PCV Oil Trap
 

Hi,

I am planning to clean my PCV Oil trap....since it has been run over 165000 km AND PCV Oil trap never been serviced as on manual it should be serviced after 96000 KM.....i hear no voice from PCV but my oil dip stick does gives white smoke and I am sure it clogged.

My Q is should I just get its hoses cleaned or replace the PCV oil trap.

Please suggest.

I have done two of these in the past month, so will throw in my suggestions. My 98 V70 was showing definite signs on crankcase pressure. A latex glove would "blow up" when put over the oil fill hole at idle. When I removed the oil trap, it did not seem clogged but the ports to the engine block did. I had the kit from IPD, so I replaced everything (including the oil trap). Afterwards, the glove tests showed no more crankcase pressure.

The 2001 S80 was a much bigger pain. I also used a kit from IPD, but in order to remove the oil trap, you have to remove the alternator, AC compressor, and the bracket that holds those. That oil trap did not appear clogged either. The ports to the block didn't seem to bad, but I replaced it all (including the hoses) for good measure. I had a cam seal blow out and didn't want to take a chance on it happening again.

The oil traps are pretty cheap. If you are going to the trouble of removing intake manifolds and everything else, I would just replace with all new. I am not sure how you would clean one. It did not seem easy to get into it.

One more point. I am not sure how definitive the glove test is, but it definitely seemed a reliable indicator on the V70. Be careful though. There was a slight "suck" with the new PCV components. I imagine it would be possible to suck the glove into the crankcase. That would be a mess. Keep a grasp on it if you try it.

The S80 hole is blocked and vented, so not so much danger in that.

I agree. If you have it that far apart, replace it.

BigV592 Thanks for very informative reply. But I would really consider to replace as parts are not very expensive but labor work is indeed. The problem is I have no easy access to buy these parts in my area.

By the way would please give further details on this
"slight "suck" with the new PCV components. I imagine it would be possible to suck the glove into the crankcase" WHAT KIND OF PRECAUTION I SHOULD TAKE and what is the glove..is it inside the pcv box or with crankcase......

Thanks again...

It looks to me like he cut away a slot from the bracket (with a dremel tool?) to get a socket on the one covered bolt. I certainly would not recommend that. It is a pain, but not that bad! It had to have taken him longer to do that than it took to remove the stuff.

It is really not too bad. The belt comes off pretty easily once you take the tension off. The alternator is held by three bolts. None of them hard to remove. (the top one is a little hidden but accessible). The bottom two are actually the top bolts for the AC compressor too. The two connectors to the alternator are easy to disconnect. The alternator can than come all the way out.

The bottom AC compressor bolts are tricky to reach but still accessible. You do not need to remove any of the hoses. You just need to slide around the compressor a few inches to make room and get it off the bracket.

The bracket has a bunch of bolts but all accessible. You do not need to remove the bracket. I took off all of the bolts but the bottom right one. That gave me enough room to shift it over to get to the bolt on the oil trap. It also makes it easy to put everything back since it lines up nicely rotating on that one bolt you left in.

You might need to remove the power steering pump as well. I know I took mine off but I am not sure if you could leave it on. Once again, you do not need to remove any hoses. The three bolts are accessible through the pulley. It would take you a two minutes. I think it is on the same bracket as the others.

Be sure to make a drawing of the belt path. It is not that obvious how it goes.

My best guess is the main culprit of crankcase vent issues is in the hoses. The kit I used from IPD comes with one part called a "PCV hose" that is actually a bunch of hoses wrapped together. Two of the connectors go on pass through bolts, so you will need to mark them with a sharpie so you can line them up again. When you take them off you will see what I mean. That part alone ("PCV hose") is $200. The oil trap is only about $35.

You should be able to test for positive crankcase pressure with a latex glove over the oil fill. You might need a rubber band to hold it in place. I kept a grip on one of the fingers of the glove with my hand just to make sure it didn't get sucked into the engine. I don't think that could happen on a S80 but I didn't want to find out the hard way.

I don't know where you are but I simply ordered these parts off the internet for delivery in the USA. Most the kits come with replacement clamps and gaskets that I found very helpful. It is a fair amount of work. I would not want to go through all of that and not put on brand new parts.

BigV592 Thanks a lot. Must appreciate your informative post. I will surly update you once I done job on PCV this week. I am located in Saudi Arabia.

Though I often do some works on my own on my car but for this I am not very much experienced. So I might get help from my mechanic :( The only really reason I hate mechanics here that they often do more mess with other things while fixing the specified job. Let see.

Thanks Again.

FYI, there is a special tool to access that bolt holding the breather box behind the accessory bracket.

Interesting. Do you have a part number for the tool? The only breather box tool I can find is a vacuum gauge.

Not off hand, I can look it up if I remember and get a chance at work

Agreed with ES6T. Yesterday I was trying to reach that bolt and eventually I am able to access it but not fully, but as per PCV Oil trap diagram and with a little experience, I am sure it is reachable.

ES6T please do let us know which tool needed. Will appreciate.

Didn't have time today... paid work takes priority of course.

It used to say in VIDA, but the cars I profiled I didn't even see the PCV repair procedure in VIDA anymore. Might have been removed for some reason.

I'll try to hunt down our tool and grab the number off of it if I get time tomorrow. I'm pretty busy this week though.

I'd be most interested in this tool part number as well. I'm doing the exact same thing right now to my V70.

I don't think you will need it on the V70. With the intake manifold off, the oil trap/breather box is very easy to get to. At least it was on my 98.

BigV592 where exactly is the breather bolt located? It is obvious? I got the fuel rail off last night, noticing that 2/5 fuel injectors were somehow missing O-rings (at least I didn't see any fall off). Got those on order from FCP.

Tearing into the rest of it tonight. From what I'm reading, you can take part of the power steering off to gain access to the banjo bolt. That sound about right?

The tool isn't needed on the 5 cylinder motors.

Our tool is missing, of course. So I don't have the part number.

shoeboxOH, I assume you are referring to a 5 cylinder model (like the V70). Once you get the intake manifold off you will have easy access to the two bolts that hold the oil trap (or breather box) in place. Both bolts are easy to see. No need to touch power steering pump.

I recommend using a new gasket when you put the intake manifold back on. Most the PCV kits I have seen (and used) come with o-rings for the injectors, new hoses, clamps, oil trap, and an intake manifold gasket.

I am not aware of a 'banjo bolt' on the V70 PCV system. The S80 has two of them though.

Yes, 5-cylinder V70 NON-turbo. Great to hear that I don't need to mess with PS. Various forums I have read stated there was a banjo bolt similar to this one: Banjo Bolt - Genuine Volvo | FCP Euro with a 2mm port that would need cleaned. This one is from a 01 XC70 (perhaps a different beast?) with a section on PCV and cleaning the banjo bolt: Engine - Howard's Volvo Maintenance

I haven't found a specific to my car tutorial on this so I'm probably over thinking this more than needed.

SORRY, I just realized this was in the S80 group not the V70 group. I have a thread here for my current project: https://volvoforums.com/forum/2001-2...lacment-73637/

Finally I replaced my oil Trap with crankcase vent hose. I have inspected all the holes after cleaning. All seems Ok.

My Air hose for throttle body also gets dirty because of oil coming from Oil trap hose.

Since I Changed oil trap I still see smoke coming out from my Dip stick which considered to be oil trap clogged as per many experts.

Any idea where I am wrong or how I can fix it. Will appreciate.

Replace It
 

I had the same problem. I went to FCPEuro & bought it then went to a local mechanic and had him replace it.