Oil leaking from inside timing belt cover
 

Hi everybody,

I'm new to the forum. I'm driving a 2000 S40 turbo with 160'000 miles on it. I've got the car a little over a year now.

Recently I noticed that oil is leaking from the car. It seems to come from inside the timing belt cover and it's spreading all over the right suspension. Pretty nasty down there!

Any ideas what the leak might be?

Appreciate any help. Thanks.

I will bet it is either the VVT pulley or the front cam seals.

Thanks tech,

I've read in another post that sometimes it's a clogged ventilation system. Could this be the reason in my case? Is there an easy way of checking?

If you have smoke coming out of the dipstick tube that looks like a train then it could be clogged.
But also once the seal is leaking it should be replaced.

Thank you. I don't see any smoke. Did not have time yet to locate the leak though.

In the mean time, I've spent quite some time trying to find that oil leak. Couldn't find it so I took the car to a mechanic specializing in Volvos. They say that the VVT actuator is leaking. Anyone ever had the same problem? They wanna charge $800 to fix it. Does that sound reasonable?

Sadly is sounds pretty close. I have seen alot of them leak like that.

Thanks tech, makes me feel slightly better.

So I had the car in the shop (twice) and they replaced the CVVT cam gear and seals as well as the exhaust cam seal. It was fine for about 200 miles but now it has started leaking again. It looks exactly the same to me as before the repair. Could they just have done a bad job or maybe something else is leaking now? Any ideas? I'm gonna take it back to the shop but it would help me to know what else is likely to leak (or not).

Appreciate your help.

Did they service the vent system?
If not the vent system might be clogged causing way to much pressure causing the seals to leak.

Or they could have messed up the install on the seals.

Thanks, I'll make sure to ask them.

In general, is such an oil leak difficult to fix? I've had it back at that shop twice, but it's still not good. They are independent Volvo specialists and in the business for 25 years. I've had a good impression talking to them and their shop looks neat and tidy. But now I'm a bit disappointed. Unless this is really something that's hard to repair. On the other hand, they should know about the vent system, right?

It is usually not that bad of a fix.
Yes they should know about the vent system as well.

seems to be a cycle of leaks . I changed PCV , I put new crank seal, new cam seals. This put oil pressure on solenoid then I put new solenoid gasket, then the internal oil ring leaked and I replaced the o ring . Now I think the actual VVT is leaking as there are no more options.

Yes its seems fatal now , remember that a failed PCV can do a lot of damage to virtually the entire engine as the pressure will destroy all seals and engine components if left for some time , its a common problem on many Volvos and should be checked every service as leaving it until the next one can do a lot of damage , which on an older car becomes terminal
Good luck anyway

the VVT gear is actuated by oil pressure so that's the likely leak source. After you did the PCV, did you check to make sure you still don't have positive crank case pressure? (the latex glove test is a quick way to tell).

cold engine glove is sucked in. With my hand it's not huge suction and small oil splatters on my hand.

PCV wasn't totally blocked or noisy. The outlet on the motor was 1/3 sludge build up when I took off the hose.

The PCV should be checked when engine is at operating temp and not cold , but you have changed that , but check again