Just bought an 01 V70 2.4T which has an oil leak on the back of the engine. It apears it's coming out of the turbo oil return pipe seal at the block. Is this a typical failure? Can I remove the return pipe without removing the turbo itself and what are my chances of breaking off the 2 attachment screws?

Bob

 

With a little tweeking the line will come out.
You may have to slightly bend one of the turbo cooling lines to get it to slide out.
The screws will come out easy they very rarely get seized.

Should take you between 30 to 60 minutes depending on how you go about it.

Meaning jacking the car or driving on ramps.