1994 Volvo 850 Turbo Wagon:

Sooo... I have found a considerable amount of oil inside all my intake plumbing. It looks like it is entering via the crankcase ventilation hose/PTC Nipple.

I would assume that the PCV oil trap is clogged. However...

I just thoroughly cleaned the oil trap and all PCV lines.

My question is then, "what else could be causing oil to be pushed through the crankcase ventilation hose?"

Thank you for your help

abe

 

If the engine is really worn you might have an excessive amount of blow by that just can't be handled by the PVC system.

Did you clean out the PTC valve just before the turbo ?? Mine was so bad I had to use a drill bit to etch out the passage from the baked hard carbonized oil that had clogged it.

http://www.matthewsvolvosite.com/for...hp?f=1&t=36184
http://www.matthewsvolvosite.com/for...hp?f=1&t=21995

Did you clean the black box (PCV) or replace it ??

Did you make sure the holes in the block the black box mounts into weren't restricted with crud as most are ?? Tun something in there to make sure they were open ??

How did you test the vacuum lines to make sure they were fully open and not deteriorated/restricted on the inside from the oil and heat ??

Some times it takes a little time for the system to clean itself up. Not sure why that is but others have reported no improvement with a smoking dipsitck right after doing the PCV replacement but had it start working better a while later.

 

Thanks for the reply...

The oil trap (black box) has been thoroughly cleaned with brake cleaner, hot water, etc, etc... to the point that water flowed easily through each hole.

All hoses are new.

And the PTC nipple is clean and flowing.

I'll take the system out again this weekend and check the passages into the block.

Something did occur to me though... Through some error, the dipstick is showing excess oil in the engine. I wonder if this would be enough to drown PCV system...

 

Man, this sounds stupid, but check your air filter. If its clogged, your engine could be sucking oil in through the vent.

Also, check and see how much blowby your car has. Pop the oil cap off while its running.

 

Is this the first time you have pulled your intake tubes? There will be oil in these tubes...thats a given. The PCV system does its best to capture the oil particles but it wont get everything and you will end up with oil in your intake. The real question, is it excessive? I would clean it up and run it for a week then check it again. Get an idea where you stand.

 

A really dirty air filter can cause the system to have so much suction it does draw in air with oil faster than the PCV can separate it out.

Sometimes it's easier to notice it coming out the dipstick tube since it's smaller diameter makes a smaller leak more noticeable. See youtube example.

 

And of course what Boxpin said. There is always a little oil getting sucked in it's just a matter of how much and how quickly it builds up.

 

hmm I didn't realize that. It seems like this is a considerable amount though. It has built up all the way past the turbo, past the intercooler, and into the throttle body. I will definitely clean it all out and see what happens.

As for the air filter, it is very clean.

As a side note, could blow-by affect the coolant system? I hit the gas hard today, and started smelling coolant. I looked down at the passenger side floor and it was soaked with it. From what I can tell, it all came out of the floor vent. My guess is that there is excess pressure in the coolant lines, and it ruptured near the heater core??

Interestingly, its not leaking anymore...

 

Likely the heater core leaking. You need to get that fixed before you loose to much coolant out of the motor and overheat the car. That will surely kill it.