Rear Main Housing leak
 

I have a leaky gasket (rear main housing seal) and have tried an alternative to the ~9hours labor (quoted by my mechanic) to fix the $20 gasket. Ive used two bottles of a product he uses (cant think of the name right now($13 a bottle)). It helped slow oil consumption for about a week, but now im leaking about a quart a week again. Does anyone have some suggestions for some specific additives that have worked for them with there leaking 850. When the flywheel spins it brings the dribble down the gasket. Thanks for the help.

Ew. I will never use additives. I wouldn't recommend it. By saying that you've used additives, and it helped for a little bit, but now it's back to consuming just as much oil as before, shows that the additive made it worse. The RMS is a pretty solid gasket, there really is nothing on there for an additive to clog up. If it's leaking....it's leaking.

Just replace the gasket.

Unfortunately i dont have the money to take apart the front end of the car for the gasket replacement. the additive did not make it worse but simply prolonged the issue. I dont quite understand why you made that statement but I understand that you are against additives while I am looking for an alternative to replacing the gasket. At this point right now my one alternative is to continue to feed my girl oil which I am doing, I am simple interested in feeding her a little less. If anyone has had success with any additives please let me know.

Are you mechanically inclined enough to do the job yourself? Because if you are, it's actually pretty simple if all you're doing is removing the transmission and can be done through the driver side wheel well on jack stands.

I'm just saying, I've heard of cases where the seal will just start spitting out oil after being neglected for an extended period of time, and then it'll be a bigger problem. But if you really want to add an additive, but Lucas makes good stuff.

Honestly I feel like I can do anything If i set my mind to it but havent even considered it after my mechanic told me 9hours labor. I dont think the process is covered in my haynes manual, can you offer any resources for the procedure and do you have any idea how long it would take a backyard mech. Thanks

1- When was the last time you serviced / replaced the PCV system? Some people report that when the blocked PCV is unblocked, that has stopped or lessened the oil leaks.

PCV needs to be clean BEFORE you do the RMS.

Another thing you can try is to use a thicker oil, such as 15 or even 25W50.

Thanks for the tips Henry
 

How do I clean the Pcv system? My haynes manual is mia but when I find it do you think it is covered in there? Is it as simple as disconnecting hoses and making sure there are no obstructions? And is putting real thick oil suitable for a 5cylinder engine. (my mechanic never made that suggestion)

Vilenica, playing Russian Rulette with additives, internet fishing, etc., is not good. What you are doing is as bad as driving around with a bad water pump or cracked radiator. Just get it fixed, after you REPLACE the PCV system if you have a turbo car. If the car is NOT turbo, have the flame trap replaced or cleaned. Using thicker oil would be a better option that putting Quick Create additives in the motor. I'm with Gilber, if you can't get it fixed, keep dumping oil in it. One quart per week is not much more than the cost of a gallon of gas.

Search this forum and others to find instructions on how to do it yourself. Figure 1.5x longer than your mechanic told you for a diy. You may have to purchase a few tools but if you study right you should be ok. And by all means do something before you destroy your motor/car and have to find another one.

Search Matthew's Volvo Site. Guarantee there's a couple write ups on there.

Thanks for your help back then guys- since then, I have replaced the starter, ac comp, alternator, and bypassed a leaky heater core- and I still feed her oil and am just this summer considering exploring the pcv system- I've replaced a half carbonated flame trap 6 mo ago with a 3 dollar plastic one- All the right ups I've seen they replace the lines $$$- im interested in just servicing mine. Does this seem reasonable or am Pissing in the wind?

I recently serviced mine (PCV) and did not replace any lines. I did buy a new oil trap and flame trap though for a lot less than the whole set with lines etc. I have to point out that my lines were in really good shape and I just cleaned them out very thoroughly and replaced all the clamps.

I have to agree with everyone here about making sure your PCV is working correctly, before moving on to do the other. One quick thing you might want to check for are the tell tale signs of a clogged/blocked system: smoke out of dipstick tube, oil on valve cover (under the spark plug cover) etc.

Good luck!