i have a 87 244 dl with a pretty consistent oil drip coming from the intake side of the engine, it drips off of the plastic skid plate under the engine. I have looked a little to try to see where its coming from but the previous owner had a head gasket blow and the whole engine bay is a little bit grimy, i haven't gotten around to power washing it out yet. i was wondering if there were any common leaking spots to look for or any advice?

 

don't need or really want to power wash it. spray it down when cold with something like Gunk Foaming Engine Cleaner, take a nylon parts brush to the heaviest grime, hose it off with cold water. add a vial of fluorescent oil dye to the engine oil, drive 5 or 10 minutes, use UV flashlight to look for the characteristic color of the dye you used. if you don't see obvious leakage, drive it some more, maybe a day, then use the UV light again (best done in the dark).

common leaks are the camshaft seal, the valve cover gasket, especially in the front and rear corners where it goes over the camshaft, and the oil cooler plumbing on turbo cars (whch yours isn't). oil leaks tend to spread going down and towards the rear, blown by the wind.

 

I prefer power washing, simpler, easier, more effective! Just don't spray directly the distributor and wiring--Volvo engines rarely get fouled up due to washing.

 

oh, another possible source for your oil leak would be a cracked oil seperator box under the flame trap, thats the PCV system, and it certainly could dribble oil if it was broken. thats all tucked away under the intake manifold, along with the EGR and the idle air controller.

 

if it's dripping onto the plastic cover under the front of the car, i'd look to the power steering system for the leak, rather than an engine leak.

 

it would be a good idea to remove that plastic shield and clean the underside of the engine, too.