Major Oil leak :(
 

Hi again...yep...it's me and my 850. Got the blower changed out and thank you to the person who told me about the online store to get the replacement blower...saved me lots of $$

BUT...I have had this ongoing issue with an oil leak since I bought the car 3 yrs ago...it seems to be getting worse. When the oil is freshly replaced, you get the burning smell coming through the vents....once the oil is low (turn sharp corners and the light comes on)...you don't have the smell anymore. It goes through about 5 quarts within a month. I could see oil residue on the top of my block so I took a stab and replaced my oil cap. May have helped, but still, 4 quarts later in just 2 weeks, I'm thinking that is not the entire problem.

Has anyone seen this in their 850 and if so, know where it is coming from? We had the block pressure cleaned this summer but couldn't see anything immediately :( I don't want anything to damage the engine. It has been a GREAT car considering the age, the miles (202,------) and good mileage.

Thanks for input!!

Man, if you are loosing 4 quarts of oil in 2 weeks the motor is already messed up. The oil is going somewhere??? :-/ It's either leaking or blowing out the tail pipe. If you are not seeing tons of smoke out the tail pipe, it's leaking somewhere.

If you smell buring oil, it is likely leaking near the exhaust. Get under the car and find the leak. You may want to get a large piece of cardboard and put it under the motor when you park to try to locate the area.

Thanks rspi!

It's definitely coming from the engine area because there is a nice reminder every time I pull out of the garage. Also, I left my car in a friends driveway which was on a slight incline to go out for the day. We didn't get home till late that night and the next day she emailed me to tell me I had an oil leak. I may not be going through 4 quarts of oil....but I do notice that sooner then later, when I turn a corner sharply or ? the Oil light comes on till I straighten out and then it turns off. Never comes on when straight.

When I have the oil changed, they always state that there was very little oil and that it wasn't even hitting the stick when they checked.

Just seems that in the last 6 months...it's getting worse and with the worst of winter yet to come, I want to know the best way of finding out where the leak is and how difficult it would be to fix OR would it be smarter to just get a different car. :( :( :(

If you have been running the oil out of the car it may be to late. I would suggest getting a compression test to see if the motor has life left in it. Also, if it's leaking out, find the leak and fix it or have it fixed. Our S70 was leaking oil from 2 cam seals (which were blown out) and from a port on the back of the motor. I have several write-ups here:
http://www.atthetipwebs.com/technolo...ips_repair.htm

Most of them are the same for the 850. The S70 is the same car with improvements.

Forgive me, I am not trying to be critical or offend anyone here, but it sounds like you may have a limited knowledge of auto mechanics and you're oil problems may be more than you repair??? Oil leaks like you describe require much more than a screw driver & hammer. I agree the first place to look would be the Camshaft seals, hopefully the rears on the drivers side of the engine. I had only one rear exhaust Cam seal leaking and you would have thought I had five different leaks by looking from underneath. Hope this helps!

Your spinning wheels until you find the where its coming from. Clean the engine again, by the sound of it you should be able to spot the source fairly quickly.

Took me almost 3 days to find all the leaks on our S70. It was coming from 3 main spots but from a plate on the back of the motor mainly before I blew the cam seals. After that, there was no doubt. Is the car turbo? I guess not.

I wipped down the motor as best I could, drove about a mile then parked it on ramps and went under the car with it running. That helped me find the initial leaks.

I agree with Rickford. You might need some help.

If you car is turbo, and you have a leak toward the center-right/ front of the car, your oil cooler lines might be the culprit. But just like others said, you need to get underneath and look, with the car running. I would actually look without driving the car around first, since oil is notorious to spread around other parts, and you might think something is leaking, when in fact it is not. I would just start the car in the morning, let it come to normal operating temp without moving, and look over and from under the car.