IMHO the best way (as well as the easiest way) to replace the intermediate shaft and front crank seals on any B230F/T engine is to remove the aluminum front timing cover/seal carrier and replace the seals on the bench. This has the additional advantage of allowing full access to the ends of the crankshaft and intermediate shaft to really do a thorough cleaning of any varnish buildup to prevent damage to the new seals. The grooves worn by the old seals can be smoothed out and the new seals can be installed at a depth to avoid the groove and let the new seals work on a unworn portion of their shafts.

I bought a couple of Elwiss timing cover gaskets from eEuroparts.com for the re-install and discovered what I consider to be a problem with the gasket shape. The timing cover gaskets from Volvo and Elring (maybe others) have a wide tab on the part of the gasket that completes the circle on the inside. This tab (sort of shaped like a shark fin) seals off the oil channel in the cover that conducts oil from the intermediate shaft end bearing to dribble on the crankshaft to lube its seal. The aftermarket gasket I bought did not have the extra tab but that portion of the gasket is the same width throughout. This allows oil to drip down the face of the block instead of forcing it to stay in the channel all the way to the crankshaft.

I am beginning to figure out that even from Volvo aftermarket specialists, one needs to be vigilant in determining the quality and fit of non-Volvo parts, so that by using a less expensive part, there is no serious compromise in performance.

It's probably not worth changing if you already installed one of these gaskets without the extra tab to seal off the oil channel, but IMHO it would be better to use one that had it. I now have a Volvo and a spare Elring gasket on order, both of which have the tab, and I will be returning the gaskets that don't.

When the new gaskets arrive, I'll post pictures to make it clear what to look for.

SH