Hi all, I’m seeking advice.
issue; in 4/2024 I took my car to a repair shop to fix an oil leak, I had called to confirm they work on Volvo/european vehicles. The “technician/mechanic said he changed the oil pump seal, timing belt and water pump because there was a CEL 016 017 crank and cam shaft sensor issue. Till this date 8/24 the oil leak exists. I asked the shop manager;don’t they have to lock the cam and the crankshaft in position with a special tool before the tbelt is removed? He said yes. After many other trials they realized it’s the cam seal that was leaking all along and now tells me they’re waiting on a special tool to hold the cam and crank in place before they can change that seal.
I get the feeling they’re lying, I thought those seals were included in the job of changing a water pump and t belt, knowing the water pump has absolutely nothing to do with the seals oil leak but I get that it’s a package type job. My car is currently disabled because they took those things apart to change the oil seal. It’s been a week now since it’s in the shop.
Any comments or advice is appreciated. Thanks all.

 

when you say the cam seal is leaking, that may be a symptom and not the root cause. Leaking around the cam gear can also be caused by the VVT so that should be checked out. Additionally, a clogged PCV system can create positive crank case pressure which can push oil out of an otherwise functional cam seal (and can even push the seal out...). You can do a basic rubber glove test to check crank case presssure on your own (see Youtube for how to vids) and for the VVT, you may need to clean the area around the cam seal as best you can to see if you can find the source of the leak. Again there's some vids on Youtube on testing/replacing the VVT actuator and possibly the cam gear. To note on the timing belt install, the procedure is a bit more complex than just locking the cams - the tech also needs to rotate (load) the VVT gear otherwise the cam timing will be off. Assuming the car ran properly w/o a CEL after the timing belt was installed, chances are the tech did do the job properly or did something else to ensure the cams/gears didn't wander. Again check youtube for vids to get an idea of how this is done on a Volvo VVT engine.

 

Thank you, I’ve been thinking about the pcv being clogged because they changed the VVT solenoids and the oil fill neck o ring also, I could see oil on the tbelt and slinging around when the engine is running, I’ll see after they change that cam seal.

 

I agree with the first commenter. Cam seals are not always replaced when the belt is changed. Depending on mileage the PCV could be clogging. Dn your oil changes more often than the 7500 miles, too. I am now doing 3750 on my 2011 C70. Cam seals have been replaced at least two times with 105000 miles. Daughter ran car with engine light on when the PCV needed changing. She didn.t know how important that engine light is. Now she does.

 

I was also thinking about the pcv. I mentioned that to the shop sv writer, I showed them the tbelt/water pump kit, it does include the two seals. I didn’t mind shelling out the $2200 the charged because I thought I would get a good and complete job done, gosh I just have to be patient and see what happens.

 

So, what happened?

Tedders

 

So after I spent all that money and 2 weeks in the shop, they changed the water pump and the tbelt that was already changed. V ring seals and finally the cam seals. The cam seals were where the oil leak was in the first place. Apparently another previous “tech” replaced the cam seals but damaged one while trying to put it in. They showed me the damaged one. Now another issue turned up, the coolant keeps disappearing, I took in the car again for them to check. They found nothing wrong they said. On one of my long trips the car overheated again and of course i shut it down. The coolant again was not in the reservoir, I wasn’t far from a safe place so I waited till the engine cooled then limped off. Later that day i just thought to check the oil dipstick and sure enough my worst nightmare, anyone cares to guess?🤨☹️

 

So I guess they owe you a new engine (unless they can promise a flush and fix!)

Tedders

 

I just wanted a cool nice ride for my wife and I to relax on an evening drive. I can’t believe this hell I’ve gotten into with this car.