hello, yesterday when I pulled into the gas station my engine was smoking. i lifted the hood to find oil all over my engine. It seemed to be coming out of the top when you pour the oil in. I did some research and found out that it is the PCV system ? My 850 has 175k on it. Is this normal and did anybody have this allready done ? BTW I called a few mechanics and they said it was the firetrap. They said around $100-150 for it. Thanks

 

Hi Joe, welcome to the forum.

Yes, the problem could very well be due to faulty PCV system. With the miles on your car, I would replace the entire system with new kit. Some of us like to buy parts from the following vendor:

http://www.fcpgroton.com/volvo.htm#850

Note, that turbo & NA engines use different kits. I would also buy a new oil filler cap gasket & dipstick O-ring.

You can either do it yourself or have a dealer/independent shop specialising in Swedish/European makes do it for you. Should you decide to do it yourself, you may need to remove the intake manifold first, in which case you may want to buy a new gasket for it as well.

I hope this gets you started. Keep an eye on the oil level, as these engines are very sensitive to low oil level.


JPN

 

scratch that. i took it to my mechanic, he said he isnt going to touch my car with a 10 foot pole. oil leaks out of EVERY gasket. im pretty pissed i just bought this car from a friend and now our relationship is done because of this. I had 18 miles on the odometer when the car went up in smoke. I use the same mechanic she did, and he told her to just junk it and not to screw anybody over. so guess what, i get screwed over. dam looks like im no longer a volvo owner

 

Joe,

Don't trash the car. Oil leaking everywhere is caused by the excess pressure in the crankcase. Take the car to someone familiar with Volvo and they can fix the PCV system. It is not a lost cause, trust us.

 

Hi Joe,

Sorry about the situation, and I believe you've made the right decision to end the relationship with a person like that (I've had to do it way too many times and I'm now tired of it, especially now that I'm in Japan and 99% of my friends are Americans so they're in the States). The world is infested with too many of them[8D].

Anyway, as 1996850turbo has replied, we too can keep helping you until the problem is resolved. On the other hand, before you say "Screw this car" and junk it, let us know how much you paid for it. If you've paid only a few hundred $, then you may want to junk it. However, if you've paid over $1,500, it may be still worth fixing, as long as there are no other major problems at the moment.

The worst case scenario is the blown rear main oil seal, which requires engine removal & separation of the transmission. A gentleman by the name of Robrike, has done this not too long ago andRob posted some useful pics.

Junking the car also depends on whether you can afford to buy another car. If not, this may be a good time to buy a basic set of tools and learn about cars better, so for the rest of your life you'll never get taken by anyone, not even by the dealer. If you have some $ to buy tools, time to work on your car, and are willing to learn, we can help you fix the problem by yourself (except in the case of rear main seal, which I do not recommend doing it yourself at this point).

So, if you could, please provide us with as much info about the car & situation as possible. Digital pics are of great help to determine the condition.

If you determine, however, that the car is not worth fixing, I would personally look for a Honda or Toyota (Accords, Civics, Corollas, etc...). And next time you buy a car, make sure to test drive, open the hood & check under the car to ensure its condition.

Will wait for your reply.


JPN

 

I had the same problem with my 1996 850. Oil was leaking from the top of the engine and the exhaust had oil in it and was smoking quite badly. Read up on the problem here on VolvoForums, ordered me a new PCV system, took tools in hand and replaced the entire PCV system. Took me about four hours with some parts cleaning time, and no more leaks or smoke out the tail pipe.
It's an easy fix ifyour problem isthe PCV system. Suggesting you run the engine for a little bit, then pull your oil dip stick and if you get smoke out the dip stick tube, then you for sure have a clogged PCV system.
Good luck,

 

I agree with JPN 100%. Don't be junking an 850 just because it is leaking oil if the car itself is in decent shape. I would be pretty ticked at the girl who sold it to you though. If she was told the car was junk and sold it as being a good reliable car, you have the option of taking her to court. Assuming the mechanic will tell the court the same story he told you, you would probably get your money back. I would be telling her what the mechanic said to you and give her a little threat about going to court. See what she says.

 

I took it to a place that the owner before me took it. I talked to him on the phone and he knew right away it was the PCV system. When I brought it to him he said it was leaking out of every gasket, including the rear main seal. Im low on cash being im only 18 and have to pay for other stuff such as my insurance and other things i need. I spent all of my money that i saved on this car. It sucks. Luckily I have a 91 honda civic that I never got rid of. I t was for sale and nobody wanted it. Good thing cause thats what Im driving right now. So pulling out the engine, replacing all the gaskets, the PCV system and all that, I really dont have the time when I pull 50 hour weekstrying to make some money bac because of this. I dont want any money from family that feel bad for me, cause everybody has thrown me a few hundred but i really dont want it. I paid 1200 for the car and really dont know what to do. I dont really wanna sell it for like a few hundred and have somebody else fix it who has the money and still lose hundreds. Looks like im in a worl of crap. O and shes really not afraid of court either. I think the only reason she wont give me back my 1200 cause she has to pay 1000 for an exhaust system for her audi. so im screwed

 

Hey Joe.
I agree with JimKW, don't junk it just yet. You have a car to use while you figure out what to do with the 850. I was kind of in the same boat in some ways. Wife's Aunt gave me the 97 850 I have now but did not know most likely that the rear main was shot. She had the oil changed at Jiffy Lube every 3k miles and the PCV system was gunked and shot. So I had a car but it left not puddles but pools of oil in the driveway. I have a company car through work but was thinking about changing jobs but bit the bullet and decided to stay a little longer and fix the 850 while I still had a car to drive to work, etc. I was not about to give $900 to replace the rear main when the part was $11.50 off the fcpgroton website. I bought the seal, twice,,, I messed up the first one trying to get it in there but Tech saved the day for me with a trick he used sometimes. I took a couple hundred dollars and bought an air compressor and some impact tools for it and decided to pull the engine myself. Haynes manual walks you through most of it, if you are patient you can pull the engine/transmission together and replace the seal. I rented a hoist for $20 a day from a rental shop. 1 day to get it out, took the hoist back and then replaced all the hoses and timing components whilethe engine was out. That was over a course of 2 months replacing all that stuff. Took my time and once it was ready to go back in rented the hoist another day and dropped it back in. That is where I am with it presently. I have all the wires and hoses to reconnect but have pneumonia right now and it has slowed me down.

What I am getting at though is that if you have another car and want to use some of that money your relatives threw at you you could pull the engine and give it a workover at your own pace since you have a working car and when done have a reliable, rock solid safe car. Buy you some tools, replace all the seals and the PCV system and make a project of it. I got an air compressor, impact wrench and ratchet and air hoses, etc. at Advance Auto for less than $230.00 Probably not the greatest in the world but sure came in handy. Now I have the tools for future work, sort of an investment since I used what would have gone to the mechanic to get it with.

Another option is to read through the forums and get an idea of the parts that people use off these and part it out. You could probably recoup much of your money selling wheels, transmission, seats, halfshafts, etc.

The last option would be to take the "rhymes with witch" to court and try to get your money back. Like someone said above, if the mechanic she had it at would testify to what he told her it should be a no brainer for a judge. Anyone in your family an attorney? I have found that a short concise letter on an Attorney's letterhead works wonders on pondscum like that. My Wifes uncle is an attorney and helped me recoup 3 months back rent on a girl who told me she was not paying and was not leaving either. Called him, explained the situation,and to this day have no idea what he said in the letter but she called a few days after I talked to him and said she had all my money, would be out by the end of the week and she even shampooed the carpet for me.

I have probably spent about $600 on mine so far including the tools, rental of the hoist, replacing all the timing components like the belt, tensioner, pulley, etc. and all heater hoses, thermostat, transmission cooler line seals and clips and vacuum hoses. I was quoted $1200 by the dealer just for the rear main, an indy wanted $900 plus another $250 for the timing belt and that was just changing the belt, not the other items. I now know the in's and out's of this car pretty well and saved probably a little less than half the dealer charge to do the seal. If you have the engine out the rest of the seals like for the cams are pretty easy to get to. I did not change any of mine as they were not leaking but you could change them all easily if the engine is out.

Best of luck with whatever you decide to do and we are all here to help if you decide to dig in on it.

Whew, that was a long post, sorry about that.

Good luck,
Rob
97 850

 

I agree with what robrike said, but if you want to get rid of the car you could probably get $1200 back out of it either buy parting it out or just selling to somebody telling them the condition it is in. It's not a blown engine. It can be repaired. Two years ago I got $800 for one with a blown engine.

 

If tge PCV is cogged and you get it fixed alot of the seals that are leaking bad might slow down leaking alot or even stop. When the engine gets back to normal crankcase pressure the seals might be able to hold the oil back.

 

I fully agree with TECH. Buy the PCV kit from Groton, install it,and your crankcase pressure will come back to normal. Actually it will even pull some negative pressure in the crankcase and all your gasket leaks now will most probably stop. Just think about it, if you have too high pressure in the crankcase it wants to blow the oil out where ever possible.
It takes a few hours to install the kit, but I am sure that it is something you can handle. On a difficulty scale from one to ten, this projct is afour.You won't regret doingit.

Good luck.

 

Fooler and Tech are right. Try the PCV replacement first. I did that too hoping it would solve my rear main leak but I still had some pressure and the damage was done. Certainly worth the $140 or so to replace it all and see if it solves the problem. Make sure you have a ratchet type box end wrench in 10, 12, 13, and 14mm. It is perfect for getting the bolts under the intake manifold that hold the oil dipstick tube loose. That way you can go in from top instead of being under the car with 3ft of extensions for a socket. I would not throw the towel in just yet on the car.

Best of luck to you,
Rob

 

Joe,

Your 18 and have an advantage that I didn't have at that age and that is the INTERNET and this forum. I learned to fix my own cars at 16 by trial and error!! We can walk you through anything.

Go to the local Tom's River NJ Pep Boys. They have a $20 Special on Jack, Jack stands, Creeper from Torin. Then go toSEARS and buy a $250 mechanics tool set. Also, pick up a Set of Torx Drivers and Torx Sockets, at Lowes pick up the GEAR WRENCH Ratchet Combination Wrenches in Metric.

If you have enough money from family after that an air tool set and 3 Gallon Compressor would also be nice. I really reccomend CRAFTSMEN for hand tools. A good set of tools will last you for life!!

Next, pick up the PCV Kit from FCP Groton, print out the write up from www.matthewsvolvosite.com on the PCV replacement and go to work!

I work nights so I am on this board DAILY a few times from Noon to Midnight or later. If you keep this thread open and ask questions you can pretty much expect that TECH, JPN, myself or others will respond with help that day.

I have gotten a lot of help with this and a few other sites like it for Volvo & VW and now with my schedule (and being the only management in a large factory at night) I can "Give Back"

Rememberthis "Never Look a Gift Horse in the Mouth" If your family wants to help, Take it! Just don't squander it away and make them regret it. If you use the money for a decent set of tools, and aquire some skills you can repay them by doing minor repairs to THEIR vehicles. With even an OIL CHANGE costing over $20 or more today you could repay them 10 times over in the next 20 years.

I am 36 years old with wife, 2 kids, $2,000/month mortgage I have a good paying job but I even need help sometimes from my parents. If I did not know how to repair my cars. (mostly self taught) I probably could not drive. Labor here in CT at a decent shop is over $120/Hour!

Just cut out a little of your "surf time" and work on that 850, make it look and run real nice and jamb it up that "BEEAATCH's" $1K Exhaust sideways!!

 

Hi Joe,

Here's my personal opinion on the situation.

First of all, I wonder if you have a digital camera or could borrow one from someone, and take pics of the engine compartment, from as many angles as possible. Also, we may be able to judge whether it's worth keeping the 850 or to forget it, by looking at its exterior condition so if you could provide us with pics, that'll give us a good basis to judge whether your 850 is worth fixing. There are certain weaknesses to the 850, most of which can be fixed by a home mechanic with good sense of safety (yes, Isay safety should be your priority). Parts can be costly, but you don't have to fix everything at the same time.

>I spent all of my money that i saved on this car.
If you like the car (except the problems that it's giving you), I would fix it. If not, I wouldn't fix it. The best car out there is the car you really like, regardless of what others say to you.

>It sucks. Luckily I have a 91 honda civic that I never got rid of. I t was for sale and nobody wanted it. Good thing cause thats what Im driving right now.

Hondas & Toyotas are generally bullet-proof in durability (as long as they're well maintained), so while the 850 is out of service, take good care of the Civic.

>So pulling out the engine, replacing all the gaskets, the PCV system and all that, I really dont have the time when I pull 50 hour weekstrying to make some money bac because of this.

Are you done with high-school? is so, keep working & save money. Working hard will teach you a lot, but I'm sure you knew that without anyone's telling you. And if you don't have time, make some (cut back on partying, dating, etc... until your headache is gone).

>I dont want any money from family that feel bad for me, cause everybody has thrown me a few hundred but i really dont want it. I paid 1200 for the car and really dont know what to do.

Don't worry about that, President Johnson was borrowing money from his parents even when he was the President (or was it another President?). You seem to have high ethics and it is good, but when you can get help, get it; it is not a shameful act, it is sometimes necessary. And get itwhile it's available.

My life is screwed up too in a way at the moment. After having spent a good part of my formative years in the States (a total of 11.5 years), the Immigration (or Homeland Security or whatever they are called) didn't want to give me no more than 1-year work visa. So, even though I am used to living in the States and 99% of my friends are Americans, I had to leave (funny, that they are welcoming non-English speaking people through marriage, or possible terrorists while kicking out a great person(?) like myself[:@][8D]). And life in Japan SUCKS. I really hate it and wish I could return to the States asap. I am 3X years old, single, no kids of any sort, low-paying aircraft line-maintenance job (I don't know how they expect us to survive with that kind of trivial wages[8D]). And of course, I have to get financial assistance from my folks. So, remember there are always smaller fish like me, there is nothing to be ashamed of borrowing money from your folks, when you need it and if they have enough to sparewith you.

>I dont really wanna sell it for like a few hundred and have somebody else fix it who has the money and still lose hundreds. Looks like im in a worl of crap.

Let the other guy worry about it, it's not your problem. And you never know, it may be a Volvo enthusiast who's willing to throw $3,000 to restore it.

>O and shes really not afraid of court either.
Send the SOB to Japan for good; she'll appreciate it[8D]. Also, she's just acting like she's not afraid of being taken to court, she's simply trying to turn you down (unless she got advice from a lawyer/attorney in her family or whatever).

At your age, the brain is really flexible for learning and in a year or two, you'd be fixing 70% (or higher) of car problems on your own.

So, let us know what your plans are, whether you want to get the 850 back to service or forget it. Either way people here'll give you some useful advice.

P.S: As for tools, Craftsman is probably the best choice for home mechanics, but note, some sets include both Standard & metrics mixed together and may contain s few tools you may ever use. I personally would get the basic socket tools (ratchet, 6-point shallow & deep sockets, extensions, universal joint, interchangeable bit screw driver with various Torx bits, pliers, etc...) and keep building up slowly, as situations require.

I'm watching the forum while the State side in at night, sowhen others are zzz, I'll still be available.

I wish things turn out positive for you (and negative for that SOB[8D]).


JPN

 

We can help you fix anything you will ever need to fix on your car.

 

Tech, I need your help fixing this car up!


JPN

[IMG]local://upfiles/6892/9B599EE7C0CB47328A7A23762A99CDF7.jpg[/IMG]

 

Looks like an Audi not my speciality!!!

But I may be able to help some.

 

Hey, I just got an 850R for $200 Bucks!!! Can you guys help me restore this one!!!

See attachment

[IMG]local://upfiles/11267/14A5155C29064D4BB9D15323491B8FEF.jpg[/IMG]

[IMG]local://upfiles/11267/D37B2C9AC178464FB74445DF56933FBB.jpg[/IMG]

 

With a Donor car no problem!!!