98 V70 T5 persistent rear cam seal leak
 

... had mechanic replace the rear cam seal (the one under the cam position sensor), leaked, replaced again, leaked, thought we found "gouges" on the camshaft (he probably made then while trying to manhandle the seal out?), stuck yet ANOTHER seal in (cheap non Volvo seals from various manufacturers), and it of course leaked too.

Next I found out about REDI and/or SPEEDI - SLEEVES. Ordered one and a matching "National" cam seal. Had him stick that in. It STOPPED the leak!!!

Then, after a few months, after doing a bunch of OTHER stuff to it (tie rods, CV axle, control arm, alignment, oil change, cam position sensor (the ORIGINAL died, not sure if it was from being disturbed so many times - the connector eneded up getting crakced somewhere along the line, etc, ie: $$$) it STARTED LEAKING AGAIN...

I tore into it, took off the cam position sensor and the thingie that spins around so I could see the seal - it was still in place, and I could see the REDI-SLEEVE - looked fine. Not wanting to mess with it, put it back together. It stll drips what SEEMS to be fairly copious amounts of oil.

Anyway - "torked" about all of this - love the car, runs/drives/looks great. Everything on it is NEW (have dumped fair amount of $$ into it over the years - have owned since 2004). Did the PVC thing at the same time as the seal (I think).

Anyway - any ideas. Am I "hosed" - do I need to put in a new camshaft ($$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$), or should I stick in another redi-sleeve and new seal. I ordered (and have sitting here) a new GENUINE VOLVO seal and a new redi-sleeve.

Anyone out there with comparable experience?

Thanks!

The most common cause for the cam seals leaking is a clogged PCV system. Are you sure that system was replaced? Do you have any pressure in the system? Does it smoke through the dip stick? I have heard some complain about after market cam seals leaking pretty fast, but I'm pretty sure they mean 6 months or longer not in weeks. I'm thinking cams seals should last at least 100,000 miles or 10 years.

If that's the only seal location that's leaking, you likely have a problem with the damaged seal area.

Thank you for the reply - yes the box and all hoses etc were replaced and all gook cleaned out of places that gook forms. No smoke in dipstick, there is a vacuum present at the oil filler "hole".

So, the cam is probably damaged. I assume this means replace the cam remove and fix the cam or...?

Have you ever used the redi-sleeves? The seal that was leak free lasted all summer.

No I have never heard of those. What is scratched, the cam or the motor? Do you have a pic.

If it did good for a few months maybe you should try an OEM seal.