I have a '96 850 Turbo that I am tuning out and I found an interesting problem...

I had the coolant system flushed and the tech noticed that there was some oil in the recovery tank so I checked the cylinder compression and all 5 cylinders were within specification, and the turbo appears to be giving the proper pressures while driving (gauge on the dash...not that accurate I know but it is all I have).

I talked to a buddy of mine (former Volvo mechanic...older than what I have though) and he seems to think that it is the seal in the turbo housing that separates the water from the intercooler and the pressurized oil from the engine.

My question simply put is this: Does this sound plausable to anybody else, and will replacing the turbo cure this issue?

Thanks for the assistance.

 

I would look at the radiator before the turbo.
They sometimes break between the oil cooler in them and the coolant chambers.

 

so the radiator/oil cooler is more common than the turbo seal. i think this might be my problem

 

So are you thinking that I may have ruptured a line in the radiator tank for the oil cooler? How will I be able to tell without taking the rediator completely out of the car?

 

Yes thats what I am thinking.
It is really hard to tell unless you have it out of the car.
You may be able to rig up something to pressurize the system and see if it holds pressure.

Usually if the turbo seals leak the engine just burns the oil. I have never seen a turbo go bad and mix coolant and oil.

Check the oil and tranny dipsticks for a milky residue.

 

That one is easy...there is no water in the engine oil or in the transmission.All I am getting is the oil in the coolantrecovery tank.

I will check the radiator tanks before doing anything too radical like swapping the turbo.

 

i got that white creamy sludgy crap in the coolant bottle and a very tiny bit i noticed on the oil dipstick. same exact thing happens on the vws when the oil cooler fails. they use an external one thou right at the filter lot cheaper and easier to replace but not as good cooling.