Yes I saw all the oil.
I would clean everything really good and then take it from there.
Some of it may have been from an old leak and still sitting there.
Clean it good and drive it for a couple of days and see what happens.

 

Okay, could you be a little more specific about where the vent box is, and how big it is, and what shape it is? Sorry, I don't seem to be able to find it, but I am a little blind.

 

If you are standing in the front of the car looking at the engine.It will be on your left down towards the bottom of the engine.It is a black box with a hose coming out of the top of it.If you look from the back of the A/C compressor it is not far back from the back of the A/C compressor.

To replace it you will need to remove the intake manifold.That will save you tons of trouble.

 

Okay, one more question... I hope also. What exactly does the vent stop do, and how does it interact with the rest of the engine?

 

Im hoping you mean Vent Box.It takes the crankcase gasses and routes them into the intake manifold to get burned.
Excessive crank case pressure will also blow out older weak seals and cause oil leaks.

 

Yes, I meant the vent box. Question; where can I see this box? I've looked in the car breifly. Behind it is the serpentine belt, above it is the alternator, below it is ?, on the driver's side of it is the engine, and some open space, and on the passenger side is the wheel well. Correct me if I'm wrong, please. So, where is it? How is it easiest to access, and look at? From the bottom, from the top, from the wheel well, etc? HELP!!!!

 

You will have to remove the intake to get to it.
If you follow the upper radiator from the top of the engine to the bottom of the engine you should hit it or come close to hitting it.

 

Is this thing also called an oil separator? It is somewhat the shape of a box, and has a hose coming out of the top, and is under the intake manifold, toward the back of the air compressor. Is that it?

 

That sounds like it.I believe some call it an oil seperator.I know it as a vent box from what Volvo calls it.

 

Yahoo!!! I think I'm on to something :-) Now if I can get the rest of the stuff, I'll be alright!!

 

Keep me posted!!!

 

Do I need to change the fuel injector seals when I take them off to replace the vent box? And what other seals, and parts will I need, other than the manifold gasket, to do the job? And, how long do you think it should take? Thanks so much for the information. I don't think I could have done it without you guys. This/these forum/s is/are the best thing on the internet for car help.

 

As long as one of the injector seals don't tear when you remove the fuelrail and they are still rubbery then you can reuse them.
The parts you will need if you replace the vent box will be.
The vent box.
A couple of clamps.
The seal that goes between the vent box and the engine.
The intake gasket.
Some carberator or brake clean to clean everything up.
I think that is about it.Hopefully I am not forgetting anything.

It should take you like 3 to 4 hours maybe a little more since it is your first time.

 

very informative topic. i think replacing the ventbox is something i also need to do. when i took off the top cover to the engine (the plastic cover that has VOLVO 20 VAlve written on it) there was puddles of oil sitting in the indentations of the valve cover - and it seems that in a previous post there was some info of what this means. i.e., that maybe my vent box is clogged and the oil is backing up and spilling out that hole on top(it seems that the hose that comes out there goes down the front side of the engine to the vent box, correct?)

if this is not the case, could it just be from accumlated spillage over time when someone filled the crankcase with oil? also, could a clogged vent box increase emissions? thanks for any input. eric

 

and/or could a clogged flame trap have the same effect - i.e., cause oil to accumulate on top of the valve cover? thanx

 

Yes they both can cause higher emmissions and oil in the top of the Valve cover.

 

thanks. my flame trap looked almost new, so i'm thinking that it was bad earlier and replaced, but the damage was already done to the vent box and they didnt go further and replace that. oh well, off comes the intake manifold...

also, i had asked previous question about my car just barely failing smog, so i did some basic tune-up and fuel adiditive and it passed!!! - however, instead of failing by one point, it TIED the max number - but hey, i'll take it however i can. the tech seems to think that the cat is fried, looks original (117k miles) and that its just barely passing w/o any help from the cat. i looked up the dmv history of this car's smog tests and it seems to have done the same thing the last 2 times-i.e, it'll fail, then 10 minutes later it'll pass. i guess its right on the line and its just the luck of the draw when the sampling is done.

thanks for all your advice (i also fixed my power front seatback not moving up by some of your other posts!). now about my center rear window brake light not coming on . . . naw, on second thought, i'll put that off til later. caio.

 

The third brakelight is like a 2 peice setup. Remove the upper peice and clean the contacts really good.Then bend the tabs slightly and then it should work good.

You will know if the vent box is clogged when you get it off.It will be heavy if it is clogged.You will see the new one is very light.

 

I hate to ask another question on this subject.... but I will anyway....
I recently bought a 93 850 (n/a) with a 5 speed. It was taken to the dealer every time it needed ANYTHING, and then some. I don't have the records detailing what was done, other than the date and miles, and what service was done - 10k, 30k, 60k....
The car has 220k well kept miles on it. (last dealer service was May of this year - 3,000 miles ago.) I checked the flame trap soon after I bought it, and there wasn't one. I noticed a small amount of oil in that area where it is located. I put a new flame trap in it a few hundred miles ago. I just checked, and the flame trap looks clean, but again, there is a small amount of oil there. It is possible that it is residual oil from the lines leading to it, though I cleaned the intake hose, and the plastic piece the flame trap goes in before I installed a new flame trap.
Is there a way to know the condition of the vent box, without removing the intake? Does anyone know if the vent box is part of routine maint. at any mileage? If it is, how often do mechanics "forget" to change it? - I asked the last question because it appears that my plug wires have never been changed (until now) - and that makes me question everything the dealer was supposed to have done to the car.
Comments? advice? suggestions?
Thanks, Cranky

 

No replacing either one of the parts you asked about is not in a service routine.

You will always have a slight bit of oil in there.Not 100% sure why but everyone I take apart has some.