So ive been burning oil for the last 2 weeks. Not much but its annoying the crap out of me. (I dont like the way it looks) Other wise the car runs and Idles Perfectly.
It seems to me to be a valve guide or a valve guide seal. with out doing a leak down test to pinpoint the cause (because im unable to locate a friggin tester in all of Miami-Dade County BullSh*t) I have decided to just do the head.

I have been looking at 2 kits,
FCP's kit --->Volvo Engine Cylinder Head Gasket Set (850 C70 S70 V70 ) - Elring 275234 | FCPEuro.com
And
IPD's --->Head Gasket Set

The both have most of the same parts, but some gaskets are in one and not in the other, and so on a nd so fourth, blah blah blah...

Which one would you recommend I get?

ALSO
I am putting a set of N/A cams in when I do it and..
Should I suck it up and Spend the $160 for the set of lifters?
or
should I not even bother.

 

I would personally make sure you HAD to tear the head completely off before i went ahead and did it. It could be valve stem seals, turbo seals, etc. And you can do those without taking the head off.

That being said, if you do have to pull the entire head, consider your future plans for the car. do you plan on building it for a bunch of power? if so, I'd get a better head gasket than you get with that set (think cometic) and ARP studs. Is it cheap? nope, but it'll save you the headache of ever having to screw around with it again.

As for cams: definitely go ahead and do it while you have the cam cover off - why not? May as well do a timing belt too while you are in there if it hasnt been done recently.

 

How much oil is it using? Agree w/ibified; are you sure it not the turbo seals? Are you sure it's not the rings? Would suck to R+R the head just to have to do it again for rings...

 

Well for some reason, unknown to me. I seem to have been banned for a week? I guess it will get figured out, But in the mean time I didnt want you guys to think that I was ignoring your replys..

Go figure, but here is what I have done...
So after some more diagnosing here is what I got..

Compression test Opt temp, WOT (dry) 155-160 across the board.
Pulled one wire at a time and started the car to see if the smoking wold stop... no luck Same all across
Plugs Look normal, Will post a pic in a min.
Top Dead Center. Air into cylinders no leaking out of Exh or int sides..
Seafoam treatment... Found an exhaust leak between the Downpipe and the Turbo exhaust housing.

I have not done the wet compression test cause im not to sure how to do it, or what to expect results wise. How are the numbers supposed to look after wards?


I still want to do a leak down test but the only one I can find it the crappy harbor freight one ( I dont trust it)

But based on that Im thinking and with your guys input im thinking its either valve stem seals or something with the turbo seals.

Would a bad seal on the turbo cause smoking?
Would that oil be making it all the way thru the piping and I/C to be burned in the cyl?

 

My guess would be the turbo is leaking.

 

Absolutely it would cause smoking, miami. My car was smoking pretty bad there for a while....to the point where I had a thin film of oil on my back window. Once I got the turbo changed, it went away completely.

The turbos in our cars have coolant flowing through them as well as oil - and the oil return seal is notorious for leaking, which leaves a puddle on your garage floor. That, however, is not your issue. The turbo also has interior seals that keep the oil inside the turbo housing. if those seals start to go bad, you will have a leak. Mine was on the intake side, and as such, I had oil through all of my intercooler piping, intercooler, etc. Swapping out a turbo isnt overly difficult on our cars - just be sure you replace the crush gaskets when you take the oil and coolant lines off.

 

I guess I was so set on it being something like the valve seals, I didnt even pay attention to the obvious!

I pulled the intake tube and it was full of oil, I stuck my fingers in the turbo inlet and I have more than minimal play like the turbo shop told me.
I pulled the lower intercooler hose and low and behold there was oil.

That would explain ALOT! It is the original turbo, and i may have screwed the seals when I was driving with the CBV not connected.
And now that I have everything routed correctly and NEW silicone hoses on I am only getting about 5psi sometimes 7-8psi.

Im shoping for a rebuild kit now, and to find a local shop that can balance it for me.

Just ordered new studs, nuts, and gaskets from FCP. If only they sold the Rebuil kits.

I have only found 2 companys that sell a quality rebuild kit, one is in Cali and one is in Europe.

Once again you guys are awesome!!
Ill report back in a week or two when I have it rebuilt and on the car.

 

Unless you have the ability to balance it yourself at 120K RPM, do NOT try to rebuild the turbo yourself. Get a shop to do it for you.

Or do what I did and take the opportunity to upgrade to a bigger turbo. I got a 16T from ebay for less than a rebuild on the 15gt would have cost me. When i got it, it looked brand new, and was genuine volvo (came off an S70 with 55K on it, according to the ad - I believe that) and had ZERO shaft play.

 

Yeah I just got back from the sorry heat game and the turbo is gone. im only getting 2psi.
I ordered the rebuild kit from a place in cali that the shop by my house recommended, they have been doing business with them for 15 years. The Complete Genuine Mitsu Rebuild kit minus the wheels is going to run me $80 and an addl $25 for the genuine mitsu cbv.

Ill replace all the parts and bring the turbo to them. they will torque it all down, balance it up and warranty it all for $30.

I was actually thinking about a genuine 16T cartridge that he will sell me for $400.

But im going to go the rebuild route for now, cause I cant find another turbo for less than $300, and I dont have the extra cash for the new one right now.

The worst part is I just put out the money for the IPD tune and I cant even enjoy it yet

 

Glad you figured it out.

 

Yeah, Me too.. Im glad I didnt have to crack open the motor.

Anyone have any ideas on what to use to clean out the intercooler and hoses that wont cause any damage or corrosion?
I was thinking dawn dish soap....

 

So here is what I found when I pulled the turbo.



It looks like its been leaking for a while..
I will be rebuilding it tommorow, so look for a step by step for a TD04 rebuild

 

good luck balancing it. I hope you have a method for doing so. If you dont, there's really no point in rebuilding it...without balancing, they will wear out VERY quickly.

By the way, my turbo looked just as bad when I swapped mine. Nasty stuff, isnt it?

 

I would think that Gunk Oil Flush (kerosene pretty much) might help, run it for 5-10 minutes, then drain the oil and change the filter. I don't know where you would pour it though...

Or maybe Chinese Water Torture (a SeaFoam recipe) - Turbobricks Forums ?

 

Just picked the cartridge up from the turbo shop in Ft. Lauderdale they balanced it for $35. I was recommended to them by about 7 people and also by the 2 volvo dealerships in south florida. They have been there for 45 years so I felt comfortable trusting them

cleaned everything up in the parts washer at the motorcycle shop.
Rebuilt it and dropped the cartridge off at the turbo shop. now she is ready to go back together tomorrow if it doesnt rain.

I also found a worn out 19T on craigslist for $50. I just ordered the rebuild kit for $85.. gunna send that tout to get rebuilt cause it may need a shaft and exhaust wheel.

 

Hey its worth a shot..

 

Oooooooh Shiny!

 

mmmm . . . pur-dee . . .

 

Well.... Sad to say rebuilding the turbo did not stop the smoking, although all signs pointed to that being the problem.

On a good note Rebuilding it and replacing all the external seals for the oil feed and return lines, I officially have NO oil leaks!!

Looks like Im going to do the valve guide seals before I pull the head but That seems to be my focus cause compression is good (dry and wet) a little towards the low side (160+-) but good.

 

give it some time to get the rest of the oil and crap out of the intercooler hoses first. You may not have any other issue than lingering oil in your pipes.