Engine: 850 T5/R Is this a rear main seal leak?

[grass hopper]

in the latest pictures there are metallic particles all over the rear of the engine and completely covers the turbo return pipe which is dry,looks like somebody has had a go at spraying something in that area to seal.

the drive shaft is damp close to the rear main area but dry at the turbo return pipe area.

worth changing the turbo return pipe seal and gasket as its a cheaper option than diving straight into the rear main.

but suspect its the rear main as there is also oil way forward on the engine stabiliser bar under the engine.

[whoa]

Thanks, all.

I did replace the oil return o-ring and gasket tonight. $3 for a repair using parts from the dealer??? Anyway the old o-ring looked pretty good to me, so I doubt the oil was coming from there.

Grass Hopper, that's just grime, I think, not any intentionally sprayed stuff. The glitter is from the camera flash, I think. But your observations are exactly why I didn't really believe that the culprit was the o-ring. Rear main seal, though, seems implausible too; for instance, I wipe the weep-hole while the whole lower engine is dripping, and nothing comes out. But that may be wishful thinking.

So people are very much onto what has me puzzled. It's not at all clear to me where all this oil is coming from. It SEEMS to be coming from up somewhere around/above the turbo. Now, there has definitely been oil at the turbo fresh-air outlet pipe; there's a pool of it visible when I remove that pipe.



I tightened the hose clamps there today---not that that would be any kind of permanent fix... Is it normal to have that oil there?

But a lot has changed in the last week (did an in-car valve stem seal job, and so replaced all cam shaft seals, and now have replaced the turbo return line seals, tightened some clamps, etc. So I'm going to have it steam-cleaned tomorrow and start diagnosis from scratch. All advice much appreciated.

THANKS AGAIN

[grass hopper]

http://i77.photobucket.com/albums/j6...oilleak001.jpg

makes me think its the rear main as there's oil forward of the engine centre line on the engine stay bar.

usually found slight oil drops on the turbo pipe on many cars.

[whoa]

Rear main seal it is.

After steam-cleaning and a 15-minute drive home, there is an obvious flow from the weep hole.
Also, it seems clear how the oil is getting up on the back of the engine: it's flung by the driveplate
up onto the intermediate axle shaft, which in turn flings it up against the turbo and engine.




So I'm looking for helpful info about removing an auto gearbox to replace the RMS. So far I have the
Haynes manual, and a couple of links:

Volvo's Tranny Removal instructions: https://docs.google.com/viewer?url=h...ionRemoval.pdf
VolvoForums.org.uk "dooby" auto to manual tranny swap: http://www.volvoforums.org.uk/showthread.php?t=71880
MatthewsVolvoSite tom39 promises pictures soon http://www.matthewsvolvosite.com/for...hp?f=1&t=27262

Thanks for any advice,

Mark

[gdphillips]

look through my posts had to do main oil seal when i got mine.......hope it helps.....box out shafts off and a bit of a sritp down of the engine bay.....but was done with a jack axel stands and engine liffting bar to hold the lump up......

[rublehousen]

nice one. think of nice and clean it will all be when youve fixed it! oil going up over eh? who'da thunk it?!? ;-)

[Jod T5]

Many a RMS has been held together with Forte Oil Seal Rejuvinator....
Auto's especially....

Jod

[whoa]

Thanks. Yes, the odd thing is that this leak basically started when I put a bottle of similar stuff in the oil. There had been a very slight leak there---not even enough to drip when the car was parked---and after replacing the PCV system I thought I'd try to dry it up. But a couple of days later there was a puddle under the car.

I think I'm going to give the stuff another 1500 miles or so to swell up the RMS (it does seem to me that the leak is getting less...) before yanking the transmission. I can deal with a slight leak, but this was pretty severe.

[Jod T5]

Originally Posted by whoa

Thanks. Yes, the odd thing is that this leak basically started when I put a bottle of similar stuff in the oil. There had been a very slight leak there---not even enough to drip when the car was parked---and after replacing the PCV system I thought I'd try to dry it up. But a couple of days later there was a puddle under the car.

I think I'm going to give the stuff another 1500 miles or so to swell up the RMS (it does seem to me that the leak is getting less...) before yanking the transmission. I can deal with a slight leak, but this was pretty severe.

Similar or Forte....
Forte is a quality product that can take a week or two to be at its optimum...

Jod

[whoa]

It was not Forte, which seems to be a UK label. I suppose if the stuff I used doesn't do it I can have some shipped across the pond and give it another couple of weeks.

Thanks!