S80 D5 Clogged PCV(/crankcase breather)?
 

Hello all.

Im again having some problems with my somewhat recently purchased S80 D5 (2002).
The car went into limp mode a couple of days ago and wont come out of it.
Well, it throws me into limp pretty much as soon as the turbo kicks in. Sometimes it lets me accelerate to the end of 1st gear and then into limp.
Read the codes with vida and they showed: ECM-6805 Boost pressure control - faulty flow, and ECM-130A Mass air flow (MAF) sensor - faulty signal.

Funny thing is I changes the MAF in july and it hasn't given me this error up until now. (reading about it on VIDA it could just mean a vaccuum leak in the engine mounts).

I've also noticed the car likes to eat oil. Too much to be normal (about a liter every month). Some leaks i found under the bonnet were around the oil filler cap, and near the dipstick (further investigation also revealed that the intercooler has some damage near the bottom edge and there seems to be oil/sludge leaking from there as well). Further googeling leads me to believe this is because the PCV/crankcase breather valve/system is clogged.

Would this also explain the Boost Control valve faulty flow code? (my theory for that would be that the engine is forcing oil through the boost control system and clogging the valve.)

Now. I've looked and looked and looked and can't seem to find good source material on how to clean the PCV/crankcase breather system.

Could someone who has done this before enlighten me on this subject a little and maybe throw some parts numbers my way so i can look them up in the stores local to me?

Thanks in advance my dudes!

Hi The D5 Does not have a PCV System,
Dave

I must of mistaken PCV for crankcase ventilation. (Followed SiRobbs video on the volvo D5 oil filler popping noise and he mentioned a clogged PCV system, which got me researching that).
Sorry for embarrassing myself so bad :emoticon_U:

No problem ,
So you have vida,
look to see what the boost is going to before limp mode,
It sounds like it is over boosting,
when using vida, do a vnt actuator test and see if you can see it move smoothly ,
The vnt turbos are known to stick, because of carbon, if there was a leak on the engine mounts the car would not over boost,
have a look at the air pipe going to the cold side of the turbo, these do split
and then the car can over boost and the MAF will not be seeing the correct amount of air, so the MAF is may be fine,
to check the pipe remove it so you can have a good look,
also do change the intercooler as the leak will make the turbo work more to make the correct boost,
so this will be a problem as well,
Dave

Ill get that on the to-do list tomorrow.

How should i continue on the crank case breathers tho? Am i safe just taking the pipes and the oil trap/separator off and cleaning them? Anything i should look out for when handling these pieces?
Better safe then sorry :thinking:

oil trap/separator , I don't know I have never done it,
let me know how it goes,
Dave

Hi with it using a lot of oil,
remove the under tray and look to see if there is any oil leaking
from anywhere,
Dave

how many Miles has it done,
Dave

Theres a bit seeping from the back of the valve cover gasket but that seems to be the only place. Turbo looks mostly clean from underneath as well.

The car has done almost 250k miles but the last owner(s) have kept up with basic maintenance pretty well. Oil was changed 10k miles ago and belts/pulleys were done 40k miles ago. The engine mounts all look rather new but those dont seem to be documented.

Having a look at where the crankcase breather lines go and noticed that the "tub" they're connected to (near the boost control solenoid) is cast into one piece with the oil filter housing.
Afraid to dismantle that part for now because there does seem to be a lid and gaskets that im gonna have to replace when i remove them.

Wondering now if it would help to just remove the pipes from the "tub" and wash them out with brake clean?

Did a little more research about the oil filter housing piece and came across scandix. That place is a god send lemme tell ya.
So, the "valve" itself is just the top of the oil separator tub
(Parts number: 1033347, refrence number: 8642424). To get it off i need to remove the whole oil filter housing from the engine block. There's 2 seals sealing it to the block (1st Product No: 1028059, Reference: 8642421, 2nd Product No: 1028060, Reference: 8642828).

Gonna start calling places tomorrow and asking around if anyone can get those parts to me as soon as possible.

Thankfully i have a back up car so i dont have to drive the volvo in the mean time.

Okay. Started dismantling the turbo piping. The metal pipe going to the inlet from the intercooler (where the egr connects) was caked with about 2-3cm on soot/sh*t.
The crank case breather tubes were both unobstructed.

Had a closer look at the oil separator and its valve/lid. Looks like i can get the lid off without removing the whole oil filter housing. Should have enough space between the fuel rail and block to slide a torx bit through with a wobbly extention.

Blew air through the heated crankcase ventilation nipple as well and that didnt have any obstruction either. It was however ziptied to the rubber hose that goes into the turbo and theres crack showing in the rubber around the heated nipple socket.
The metal pipe going from the MAF to the turbo was a little dinged up but no cracks that i can see

Will post pics soon as im on mobile right now.

So the rubber pipe that has the heated crankcase ventilation nipple in it,
you say has a crack/spit, did you remove this pipe from the turbo and have a good look as these do split because they become soft,
Dave

Yes i did. When the piece is in its natural state you dont actually any splits. When its squeezed or manipulated, thats when the cracks appear.
It has become pretty soft as well. Requires very little force to collapse it completely in my hand.
I have added a picture as well.
I have to also mention that the heated nipple was secured into the rubber using a ziptie so im guessing someone has already had a go at this before.


All the other rubber turbo pipes are pretty soft as well. (Except the one going from MAF to the metal pipe going to the turbo).

OK thanks , if air is getting in there, the MAF will not see the amount of air it is suppose to , you could try to us silicone rubber until you get a new one, £27 from parts monster ebay,
the heater nipple should have a clip,
when I did a smoke test that was were mine was leaking, I had not done the clip up ,
did you do the actuator test with vida ?
Dave

Did not get around to the actuator test as the car throws itself into limp as soon i rev it over 1500rpms.
Just ordered a new turbo inlet pipe locally and it should be here by tuesday. Will try to take the breather valve portion off in the meantime and see if that might be clogged or something.
(Want to get the turbo to actually try and spool instead of revving it once and hoping for it to not go into limp automatically.)

to do the actuator test in vida you will not be driving or revving the engine,
you do need the engine running,
you do need to see the actuator on the turbo, to see it move smoothly ,
Dave

It works now!!
 

So I replaced the turbo inlet pipe, put everything bacl together and erased all the error codes. The car still didnt really want to go over 2k rpm and threw it into limp as soon as the turbo kicked in. Vida still showed MAF faulty signal.
Figured id fit my old MAF and try that just in case and surprise surprise, car started revving just fine and didnt throw codes at me anymore.

What i noticed now tho is that there is quite a bit of oil leaking from between the vacuum pump and engine block.

I also still get the "plop plop plop" noise and quite a bit of steam at idle when i take the oil cap off but when the engine is revved over 1.5k, the plop plop stops and the steam is sucked in.
Tried the trick of blocking the engine pad vaccuum valve but that doesnt seem to change the plop plop.

Hi you must have a vacuum leak at the mounts/pipes as at 1500rpm as
the vacuum actuator on the side of the air filter,switches off the mounts ,

The MAF that you fitted that is not working, What make is it ?
get a new O-ring /seal from Volvo for the pump,

Did you remove the oil separator ?
Dave

The maf that is not working is Hitachi brand
(Hitachi Hueco I believe).

Did not remove the whole oil filter assembly, was able to just remove the lid.
The membrane looked a bit crinckled but not broken. Cleaned the seals with a bit of fresh oil and a clean rag before Putting it back together.
Tbh it looked rather clean inside, no gunk or anything.

Regarding the "plop plop" noise and engine mounts.
I took the pipe going from the engine pads to the valve on the air box completely off and blocked it with my finger, still no change.

Hi the MAF should be the BOSCH one as fitted by volvoi got one some years ago from Euro car parts, just over £100,

what pipe did you put your finger over, you need to block the vacuum at the switch valve,
Dave

I blocked the little nipple that the engine pad vaccum hose connects to on the valve.

My 2002 V70 D5 makes a "plop plop" noise when I take the filler cap off too, but all the mounts and pipework are in good shape. I just live with it.

Tbh i can live with the plop plop but i cant stand that theres quite a bit of oil leaking from around the vacuum pump.

Fix the leak on the vacuum pump, that may well fix the popping ,
Dave

Will call the local volvo dealer tomorrow and see if i can get a seal kit from them.
Will begin researching how to take the vacuum pump off in the mean time.

I DID replace the two gaskets on my vacuum pump (8658101 and 8658102). It is not so difficult a job.
However the popping noise is still there.
I know that I have brake booster seal failure and that might cause it.

Okay, just ordered the seals off skandix, now, how the heck do i get the vacuum pump off the engine? Do i need to take the high pressure fuel pump off as well? There seems to be very minimal room between the two.
Havent found much on google either.

You don't need to touch the high pressure fuel pump.
Remove the air filter box and the fuse box and you will have enough clearance to remove the vacuum pump.