Hello, I'm new to this forum as well as to the car repair world. I recently purchased a 1996 Volvo 850 Turbo and I've noticed that it's leaking from the top right corner of the valve cover. I was cleaning the engine when I noticed that I could move the cover by hand with not much force but when I tried to tighten or loosen the torque screws that are keeping the cover down I couldn't move them AT ALL. I tried over and over with different screws but all of them seem to be stuck in place.

My question is: Is the oil leak a result of the cover being loose?

What would I need and how would I execute replacing the gasket cover?

Am I doing something wrong or do I just need to try to loosen the bolts harder?

Thank you for your time!

 

Seems that what you're moving is the plastic cover that is on top of the engine. Often oil leaks past filler cap gasket on top and drools down after filling the plug wells in the head. A clogged PCV system can also add pressure to the crankcase to increase oil leakage.
The screws have to come out to remove the cover. The fact that they move some is good.
Squirt some liquid wrench or your favorite weasel **** on the screws in hope that it'll run down the threads. Work the screws back and forth until they can be removed.

The actual valve cover is an integral part of the engine which secures the cams and provides 1/2 of all the cam bearing surface. There is no gasket, just a sealing agent involved.
Ed

 

Hey ed, sorry to seem nooby but I got about 10% of what you just said.

So it's a "filler cap gasket" that I need to replace? Is this something that someone who has very little experience take on?

So after I unscrew the 8-10 screws that are holding the plastic cover in place I need to purchase a sealant to reapply after I replace the filler cap gasket?

The most I've ever done involving mechanical work is just a simple oil change, breaks, and replacement of a MAFS and a Torque rod bushing.

 

It sounds like the pcv system need to be replaced... $110 in parts and about 4 hours for the novice do-it-yourselfer

read this thread it will answer alot of questions..
---->https://volvoforums.com/forum/volvo-...s-s-v70s-9266/

 

LMAO... direct from the weasel works best

 

Damn, $110?

I'm really broke right now. I was told that I needed a new gasket or valve cover gasket or something like that to stop the leaking. ~$20.

Could it be that there's a cheaper solution? I'll take photos and post them later tonight.

 

Oh, I see what you're saying. I already replaced the entire Oil filler cap as I noticed a few weeks ago of the oil leak and saw some oil collecting around the cap and at the bottom right of the plastic cover. I had originally though that the oil on the plastic cover in the corner might have been from the cap leaking, but I replaced the cap and since then the only oil I see leaking is from the top right corner of the plastic cover.

I cleaned the engine with some engine decreaser and noticed that even without the car running the oil is slowly leaking out and onto other components. Could it be some sort of gasket or seal or something that I need to replace?

 

The pictures would be very helpful and you might want to take the plastic cover off so you can better tell where the oil is coming from. That 20 dollar estimate was likely from someone just guessing as a lot of engines have a gasket or two that is replaceable and it is about that much for the part(s). For lack of a better term, ours our glued together.

 

Is this what you are calling the "valve cover"? The part that says "VOLVO 20 VALVE"?



If so, that is the spark plug cover. That cover has 8 screws in it. The screws have a shank so that they can not crush the plastic cover. You may have to get a good 30T bit and break them loose. When you put them back on, don't tighten them to much. When the cover is off this is what you'll see (with the spark plug wires pulled):



I have seen some cars that did not even have the cover. I have a little bit of oil at my cover corner nearest the battery. I'll take a peek to see where the oil is coming from.

 

If you've done that, you're past 1/2 way there. You can likely do 80% of what the car would need.

 

Our cars dont have valve cover gaskets, only machined surfaces with chemical sealant

 

I can't tell you how helpful you've been just correcting me on the Spark plug cover name. I was literally up for hours last night trying to find a valve cover gasket. The only thing I found was these rubber rings that look like they would go onto those holes in the second image. I'll take off the spark plug cover and take some pictures and post them in a few hours to see if anyone here can better identify what needs to be replaced and weather or not it's something that a novice with about $40 can do on his own rather than having to put a mechanic bill on credit, hehe.

 

I can tell you right now what you need.... Its a common problem with these 850's and 70's... PCV system needs to be replaced like I said in my previous post..
PCV Breather System Kit
And while your at it pick this up too..
ipd HD Viton Oil Cap Seal

The intake manifold needs to come off... if you have never done it Id say it might take you 4 hours or so...
Ive done this about 20 times on multiple cars, so I can get this done in like 35 to 45 min..

If your anywhere near miami id be glad to do it for free..

other wise here is a nice write up on how to do it ---->http://lakesidedp.com/uploadpics/pcv/

 

Honestly, I think I'm in much bigger trouble than I was in before. I just took out my car for a drive and something feels very, very wrong with my car. The engine is making these wierd tugs and pulls. while driving at a constant speed, the engine will produce less power, then suddenly a lot of power and it'll shift gears. I'm freaking out now because this is all going over my head and I think I might have damaged my car in a big way. It feels like the car is trying to move forward when i have the break down and it's doing it in small bursts.

I'm just about ready to say screw it and take it to a mechanic. This is screwed up, I have no money and my car feels like it's on the verge of a major break down...

 

If you have no money for a $90 per hour shop, you need to calm down and think a little.

First of all, is the CEL (check engine light) on? If so, stop by auto zone or somewhere like that and have them read your codes for you and post them here.

When the PCV system is plugged up and it finally breaks a vacuum tube, hose or elbow it will cause the car to run funny. Then again you could have a totally un-related problem but your CEL is the key to it all.

BTW, did you take the time to read the NEW V0LVO 850 OWNER thread?

 

I did look over the NEW VOLVO 850 thread and the CEL has been on for a little over 3 months. I took it to a mechanic then and he said that the MAFS was faulty so I recently replaced it myself. I couldn't find any places that reset CEL for free or for a small fee ~$10 so I just left it on. I completely overlooked the fact that there could have been more codes since I first checked it. I'll go to a local autozone to see if they'll reset it or if i could barrow/rent an OBD II computer.

I checked to see if smoke came out of the oil dipstick and after running my car a bit I pulled over and it did indeed blow out white smoke.

I just drove it a round a bit after posting earlier and it seems as though the problem has gone away for now. Same thing goes for the oil leak, it just...stopped?

 

sound like you need a stage 0 too.... Cap, Rotor, Plugs, Wires, AF and FF...
Alot of people dont think that a clogged pcv will cause sputtering and stalling issues, but I can say it does.... before last time I did my pcv the car would stall and give a problem starting after it stalled... Waited a min or so and it would start. replaced the pcv issue gone..

Replace the PCV and do a stage 0.. that will solve alot of your problem and then go from there.

any auto parts store will loan you their reader for free if you hand over your license till your done. If you dont know how to use it they will read the code and clear it for you.

Maintenance on these cars can get a little pricey sometimes so if your not ready to foot that bill, sell the car and get a civic or corolla where parts are cheaper. BUT if your willing to put the money out from time to time, and do regular maintenance these cars can take what ever you throw at them.

Im at 438,000 miles and have no fears about just hopping in the car and driving cross country.

 

sounds great! Thanks for the advice, I was thinking about selling it, but I got mine at $2500 with new paint ($3000), all leather, 62k miles, new tires, new tranny 20k miles back, and the only thing that was wrong with it was the CV boot was torn.

The guy who was selling it said that the car belonged to his mother who was like 86 years old, he had every single record of work done to the car. I was first on the scene but he got 34 missed calls during the test drive. I think for the price, i got a "till it dies" car.

 

MY advise..... DONT SELL IT!!!!!
Treat her right and she will treat you better..
PCV was probably never done thats why your having so many issues

 

You can go to a AutoZone shop and read codes. If it has not been cleared, it may have the old code and a few new ones. If you are saying that you recently purchased this car for $2,500 with less than 70,000 miles on it, that's awsome.

You need to look through the records and see if the timing belt was ever done, if not you need to do it ASAP. Belt, rollers and tensioner. If you don't you may loose the motor if the belt breaks.