I did a search here, and it appears that it may be cam seals. My question is would they leak only when running? Pretty much any oil I put in the car runs right out on the ground immediately.

 

I took the cover off, and the belt is not really oily, so the leak is below the belt system.

 

can you see where its leaking from?

if its on the bottom it Could be a crank seal, oil pump seal, could be something as simple as a oil filter o-ring that cracked..

 

Check the oil filter and make sure the gasket is on it. Also, check the oil pan gasket and make sure the drain pan plug is on tight.

 

The leak is under the timing belt cover, I cleaned it all up and am waiting for more oil to try and pinpoint it. It looks to be in the area of the freeze plug under the lower rear timing belt pulley which I assume is the oil pump?

 

oil pump is behind your crank pulley...

I think you looking at the water pump freeze out plug..

post a pic if you can

OH and BTW there is no oil pan gasket on these cars

 

First pic is from top, second from bottom. Arrow to area where it appears to be leaking.

 

Well it is not leaking from under the TB cover, it is running into it from higher up. Maybe valve cover gasket?

 

LOL, you guys are optimistic.

It seems as if you have cam seal leaks. My first guess would be that your PCV system is clogged/plugged up. Deal with that or you'll be doing more seals.

I have seen a guy replace those seals without doing a timing belt job. I would not recommend it because the belt is wet and will/can break at anytime because of the damage the oil has done to it.
Cam Seals, Front Replacement, 1998 Volvo S70 GLT - Volvo 850 Cam Seal Replacement

BTW, Spinning oil parts will sling oil everywhere.

 

Not sure what the PVC valve would have to do with a leak that occurs when the motor is off, but I went ahead and cleaned it anyway, it was dirty but not plugged.

 

I meant the entire PCV system. When it plugs, it builds pressure within the motor which usually leads to blown out seals. Cam shaft, RMS, cam seals, etc. Once a seal is out it will leak real bad until replaced. If the PCV system caused the oil leak, it will repeat the process on the "weakest link" oil seal.

 

I see, well it looks as though it is clear. In this diagram, what does the nipple that the arrow points at attach to or is it a breather?

 

This is the rear cam, it does not appear to be leaking (and the other certainly is not). The leak is a little lower and on the backside of the engine, not the pulley side.

 

there is NO valve cover gasket..
Your pic has nothing to do with the pcv.. the pcv system is on the outside of the motor under the intake manifold, Being that you didnt remove the intake manifold you didnt clean the pcv.

Have you pulled the plug cover off yet? The piece that says volvo 20 valve?
if when you do that, the TOP of the motor is covered with oil than your pcv is clogged

Also the arrow in your pic points to the oil pressure sender

 

I removed and cleaned the PCV from the throttle body. I have removed the spark plug cover and there was old oil there.

If that is the sender, should there be a hose connected to it, there is not.

 

thats only part of the pcv thats the flame trap... There is a oil separator and various hoses under the intake manifold that needs to be replaced.

There should be a wire to the sender that triggers an idiot light on the dash

Also year make model would help..

 

1995 850 with a B3440 3.1 5 cyl.

 

I have never heard of that motor. They are usually B5254T or something like that. What country are you located in? The thing you drew a red arrow to is on the REAR of the motor, all of your oil is on the FRONT of the motor. Also, the pic of the cam gear that you took, which is the exhaust cam, looks as if the seal is out of it's place, which would mean it's not seated properly and would leak when the motor is running.

Now, I have heard of people having a PCV system so plugged up that it blew a hole in the motor. Very rare for that to happen, however, you have an oil leak and the likely point of the FRONT of the motor, higher than the belt tensioner is the CAM SEALS. There is a chance that the cam shaft front main is leaking and the belt is pulling oil up.

Did you read my write-up on the link I provided on my cam seal job?

 

The leak appears to be on the rear of the motor, running to the front down the timing chain cover. I am in Austin, TX, the car was originally from Ft Lauderdale FL. The "B3440 3.1" is molded onto the valve cover.

To be clear, the front of the motor faces the passenger side, the rear faces the firewall.

 

I did read your write up, but as you can see from the photo of the cam, it is dry.