Been working through an oil leak issue on my 97 850R since I got it.. one little bit at a time. 125k miles, pretty much stock.

I'm a somewhat do-it-yourself'er. Jobs that I have the right tools to do, or I decide are 'safe' for me to tackle, I do myself. When it gets too big, or requires a lift, I have a local mechanic that I've known for years who has fair rates and does excellent work.

In recent months, I've done the following:
New PCV
New rear exhaust cam seal (other cam seals fine)
New turbo drain gaskets
New oil cooler lines

Been doing this in stages, trying to dry up the oil slick in my side of the driveway

After the oil cooler lines were done yesterday, I crawled underneath today, cleaned everything up real well, and went for a 40 mile round trip. Came home, and the underside of the engine is once again covered in oil!

I put the car on the ramps, and oil is coming out of the weep hole between the transmission and the engine.

So, I'm pretty sure that means it's the rear main seal.

So, a few questions

This is out of my comfort zone, and I'm going to have a professional do it.

It looks like the engine and transmission have to come out, so they can be separated to replace the seal. Or, at least the transmission.

What else should I consider having done at the same time?

I read on one site that the transmission pump seal should be changed while the transmission is out.

Does having the transmission out make it easier to do any maintenance items I'm going to eventually want to do anyways? Coolant lines to/from the turbo, or anything like that? Those are the other maintenance item I've been trying to figure out how to do - because I can't get to them with my ramps or my jack stands.

I've got a good local mechanic who has very reasonable labor rates who I've asked to put together a quote on Monday.

I would *love* to do a 5 speed conversion now, but since this is my DD, it's not really practical for me. Maybe if it were 'just' a toy

Another year or so, and I should have stage 1 complete....

 

Also, is it normal that a RMS on a 17 year old Volvo would leak? Or does this indicate I need to look elsewhere for what might have caused this to fail?

 

My guess is that the seal was weakened because of a bad PCV somewhere along the road.

I would consider replacing subframe bushings and hydraulic motor mounts.

 

I've never seen the front pump seal on any Volvo transmission leak. Not sure I'd mess with that.

Also haven't had to do any subframe bushings on anything except the new P3 chassis.

The engine doesn't come out, but the transmission does. Doing the turbo coolant hoses would be a good idea. Might consider the lower radiator hose, though that isn't very hard to do with the transmission in. If you're doing all those hoses, might consider the heater hoses too.

The engine mounts are easier to do with the subframe lowered, and even easier if they remove the subframe completely. So like rspi said, you might consider them as well.

Otherwise, there really isn't any other "while you're in there" type jobs associated with that.

 

I talked with my regular mechanic, a long-time trusted friend, about this job. He's good, has affordable rates, and doesn't try to sell things you don't need. Those things can be hard to find in a mechanic.

He, unfortunately, does not have the right tool to suspend the engine while taking the transmission out, so he said he cannot do the job.

The only local place he recommended is one I had a bad experience with twice several years ago, and I refuse to go back there.

My mechanic did say his system indicated it was about a 9 hour job.

So, now I need to find a trustworthy shop in the area. I called one that I knew of about an hour away from me, and asked about the job, and they refused to quote the job without seeing the car and diagnosing the failure themselves. They are a M-F 8-5 operation, and I work M-F 8-5. I tried to get them to tell me what their shop labor rate is, and the guy said once again that he had to see the car. So, I'm not taking a day off of work to go get a quote from them.

The dealer will likely be the most expensive choice, and I'm not sure I gain anything from using the dealer short of a lighter wallet.'

So, I'm still looking.

 

Robert, instead of just guessing that the PCV weakened the RMS, are there any tests I should perform to be sure?

I must start by admitting that I am not an experienced mechanic. I'm a guy who is very mechanical and learns a little each time I have to do something new.

I talked with my Dad, and he mentioned that the turbo could potentially pressurize the crankcase and cause the RMS to fail. He said that a blow-by test might help determine that, but wasn't sure how to test that on my car.

I just want to make sure I've done what I need to do to make sure the cause of the RMS failure has been resolved... as I don't want to spend the money twice. If something else needs attention first.. I want to make sure I fix everything that needs fixed.

 

The turbo isn't really going to get pressure into the crankcase. But leaking piston rings may be what he is referring to. A cylinder leakage test would tell you this.

 

I agree with what has been said so far by both rspi and es6t. These engines can go 500,000miles no problems with good care. If you want to do a leakage test that wouldn't hurt, but rspi said it was the pcv more then likely because most people don't even know it exists to do and never do it. The rms really only fails early if there is a lot of pressure in the engine. There are many other seals that could give out, but that is a more common one to go if pcv is bad and has gotten worse over time. I honestly wouldn't even do the leakage test. That's about the only reason these engines have problems. I don't remember full details, but you can do the rubber glove test to check the engine pressure. Someone else chime in because i forgot main details. Rspi also has a couple of videos related to the pcv and rms i believe on his youtube channel if that helps you also. I know here is a right up somewhere of how to do the rms also. I read it once and it is very detailed. Think that answered most questions.

 

The RMS is a pretty hearty seal. Not sure why is leaks more often than the crank pulley seal, maybe the tranny heat has something to do with it.

I think the glove test tells you if pressure is building in the motor or now. Should be vacuum. I have seen the motor support which was a brace system that rested in the finders on both sides. I bet you can get one from somewhere, maybe even Harbor Freight. Heck, you may even be able to make one out of 4x4's.

You may consider taking the car to Cincy or Columbus if you can't find a place in Indi. If some shop can pull the motor they can do the job as well. I had mine done when I purchased my car and had the tranny replaced for $400, a day or so after I replaces the PCV. No leaks since 3 years ago.

 

When I think about big jobs on these cars I compare them to car notes. There are only about 5 or 6 jobs that cost more than $500. Not bad for a car that can easily give you another 4 years of service if you are not tinkering with it trying to squeeze all of the possible power out of the motor.

 

I wouldn't complain about paying someone $500 to replace the RMS in labor, but I don't want the shop to try and sell me everything else under the sun that I may or may not need

I want someone who will either let me bring them genuine Volvo parts, or use genuine volvo parts, and not mark them up too badly

 

I totally feel you there about having a good shop. Thankfully I have a good buddy who works on volvos and owns 2 850's. Whenever he quits his business I will be so depressed. It is getting harder to find good shops lately.

 

Not sure if you completed this job yet but I just did the same thing on my 850. I decided to change out the following when doing the RMS that was leaking out of the weap hole.

RMS
Front tranny seal
Axel seals
Oil pick up seals
Oil pump seals
Front and rear camshaft seal

In doing this job I also did the timing belt and pullys

Pulled the motor and tranny our with a new lift and leveler, was not that hard. Most parts purchased from FCPEuro