My 2001 Volvo S40 with 145k miles suddenly started leaking a lot of oil this weekend. I've never had a leak before and never seen a car with a leak this bad. I crawled under and couldn't figure out where it was coming from but it is somewhere mid engine high on the back side. While I was under the car looking I noticed an exposed gear next to the passenger side inboard cv joint where it meets the transmission. Is this normal? The gear was completely dry and it didn't look like oil was near this area. I started the car and the gear was spinning away in park. I'm taking the car to the mechanic in the morning but wanted to seek advise here first.

 

Hi, a photo or video would help.

 

Yeah, it started raining on me. If it clears up before I take the car to the shop I'll try to get one.

 

Here it is. I was laying on my back under the car with my head facing the rear and my feet hanging out under the front. The oil is coming from above the gear but you can see how bad it is leaking.
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That's the flexplate/flywheel. The teeth are what the starter motor uses to crank the engine. Oil leam could be rear cam seals or turbo return line, hard to tell from the picture though.

 

Thanks ES6T! So the teeth on the flywheel are supose to be open lime that?

 

It's no big deal to be exposed. If you do not have the special tool for holding the engine from turning this provides a place to wedge a screw driver while removing the nut on the crankshaft pulley.

Mid engine high on the back side describes the turbo oil return line location. The O-ring is famous for leaking. IPD sells a repair kit. Having done this myself I can tell you it's tight. My hands are average size and there is barely enough room to reach to the bottom of the turbo. Took me a couple hours just to wiggle hands, parts, and tools in and out of the available space.

You absolutely must check for any other leaks though. It's possible the oil came from higher up like the CVVT gear or cam seals. Can you remove the timing belt cover and see if the timing belt is oil covered? Is there oil on top of the engine?

 

When I look from the top of the engine I cannot see any oil... Only when I get under. Doesn't look like it is coming from the timing belt area at all. I think I'm going to let my mechanic tackle this one for me.

 

$2.69 for the kit. Labor is going to cost a bunch more.

Turbo Drain Pipe Seal Kit