as you all must be aware, volvo forums uk has been closed down (some sort of board issue?). anyway i am here cap in hand....i have a couple of issues i need help with if you would be so kind?.

1. i have a leak (i can hear the moans of "jesus not another newbie with a leak"). basically i smell the oil all the time in the cab. occasionally i see a bit of smoke from the engine compartment. its just got me on edge. for ease of description i have added a pic, save the confusion of me not explaining properly. basically there is a blanking cap of some description opposit the oil filler cap. i have been told it may b from there?.

2. my car seems to hang at 60mph and speedo sticks for a few seconds? or is it just a gear change thats taking a while?

3. tried to check tranny fluid tody and snapped the stick!!!....managed to get it out though.

4. where are the common oil leak areas for these engines?

5. im on a 51 plate (uk second half of 2001)

7. 96500 on the clock.

8. shall i get the transmission oil etc changed?

i have circled the leak area.

many thanks all...thanks for letting me in the forums

steve


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Hi Steve,

Welcome!! I'm sort of new at Volvo's myself but will share what I've learned so far. The tranny fluid is easy to drain and refill, but finding the 3309 tranny fluid is a challenge. (I ordered 4 Qts. off the net...) Hopefully you can get a new dipstick from a dealer. If you get the tranny serviced at a garage, make sure they know what kind of fluid to use. (There is a whole topic dedicated this subject at the top of the S60 forum...)

I'm not sure about the oil leak but it looks like a section of the head is circled in the picture. This is sort of the top section of the engine and there is a lot oil running through it. A leaky gasket could cause some oil to drip on the hot exhaust causing smoke and a burning odor. The turbo is attached slightly lower on the back side of the motor and there is a constant flow of oil to the turbo bearings so maybe there is a leak in one of the lines somewhere? (Just guessing...) I'm not aware of any common leak areas on the 5 Cyl. motors, but a search may turn up something.

 

With those miles I wouldn't doubt too much if the oil is coming from either a plugged vent box (aka pcv) or a worn oil filler gasket. Have you noticed oil puddling under the spark plug cover (the plastic part with Volvo stamped on it). If oil is collecting there, that could be the smell you described. I would start by looking there.