Hey, I am new to the forums because I just purchased my first Volvo, a 97 Volvo 850 Turbo Sedan. I got it pretty cheap since it has a oil leak in which oil is running down the back of the engine onto the exhaust manifold making it quite smokey and smelly to drive.

My first thoughts were the front cam seals but when I pulled the spark plug cover off it was full of oil. Looks like it was coming from the filler cap and the oil trap hose the runs down the intake manifold was loose. I put a tighter clamp on the hose and put a new gasket on the filler cap. Drove good for about 1 hour then started smoking and smelling of burnt oil again. I now noticed oil is also coming from what appears to be a plug on the cam tower opposite of the oil filler. . What is this plug for and can it be removed and resealed?

I have been reading about clogged PCV systems but it doesn't appear to be smoking from the dipstick tube (only if I plug off the hose on the oil cap). I also put a balloon on the end and it's not building up pressure. However, when I rev the engine it wants to suck the balloon down the dipstick. Is this normal? So should I tackle the PCV job? Your input is greatly appreciated, Thanks!

 

my 95 850 turbo wagon was the same way when i got it, burned hella oil and leaked all over the place i got it for 800$ i replaced the pcv system put a new filler cap gasket on and no more leaking oil and no more burning oil, runs like a dream now (specailly after cleaning all the caked on oil from the inside of the intake, and running seafoam thru it revvs like a dream nice and smooth, my dipstick didnt smoke but it was still the pcv system

 

Thanks for the reply! Yeah I think it's definitely the problem. I'm getting some weird odors too when driving down the road. Should I go ahead and do a complete overhaul with the FCP kit or just do a cleaning of the system?

 

well all i did was replace the box itself and cleaned all the lines good, if you have the money go for the kit, but definitly CLEAN your PTC mine was caked and plugged, which attributed to most of my problems, but im still burning off a but of the oil that had leaked that i couldnt get to. Try your PTC first, it is the little valve thing on the intake tube right before the turb it has a large pcv line and a small vacuum running to it, and an electrical plug