I put about 100 miles over the weekend and another 45 miles today.
No leaks over the weekend but there was certainly a leak today. After some digging around, I can see that it’s coming from the valve cover gasket - on the hump over the camshaft towards the driver’s side.

Im going to order parts from FCP and see if it fixes leaks for good.

Don’t see any oil seeping at the flame trap hoses. So that’s reassuring, at least for now.

Side question - my high tone horn died. It’s always been marginal to begin with.

Does the flat horns from older Mercedes Benzes work? Old Benz Horn - High Tone FCP

 

Valve cover gasket is easy! Use sealant in the corners where elevations change.
Pretty much any horn will work, some adaptation may be needed attaching it though.

 

Certainly seems like it! I plan on using Dirko Grey as the sealant.

For the horn, when you say that I might have to adapt it for attachment, are you saying physically attaching it or the electrical wire/connectors?

From what I see, the electrical connectors are the same. But then again I’m a noob at this

 

Use the sealant only in the creases, if you put it all over then it's hard the next time you do it.
Horn connections are usually simple + --, the attachments, yes, those may be different...

 

For the horn, my 240 had a set of horns I got from a junkyard off an mid-late '80s vintage Mercedes. They looked identical to the horns that came on the 240 and had a similar sound. Mounting it was real easy as it had a similar mount.

 

Thats good to know. The JYs here don’t have any 80s-90s Mercedes. Even so, the cheapest JY horn is $5 with no warranty around here. So I ended up buying the horn from FCP as I had to order a few other parts anyways from them.

 

Horn fixed!

also here’s a picture of the leak. It’s still not very clear to me if it’s the valve cover that’s leaking?

Leak is in the red area outlined

The camshaft bearing caps or whatever those are called should be torqued to 15lb-ft correct?
Sinking feeling that it is the camshaft seal sigh...

 

that looks like it could be either or both. though i've tended to see my valve cover 'weep' (rather than leak) more on the sides - at the lower points rather than the highest.

i'd just pull the timing components and check the seal. if you have the crank pulley holder, you'll know in about half an hour if it's that cam seal or not.

 

Sounds like a logical idea. I am going to replace my valve cover gasket anyways. It literally separated in the my hands when I tried to pull it up and off the head. Any tips on how to take all the goop over the humps? I am struggling to get the little strip of the gasket that is stuck on there.

Post#4 in the below thread. I am certain it's coming out from the gap between the bearing cap/hump thing and the head.
https://volvoforums.com/forum/volvo-240-740-940-12/92-240-valve-cover-gasket-76850/

I do have the crank pulley holder. Will I have to take the mechanical fan off and drain the coolant as well to get to it?

 

a brass wire brush or scotchbrite should do.

 

Alright; all the goop is off.

I have the crank pulley holder tool. Seems like I can sneak it in, but the top portion won’t get to the tensioner bolt because the water pump pulley is in the way.

 

you definitely have to get the fan pulley out of the way to get the timing components off. is your 240 an electric or manual fan? (did 240s get electric fans in the later years?) if it's manual, the fan shroud, fan, fan clutch (pulley that mounts on water pump) all have to come off. then the V belts, then whatever timing covers, then you can put the crank hollder on, back the crank bolt off and your in.

yeah, not a fun job but if you want to see that cam seal, you pretty much have to get in there it seems.

BUT replace that valve cover gasket first and then see if your leak is still present and how bad it is. if it is the valve cover, you'll save the time of checking that seal. clean up as much as you can around the valve cover, too, so it's really clear if any oil leaks present themselves.

 

Sounds good. Any thoughts on how much gasket maker to use for the valve cover gasket? Do I have to put the gasket maker on just the 4 corners around the 2 humps or should I put some on the humps in addition to the four corners?

im going to take the stuff off the front of the car. The more I see it, the more it looks like the cam seal is gone. Damn shame, because it was a genuine Volvo seal which will now get replaced with an Elring one if it is truly leaking

 

I was able to get to the cam seal without too much trouble.
Here are some pictures.





Not sure why it’s uploading the pictures upside down. But there’s oil collection at the bottom of it. Pretty sure my valve cover gasket was also leaking

Should I replace the seal with an Elring orange one or just leave it as is?

 

looks like you might could push that cam seal in a bit more.

if you've never seen it, this IPD walk-thru is very helpful for the timing and front seals: (front seal portion starts around 5min mark)

it's hard to see exactly due to the angle and light, but i wonder if that cam seal shouldn't be sitting in a tad further. i don't see the cambered edge of the head in either picture.

i use the 3M yellow gasket adhesive along the entire perimeter of the valve cover itself, then place the gasket on, then reinstall. make sure you tighten the bolts from the center out, then torque them down. and clean both the mating surfaces well - the valve cover and the valve head. again, scotchbrite is good.

 

Thanks for your help. I hasn’t seen that video. I just finished buttoning up the car. Replaced the seal with the Elring one and guess what? It leaks

I guess I’ll be taking all the stuff again tomorrow or day after. Won’t lie, it’s a little disappointing that leak didn’t go away. I can start tomorrow with pressing the seal in a little further

New seal:



Poor angle for the photo. But I think this is not as flush as the old one.

Any recommendations on how get it farther in without get it tilted/angled to one side?

I did observe that with engine idling, I can see oil starting to form a film on the exposed part of the camshaft.

 

i have elring seals on each of my front gears and they haven't leaked - try pushing the seal in to the cambered edge, and make sure it's lubricated...

if your PVC is clean, and the seal is seated properly, it shouldn't leak. now I am no expert - far from - but, i am fairly confident that if mine doesn't leak, yours shouldn't either.

maybe someone else will have more insight.

 

Yep, cleaned the PCV up. That thing was choked up. So I don’t think it’s the PCV anymore. The new valve cover gasket is on and doesn’t leak...for now.

I just saw the video and whoa! I think you are right. I don’t think I got the seal far enough inside. They recommend getting it just past the edge/face whereas fine is protruding out just a tiny amount.

I am all ears on suggestions on how to push the seal in just a tiny amount without getting it cocked.

 

i hope you didn't use sealant all the way around, it's hard to take off and clean it all. I use sealant only in the corners.
The cam seal does look like it needs to go further in, how you push it in is important, did you oil it up before hand? Use something round similar diameter to hammer it in.
You can remove the end cap of the cam in order to get the seal well situated. Watch the 15 lbs torque on those, that's very little and those bolts snap easily.

 

Nope, I just used sealant on the edges of the 2 humps as like little dots and then I put a very very light film over the humps themselves.

I can’t really get a piece of pipe back there to push the seal in place because of the back timing cover. I did use some fresh engine oil on the inner and outer edges of the seal to help preventing rolling it. Although I couldn’t tell you if I did roll it or not. Still new to this..

Edit: I didn’t know you could take just the one end bearing cap off. My understanding was that the bearing caps had to all come off. Either ways, now that the new valve cover gasket is on, I don’t think it’s an option anymore, correct?

Edit 2: For future purposes if someone else is doing the same, I was able to use the crank holding tool by taking off the mechanical fan and shroud and then taking off the front belt off the water pump. That gave sufficient clearance to get everything else done. I also used 2 zip ties to hold the cam pulley to the timing belt.