Hi everyone, I am new here and I have a few questions about what I should do about my 850 Turbo.

Here we go, at about 130,000 it started leaking oil, a lot of oil. I took it to Paul's Volvo in Richmond, Va and they said it was leaking oil from every possible location it could and it would be cheaper to replace the whole engine. They also said it could last for 2 days or 2 years. That was 4 years ago and she's still going strong with no other issues. It leaks about a quart an hour on the highway.

I am finally at the point where I can do something about it. I don't know whether I should replace the whole engine or pull the old one out and replace all the gaskets. Any tips? Thanks in advance for your help. Any info on pulling out the engine too would be helpful.

 

Oh I almost forgot, if I chose to put another engine in could I put in a non Turbo one? Thanks

 

You could but why would you want to?!

If you're thinking of a DIY project, I'd rebuild the current engine. If it is just the gaskets, they're a lot cheaper than paying someone for an engine.

 

Could you do a compression test please?

My previous engine had oil coming out of everywhere...pan gasket, mid block, etc. I had low compression which led me to believe the pressure in the block was way to high. Curious what your compression is.

Here is my history....

https://volvoforums.com/forum/showth...t=32465&page=5

https://volvoforums.com/forum/showth...t=33048&page=3

https://volvoforums.com/forum/volvo-850-16/blown-head-gasket-advice-33628/

https://volvoforums.com/forum/volvo-850-16/850-engine-swap-t-5r-850-wagon-here-we-go-34971/

 

Thats crazy !! Mine has almost 160k and doesnt leak a drop of oil from anywhere.
Im keeping my fingers crossed it stays that way.

 

1994 volvo 850 smoke coming from exhaust manifold, just finished putting on a new head and started it, smoke started coming from the exhaust manifold and has that overheating smell, all coolant lines are hooked up in the right place and has coolant in it i have oil pressure, idle is a little rough, a tiny leaf fell in one of the cylinders and i didnt want to take the head off again to get it out, is that why? the coolant temp is still cold on the gauge but i can fell heat from exhaust manifold

 

Um, you let something touch one of your cylinders that wasn't air, gas or oil?! YIKES

Think of it this way; and engine is sacred ground.

Sacred.

Air, gas and oil are the pious followers. Anything else is an unworthy heathen! If something is too big to pass through the air filter, it doesn’t belong in the engine.

Do you have a turbo or N/A?

If it were to have a serious negative impact, you'd have seen it within the first few cranks of the engine, which equates to the first few milliseconds. But, it’s a safe bet that the carbon left behind from the burning leaf is going to muck up the engine. Exactly how small was it? Thought: leaf falls in, sticks to the cylinder or the wall. Compression and ignition. Leaf burns, but not completely. Some burnt leaf and some unburnt leaf remain in chamber. Depending on the amount of oil in chamber, maybe some stays inside, maybe some get expelled with exhaust. But, you have that sticky leaf remnants now running – and sticking - throughout the engine and exhaust. It’ll take some time for the leaf to be completely burned up, and some time for its remnants to be flushed out the tailpipe or into the oil filter. You’ll probably notice some rough running. You’ll also want to change your oil & filter NOW and do it several times within the next thousand miles.

If you have a turbo, it would only be worse. You may have to pull & clean the turbo.

Your manifold will throw off heat a lot sooner than what the gauge will indicate. Did the temp needle get to its normal 3 o’clock position or go higher?

Smoke coming OUT of the header would indicate it need to be tightened up, the gasket is bad, or it has a crack in it.
Smoke coming OFF of the header would indicate it was dirty and something is burning off of it.

Is it a new header? The odor may just be the typical 'breaking in' burn-off.

 

+1

That leaf is long gone. The temps are so high it would be dust.

 

so does anyone have any info on replacing the engine gaskets?

 

Thats a really general question. Which gaskets? Some are chemical gaskets, some are not.

Really you should start with replacing your PCV and cleaning or replacing your PTC. Then Steam clean your engine and see if the problem is gone.

 

If the PCV system gets blocked up, which it will after years of use, pressure will then build up in the crankcase to such a degree that it can start forcing oil past seals. I think that the first things most people in this forum would advise, regarding multiple oil leaks, is to replace, or at least inspect, the PCV system. A very obvious symptom of a backed-up PCV system is that, if while the car is running you pull out the dipstick a bit, smoke will start coming out of the dipstick tube.

 

A couple of different issues can cause smoke to come out of the dip stick tube. Broken or torn vacuum elbow at the manifold, clogged PTC, clogged flame trap, etc. The best test is to see if the head has pressure or vacuum.