baltimore

If you tell the truth, you don't have to remember anything.