Rocker cover oil leak

[languageservicesco]

Had my 54 D5 serviced for the first time yesterday since buying it in January. The actual service was fine, and service plus MOT came to 390, which struck me as ok. However, there was a nasty piece of news and I thought I would just put it in the forum and see what reaction I get.

Basically, there appears to be a minor oil leak from the rocker cover gasket. This would apparently cost around 650 pounds to simply replace said gasket. Any comments? I know it is complicated and involves a lot of labour hours to get to it.

Finally, anybody in the Southampton area know a reliable independent business to do the work (cheaper)?

Cheers,
Kevin
PS forgot to mention that it has just under 50,000 miles on the clock

[Tiggerii]

You could try South Hants Volvo - > http://www.independentvolvoservicing.co.uk/ or further afield at LIphook there is RT Mechanics -> http://www.rtmechanics.co.uk/index.html

[languageservicesco]

Have contacted South Hants Volvo and will drop by there this week. The guy there phoned me and was dubious about the likelihood of it being a rocker cover oil leak, but surely a Volvo dealer could be expected to get that right, couldn't they? As it is a labour-intensive job, I was pleased to hear their labour rates are half that of the dealership though :-)

So which XC90 in Chandler's Ford are you then? I am actually living in Chandler's Ford at the moment.
Cheers,
Kevin

[tykey]

I can't get my head around the potential cost just to stop a small leak!!

If it was me, I'd be putting in something like this before I did anything else, especially if you aren't certain where the leak is from. It's an additive to stop leaks in engines

http://www.dukeriesengineering.com/1....php?p=5&pno=0

I don't know what's involved in getting the rocker cover off, or getting to it, but can you get to enough of it to ease a gap between it and the block, then squeeze some liquid gasket in there?

[languageservicesco]

Originally Posted by tykey

I can't get my head around the potential cost just to stop a small leak!!

I don't know what's involved in getting the rocker cover off, or getting to it, but can you get to enough of it to ease a gap between it and the block, then squeeze some liquid gasket in there?

Will go to this independent place later this week and see what they say. The guy there sounds like somebody you can talk to, so we'll see.

The job is apparently very time-consuming, involving getting the cambelt off and removing various things. If anything, I am angry that if something like this can happen so early in the life of the vehicle, that it is designed in such a way as to incur this cost. It really has tainted my view of Volvo considerably.

Thanks for the info. Will report back when I know more.

Kevin

[Tiggerii]

Hi Kevin, hope that RT manage to sort you out.

We have a Black 54 reg XC90 T6 with Privacy Glass and Side Steps

[languageservicesco]

Will look out for you! Look out for a dark grey 54 plate D5 with a small white dog and two small children!

Kevin

[Beeman]

My 54 D5 developed exactly this fault - fortunately I had it serviced and MOTd just a few days before the three yr anniversary so Volvo picked up the tab under warranty. Are we picking up a serious weakness here that is more common than realised???

[S60-MBS]

If its the 163bhp D5 ,Removal of rocker cover requires removal of fuel lines which go over the cover,These fuel lines are not reusuable,may explain the high price of repair.

[languageservicesco]

Took it into South Hants Volvo yesterday. As mentioned in the previous post, there is a lot of pipework etc going over the cover. Obviously don't have to be too clever to design this stuff on a Volvo. That aside, on the evidence they saw they agreed there was obviously a small leak but would want to clean it up, take it out and then have another look to be sure where it was coming from.

The dealer had also said the engine was running rather rough and shaking a lot on its mountings. I found this most unlikely, but never having owned a Volvo before (but being used to a 6-cylinder Mercedes diesel), I wasn't sure. They felt the engine was running perfectly normally and performing fine after we went out on a quick run round the block. Hmm!

Will take it in for further investigation and sorting in January. I had a positive impression of the garage: tidy and clean enough without being sterile. Mechanics working without being in a huge rush. They didn't charge me anything, despite going out in the car and putting it on the hoist and removing the cover under the engine to check on the leak. I will report back when I know more.

Cheers,
Kevin