I am buying a 1997 850 R wagon in a couple of days. I watched the (Car buying pre-purchase tips. What to look for before buying a car) great video from rspi on here and found the car to be in fair to good condition. When I returned the car to the driveway and it had sat a few minutes, I noticed a pool of oil on the cement about 6" by 4". The car had not been driven in about four months and the seller stated that there had been some talk at the 120k service about an oil drip at the turbo, but the decision had been made to not address the leak at that time.
I believe that the seller did not know about the new leakage and that he is selling the car due to replacement vehicles already purchased. The seller put the car up on a jackstand and I did look underneath and saw a fair amount of oil on the turbo housing and there was oil covering the lower side of the block and mating area of the transaxle. The seller stated that he had the rear seal replaced relatively recently and it looked to me to be coming from higher up. The oil on the turbo housing covers about the bottom and sides of the turbo, There is some oil lessening as you move towards the block.
The seller did start the car, but I saw no drips at that time, although I did not think to have him rev the engine at that time. I had spent longer than I planned and needed to return home and had lost my focus.
We did negotiate a price of $2500 for the car. I was actually looking at VW wagons and just happened upon this Volvo. I do really like the car and believe that, while worn, it is a solid runner. There are not a lot of Volvos where I live, so understand this model presents a rare opportunity for me.

SO, the questions from me are:
- What are the likely sources for this leak?
- What is the worst case scenario?
- What is/are the likely repair cost(s)

There was no detectable tailpipe smoke and the car seemed to have a good amount of power.

Glad to be here and thanks for your responses!

 

RSPI is one of the good guys up on this forum. the likely source of your leak would be the rear seals and the seals on the turbo. l have an oil leak on my turbo and will fix later when l get the chance to.the repair cost for that at the dealer will break the bank. the repair cost for a DIY will be at most $100 for all four seals if you have the necessary tools. the worst scenario is you not checking the oil level now and then and add when needed.if its not a big leak like the video below, you should be good till you get the chance to fix it.and YES 850Rs are kind of rare to me. very very rare model is the 1995 yellow T5-R. thats my oil pan leaking after oil pan seals replacement. fixed it though.

 

Welcome to the forum.

The likely source is a failed gasket in the oil return. It's fairly common and there is even a special tool to get to the bolts.


One source for tool and gasket is IPDusa.com

Article with pictures:
http://www.matthewsvolvosite.com/for...hp?f=1&t=34074

Or the rubber sleeve the return line goes into at the block:
Volvo Performance Repairs And Modifications


Worst case, cracked block. Don't go there, you asked, don't go there.

 

LOL, I'm leaning with Kiss however, oil leaks blow around real good under these cars for some reason. Best case would be the cam seal at the CAM SHAFT SENSOR. At any rate, if the car pulls strong, the turbo is likely in good shape, at least the shaft is not worn.

I also had a leak on the back of our S70 turbo that was hard to find, it ended up being plates on the back of the motor.



Volvo Forums - Volvo Enthusiasts Forum - rspi's Album: S70 GLT

What color is the wagon?

 

It's one of those things where if you feel you can fix or afford to have fixed it shouldn't stop you. It might be something like a little too much crankcase pressure pushing oil out under the oil fill cap and getting blown down the back of the block. From what you describe it's likely something fairly easy and cheap. You'll just need to clean it up some and then try to follow it back to the source.

I'd make sure it rides ok, transmission shifts properly and no strange noises on your last test drive. Temp gauge should rise to the 3 O'clock position and stay there. Take it out for 20 minutes and during the drive and at the end of the drive check the overflow recovery bottle to see if you see any bubbles. Could indicate a head gasket going out. Other than that and reading Rspi's thread on new owners it's the best you can do to insure you'll get a car you like that won't "bite" you right away !!
I wish my wagon (855) was an "R". I think you'll like it a lot.

 

For my 98 V70 (same engine and...well....same just about everything) it was a leak on the oil line to the turbo. the turbo itself was good, just a bad seal where the lines get bolted on. It was so hard to find because the air would blow it everywhere. Whenever I would see residue on the ground from a leak, it was all over from one side of the oil pan to the other. you could almost see the shape of the oil pan just from looking at the ground lol. Lots of options to what it can be. The oil line is what i've found to be most common. but it could easily be a main seal, but if it was actually replaced I doubt it.