LEAK IN ENGINE COMPARTMENT
 

Okay, here's the facts, Volvo S-70, wifes car, 180,000 miles on the engine, automatic, non-turbo, and only minor problems to date. I have been noticinglittle drips under the engine for about 6 months now. ATF has always checked right on the button. Oil consumptionis approximately 1 quart between oil changes, which has been done every 3 to 5000 miles.

Today, wife and I make a 50 mile round trip, mostly at 55 mph, but a little bit of intown driving in the middle. A/C is running and at every stoplight, I notice the faint odor of oil fumes in the passenger compartment. Nothing while at highway speeds.

After arriving home, I go to put the car away after it has been sitting for about 15 minutes, and notice a larger spot than normal under the engine. I move the car to a level area and let it sit for a couple hours. After this time, I see a spot on the concrete, under the engine that looks like about a half teaspoon of fluid. I crawl under and determine it is dripping from the transaxle area. I check the fluid and it is oil, not transmission fluid. I pop the hood and from the area just below the distributor, all the way to the frame is covered in black goo. Looks like oil to me. I cannot determine where the oil is coming from. I cleaned everything off and will take it out for a spin, but would like to know if there is an item in this area that fails or gets plugged so I could change it before I go any further.

Mike

RE: LEAK IN ENGINE COMPARTMENT
 

First I would check the vent system. But it also sounds like the rear main seal is leaking. (Rear engine crankshaft seal)

RE: LEAK IN ENGINE COMPARTMENT
 

ive worked on hundreds of volvos.. but not near as many as tech, and the 2 main oil leaks that i have seen has come from either the pcv system oil trap vent box or the oil cooler o rings... id do what he suggests and inspect those first..

RE: LEAK IN ENGINE COMPARTMENT
 

Reminds me... when I get back up there i'm sure my rear main seal is still leaking, those sort of things dont fix themself... I just hope that it hasnt gotten any worse (which it shouldnt have) considering that the car hasnt really moved very much since I left it.. and the people I left it in the care of havent really complained to me about it...

Realistically, how much will it cost to repair that leaking seal, and in my case, will it get any worse if it goes unrepaired?

RE: LEAK IN ENGINE COMPARTMENT
 

yes it will get worse.. and i wouldnt think the parts would cost much.. itll be the labor that gets ya..im guessing 5 to 6 hrs labor.. so anywhere from 450 to 600 bucks. but i could be way wrong.. i think tech could probably answer this better.. i havent seen many rear mains on volvos. id still look at correcting the others if theres a possibility they could be bad as well..the other two things that i mentioned i see all the time in volvos..

RE: LEAK IN ENGINE COMPARTMENT
 

Well in my unique case im 100% sure its the rear main seal, at least according to what 3 different mechanics have told me.. all agreed on that fact... I know that the parts wont really be an issue... its just a matter of where can I do that job that isnt too far out of the way...
I still havent found any place in Tampa that I really trust for my car (or am willing to pay for) so If work needs to be done i head up to orlando.. My problem is, if this is an overnight job, I'm not really sure how i'm going to manage with accomodation and transport in the meantime...
i guess il begin to deal with it in 2 weeks or so when everything settles down for me... In the meantime il keep my trusty galon bottle of mobil1 handy..

RE: LEAK IN ENGINE COMPARTMENT
 

Okay, here's what I found. The idiot import shop in Memphis (not the Volvo dealership), did some work on the car several years ago. I found 2-3 things that were not installed correctly or not installed at all after they had finished. I thought I had caught everything, but when I went into the "flame trap" today, I found they had left out the "flame trap" completely and did not reinstall the rubber o-ring. The holder for the "flame trap" has two hoses going to it. The small hose receiptical on the holder was totally blocked and the holder itself was partially blocked. Instead of the flame trap doing it's job, all that crap was being blown out past where the o-ring should have been and leaking down on the engine and transaxle. It's all clean now and I hope this fixes this problem. I'll be keeping a close eye on it. Is there anything else I might need to look at?