leaking oil
 

Ok let me start out by saying i am new here, and i recently got my license and inherited a 1995 volvo 850 GLT non turbo. The car has been nothing but trouble since i got it, it got hit while it was parked by a trash truck (put a hole in my drivers side door, but i got a scrap door for 80 bucks so i'm in the process of doing that), the A/C doesn't work (has a leak somewhere in the system from what i have been reading it may be the evaporator? but i can still recharge it to give me some A/C), my thermostat stuck causing my heater core to explode leaving me with no heat (ontop of being stuck on the side of the road with a couple inches of coolant in my rear floor boards). So, i bypassed the heater core alowing me to run the engine. The majorty of the problems right now i can live with, if it's hot i put the window down, if it's cold i'll put on the heated seats ect.... But the major problem is the oil leak, this thing goes throught so much oil it's rediculous, i can't even park it in my drive way because it will just drip all over it. Now i'm hoping you guys who actually know what you are talking about can give me some insite as to what my problem is here, it's not the oil drain plug gasket i changed that, it's not the oil filter i changed that. The only thing i can picture dumping that much oil is the main seal which would be a huge PITA to get to and change (not to mention money). I've read something about the PCV? system ( i have no clue what that is) getting clogged causing my main seal to back out.


Could anyone give me some clarification as to what my problem might be? and how to fix it?
I would really apreciate it, because i don't have the money for a new car and i really love my volvo it just hasn't shown me any love back haha


thanks again sorry for the long post

RE: leaking oil
 

You are really going to have to isolate where it's leaking. If the PCV builds up pressureit can blow out the rear main seal. Leak could be anywhere though.

RE: leaking oil
 

Get the car on a ramp, find the leak, take a picture and post the picture here.

Good luck
Axel

RE: leaking oil
 

alright i'll see what i can do, but last time i put it up it just seems like it's coming from more than one place which leads me to believe it's because of the pcv system, i even noticed oil from the dip stick

i'll get picture to try to show you guys whats up, thanks for the responces i'm hoping to get this sorted out

RE: leaking oil
 

Turn the engine on, open the hood and pull out the oil dipstick. Play with the throttle. If engine fumes come out the oil dipstick pipe, then the PCV system is clogged. If you are leaking as much oil as you say you are then probably your rear main seal is already blown and cleaning the PCV might not make much of a difference right now.

RE: leaking oil
 

alright i'll try that, right now i'm trying to fix my cooling system AGAIN i think my my thermostat went again,i'm loosing coolant and it's not going in the engine and theres no hole in my radiator (that i can see) so i'll let you know how this pans out

when i open the oil fill cap smoke always comes out of there but i think that might just get steam or heat, or is this the fumes you are talking about?

oh and my trans is acting up bad it gets hung up insecond after i stop(automatic) and when i brake sometimes it has trouble downshifting and rumbles like crazy. what could possibly be next


thanks for the reply i really really really need to get this car straightened out

RE: leaking oil
 

axelm i just did your dip stick test and clearly fumes pumping out of there even when it's in idle, i mean this things like puff the majic dragon. So my guess is it's f'ed up my main seal if not more seals causeing the oil leak



oh and now i guess i need to replace my pcv system, do you think that is something i could do in a day? and if not off online where could i get the replacement parts? (is it possible to unclog your pcv system?) as you can see this has been a learning experience

what do you guys think?

RE: leaking oil
 

^Pcv system can definetely be done in a day. It would probably be to your advantage to have a friend for help though.

A PCV kit can be found from FCP Groton.
If your rear main seal has blown out, you're in for A LOT more work.

RE: leaking oil
 

I would do the PCV system, clean up the oil in the engine bay (from top and bottom) and then go from there. You'll need a ramp and a nice flashlight to clean under the engine.

Check out fcpgroton.com. They have the PCV parts (oil trap + hoses) in a kit if I am not mistaken. There are SO many threads in this and other forums regarding clogged PCV. Do some searching and ypu will find detailed instructions with pictures and part numbers.

RE: leaking oil
 

thanks for the help, i will let you guys know what happens. for only 3 months of having my license i have learned quickly how much of a PITA a car can be

oh and believe me i know if my main seal is blown, i'm screwed. but what i'm thinking is if i can get the pcv system squared away it won't leak as bad, i may be wrong but that my theory

but after the pcv system come the door which has to be completely swaped to a scrap door (i mean everything lock handle window....), then come the air condition which i'm probably just going to recharge, then comes the new heater core and what ever else is messed up with that. From there i'm hoping things will hold up utill i can get the money to replace the main seal ( if indeed it is blown) and by then my tranny will probably need to be rebuilt if it doesn't stop acting up



man, cars are fun.

RE: leaking oil
 

Sounds like it's better to just sell the darn POS and start over with another car. The tranny's gonna cost ya, unless you do a tranny swap yourself. If you swap for a manual tranny you'll have to get a new ECU too.

RE: leaking oil
 

The A/C is going to cost quite a bit too most likely. You are going to end up putting way more money than the car is worth into it.

RE: leaking oil
 

i'm just trying to keep it running untill it craps out, theres no use selling it, i would get nothing out of it. maybe 500 bucks, i'm hoping it just catches on fire

i'm still trying to figure out this coolant issue, yesterday while driving the low coolant light came on at first i didn't believe it because the car is a POS but when i stoped to check it out it was actually low on coolant. so i got some from the trunk and filled it up not thinking anything of it because it was not dripping coolant anywhere and it wasn't in the oil (no milky oil on the dip stick). so then i continue the drive and it's fine for a while then it comes back on i again check it out and it's low, but then when i open the cap a bunch of fluid plurged out. so i then thought it might be the thermo stat again so i walked up to autozone and bought the 5 dollar part and put it in. thinking problem solved i drove it home then the damn light came on again so when i got to my house i popped it open and it again was low, so i slowly opened the cap and the coolant rose back up to the max level but after after all of the preasure was let out in went back down. so i again filled it back up to max and haven't touched it since. that is my mission today, try to figure that out

what do you guys think it could be the thermostat is fine, i have no heater core (bypassed). i'm leaning towards temp sensor.

let me know thanks again

RE: leaking oil
 

oh and the ac is only going to cost like 20 bucks to recharge, i have connections with shops, my dad used to work at a ford dealership for a while and has a bunch of buddies who have shops in their backyards (with lifts, ac units, all the stuff) who will charge him close to nothing for crap like that. it probably won't hold it's charge for that long, but should get me through summer

thats also how i got my door for 80 bucks

RE: leaking oil
 

You need to pressurize the system and watch closely for leaks.

RE: leaking oil
 

well i found the leak

RE: leaking oil
 

http://img.villagephotos.com/p/2007-...olvoleak2.jpeg sorry the picture is so crappy it's from my cell phone

RE: leaking oil
 

http://img.villagephotos.com/p/2007-...olvoleak4.jpeg but as you might be able to see i have a cracked radiator, how much do new ones run for? i'm thinking about just picking up a scrap one but if i new ones not that much more i'll just go with it


are they fairly easy to put in?

RE: leaking oil
 

I've never done, but from what I've read it's fairly easy to put in a new radiator. I would check with fcpgroton or IDP at least to get a price. I would probably stay away from a used/junkyard radiator. But then again I have never changed one on any of my Volvo's in 22 years of owning them, so you might be fine with a used one. I had 206K on my last 850 and I know it had the original radiator.

RE: leaking oil
 

well i just got done pulling the radiator, it wasn't too bad but it still was a pain.

i wasn't too sure about a junk yard one either(nor was my wallet), so i got this stuff called marine tech or something and it's soposed to hold to 8,000 psi (it's been around forever my dads used it on headers) and is pretty good stuff i just don't know how it's going to bond to the plastic. I dremled out the area and stratched it up with sand paper and cleaned it with acetone to prep the surface. so now it's just cureing

my only fear is that it's going to hold there but just break somewhere else, i'll get on later tonight when i get it back in to let you guys know how it goes

i apreciate the input with my thread, this 850 has been the biggest PITA i've ever dealt with, just yesterday i spend my whole day doing a door swap by myslef (scrap door didn't have anything in it, no window, no interior, no motor, no mirror, no lock, no handle no nothing) then when i get that pieced together and ready to go out for the night my damn radiator cracks

it never ends

RE: leaking oil
 

Also check the thermostat.
They are known to break and cause excess pressure and crack the radiators.

RE: leaking oil
 

yup, i already did


thanks for the reminder though

i got it pieced back together and drove it home, it drank some fluid but i think thats just do to the radiator filling back up. hopefully i can call it problem solved

i'll let you know if it acts up again

RE: leaking oil
 

What about epoxy? Shouldn´t that hold?

RE: leaking oil
 

i used this stuff called marine tex i would highly recomend it, it's a sort of paste that drys hard

the stuff is rated for 8000 psi and you can even sand and paint it if you wanted to

i gave it a good hard drive last night after i got it put back together and the radiator seems to be working fine, so i think i can call it job done.

next i really need to tackle my pcv issue, should be interesting

RE: leaking oil
 

Regarding your post saying that you are still losing coolant even if the radiator has been fixed, apparently your are having too much pressure ( i.e. heat) if the coolant is dripping through the breather.

Your thermostat was stuck closed, and you had too much pressure, that is why your radiator cracked. Now that you have fixed the thermostat the extra pressure is being relieved through the breather.

Is your engine fan working correctly? Maybe the fan relay is faulty.

What about temperature readings? Are you sure the engine coolant temperature sensor is ok? That reading is used by the ECU to turn the fan on and thus control the temp. A bad ECT sensor in summer is not very nice on the cooling system or the engine.

RE: leaking oil
 

hmm.... interesting

well i replaced the thermostat like a day before i pulled the radiator so it should be fine (it was already replaced after it blew up my heater core). the fan relay sparks an idea because the fan has been kicking in allot, but on the other hand it is summer here in maryland and it's been is the 90's almost everyday so i really can say for sure that the relay has gone bad. i don't really have any temp readings besides the one in my dash which ever since i fixed the thermostat when the heater core exploded has always read half way when running (which i have read is normal) so acording to that i'm not running hot.

so you are saying maybe the coolant temp sensor? are there any ways i could check those things like the sensor or the relay?

i apreciate the comment, i'm leaving for work now but i will be back on later to see if i can figure this thing out

RE: leaking oil
 

Tech,

What do you think the problem might be? The fan apparently works ok. So does the temp gauge and thus the ECT sensor.

Why is his car spitting coolant out?

RE: leaking oil
 

Not really sure I would have to be there with my pressure tester to look it over.

I think he is saying he sees the coolant coming into the bottle through the little hose.
Which that is also normal.

A laser temp gun would also come in real handy now to see exactly what temp it is running after the car warms up.

RE: leaking oil
 

I was thinking a bit more about this post and I think I was wrong. It´s a closed circuit, so there can´t be a breather. The coolant expansion tank is designed to accomodate the extra pressure, within certain limits of course. Is that correct, Tech? How does it work?

RE: leaking oil
 

ok guys, sorry for the confusion this thing had me stumbled but i now got it. i finally got agrivated enought over the coolant dissapearing. so i jacked it up and pulled the underbody off and sure enough there were puddles of coolant. after further examination i saw the my patch has held completely and done it's job, but the side case has split at the bottom and had been letting coolant out into the underbody but not letting it drip down to the ground (making me puzzled as to where it was going). and with it being so low on the radiator, from uptop you couldn't tell that the sytem was leaking at all. at this point i was totally done screwing with this radiator and went up to autozone and bought a new one for about 200 dollars. so i spent a couple hours swaping them (went by without a catch seeing as i had just taken it out to patch it a week ago) filled her up with coolant and it has been running fine all day.

now the only things i have to fix are my oil leak, replace my heater core, and i really need to do my pcv system soon it's getting pretty bad and i think my engine wouldn't leak as much oil if i can do the pcv, what do you guys think?

as of now i have: swaped my door, patched my radiator,swaped my raiator, fixed my air conditioning, bypassed my heater core, fixed my stereo, put new tires on it, put new exterior trim on it, replaced the washer fluid resivior, replaced the tail light, fixed myodometer, and i'm probably forgetting something

thanks for the help guys

RE: leaking oil
 

Great to hear the problem is fixed. Let´s see what Murphy has to say about that. ;)

RE: leaking oil
 

yeah we will just have to wait and see

RE: leaking oil
 

Hi all -- this thread is HUGELY useful to me - but pls bear with a Brit new to this Forum. My beautiful 850 Volvo 2.5 estate is using oil for the 1st time in its 11 years -- a gallon (5 litres) in a few weeks! I was about to send it to the garage (and take out a 2nd mortgage) when I read about "a blocked breather" as being a possible cause. Yes, the dipstick smokes and oil is spattered across the rocker box cover and around the sipstick. Weirdly, the dipstick had some condensation prior to this - but there is no sign of water loss or usage.The car nowsmokes on heavy acceleration BUT - it does not look as if a seal has gone. So - help pls. Is the breather something I could replace (given reasonable competence)? And any thoughts as to it being this breather? Any help much appreciated... Thanks David

RE: leaking oil
 

do some searches regarding pcv replacement, that might solve some your problems

RE: leaking oil
 

Hello mate,

Greetings from Narita, Japan.

Yes, do some research on the forum regarding the PCV; Volvo's PCV system is unique as compared to the rest of the industry and your 850 may as well need the entire system replaced as a kit.

See attached pics to determine what are involved within the system; different systems are used for Turbo & Non-turbo, as well as model years. http://www.fcpgroton.com/volvo.htm#850

EDIT: Also, check for visible leak; clean the engine and see if there is an external leak. After having replaced the PCV system, replace the oil cap gasket & dipstick O-ring as well. Then, try using full-synthetic 10W-30 for once.

Cheers,


JPN

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RE: leaking oil
 

Many thanks to JPN and, to Green 850, also thanks...

I will try, and let you (all) know how I get on. Thanks. David