Hey guys, anyone have any experience with a small oil leak coming from the side of the oil pan? There is a notch in the metal that is meant to be there but I don't know why its there. Ive had a leak now for the past few months and it seems to be coming slowly out of that notch. There are three small bolts that Ive tightened and that didn't stop the leak. 1996 850 glt n/a. Any help on this would be a big help. Ive ruined my new dr. way and I cant seem to figure it out. Thanks.

 

plenty of threads on this topic - do a quick search on "volvo 850 oil pan leak". Most posts suggest you need to drop the oil pan, clean both surfaces and then reseal using the volvo sealant (kind of like form-a-gasket ). Good news is the n/a engine doesn't have turbo lines to get in the way so yours should be pretty straight forward. A few other thoughts - 1) make sure there's no other leak dripping to the pan 2) make sure there's no crankcase pressure issues (ie PCV gummed up) - sounds like you probably just need to reseal just make sure all surfaces are scraped and cleaned with a solvant, then tighten cross bolt with even pressure around.

 

This.

Crank case pressure can cause the leak and once it starts there is no way to stop the leak because the seal has been compromised. The only way to stop it is reseal it.

 

boxpin, thanks for the info. The leak started about 6 months ago. I just replaced the PCV system yesterday. I was hoping the pressure relief would stop the leak. Its a small leak coming out of the weep hole between oil pan and trans. What is the weep hole for? and is that the rear main seal?

 

What is a weep hole and is it an oil pan seal or rear main seal leak?

 

If its coming from between the pan and the trans then it may be the rear main seal. Good job on the PCV exchange, that will help. If the car has high mileage and you recently started using synthetic oil, that can cause it too.