Oil leak, head gasket?

[griston64]

Originally Posted by Ian21401

The PCV system is the original system cleaned as best as I could but I have all new now ready to fit next time. I have had a close look at the cap in the past and it did not appear to vented in any way. The seal does appear to be old and worn and no longer resilient so replacement sounds sensible.
Does anyone know if the seal is available from Volvo?

Not sure Ian. I would call Simon at Ruffe and he will advise. Skandix have them and Parts for Volvo's online

[rwdkev]

Originally Posted by classicswede

The seal goes hard and leaks oil. Worth changing every few services

Yep, I've had this on later red block and white block as they use the same cap.

[rwdkev]

Originally Posted by Laird Scooby

......i'm 99.9% certain my B230Es had "vented" oil filler caps that had a gauze filter in

Dave,

I think you may be getting confused with the original OHV "red block" (totally different engine to the later slant OHC red block we all know) which did have this vented set-up.

Kev

[Laird Scooby]

Originally Posted by rwdkev

Dave,

I think you may be getting confused with the original OHV "red block" (totally different engine to the later slant OHC red block we all know) which did have this vented set-up.

Kev

Possible Kev, i know the cap you mean and that was also used on the 240 series on similar redblocks to what the majority of 7/9xxs have. Was a long time ago since i had my first 740GLE but fairly certain that also had the breather cap with the hose to the flame trap. Something like 15 years ago in fact but my B20s in a 140 series were more than twice that.

[Cylinder 8]

Originally Posted by Ian21401

I’ve wondered about this for a while. My bog standard B200F has done 220,000 miles. Following Dave’s advice some time ago I now clean the PCV system and IACV at each oil change and I use semi synthetic 10W 40.
However, I have never replaced the oil filler cap, thinking that it was just that “a cap”, but, even given that the PCV etc is being cleaned regularly, eventually an oily film accumulates on the cam cover, apparently emanating from the oil filler cap.
I to have the oily block as described by the OP without any noticeable reduction in oil level. The oil slowly appears over such a long period of time that it is almost imperceptible until one is under the car for some reason and notices the oil on the gearbox. Then look at the offside of the engine block, partly hidden by the exhaust manifold and heater pipe, and there is the oil again.

That's interesting, you've described the problem I have perfectly. It's nice to know I'm not the only one!

Thanks for the input everyone, I'll order a new seal for the cap (it's the solid cap like the pictures that have been posted). Last time I changed the oil I put some dye in it, so next time I get a chance to look at the car I'll clean it up and then have a look at it with a UV lamp while it's running to see if that reveals anything else.

I hope it is just the cap, that'll be the easiest fix I've ever done!

[lnparry]

Hi Cylinder 8,

I'm a bit late to this but looking at your original photos it doesn't look like a head gasket blow to me. Just doesn't look wet enough.

When I bought my 940 LPT 5 years ago the engine had lots of condensed oil mist around it. The PCV system and hoses was well clogged and cleaning this out, a few new hoses and a replacement filler cap made a big difference. Certainly worth checking the PCV and the various seals that others have suggested before looking at more drastic fixes.

There is a great post on here somewhere (with pics) on fully overhauling the PCV system. I think this was from a gent in Hong Kong from memory. Certainly worth a read.

Good luck,
LeeP

[Cylinder 8]

I've changed the filler cap seal today. I can't run the engine at the moment because I'm in the middle of some other work on it but I'll keep an eye on it once it's running again.

Cheers all

[Dirty Rooster]

I'm just bumping this thread as it has good info relevant to the recent "losing oil" thread which helped with my PCV breather box replacement.

I actually found this thread while looking for "cover gasket" in the search.

Obviously I'm doing the valve cover gasket right now, four small blobs of silicone, crappy cardboard gasket, slowly does it.

[Ian21401]

Originally Posted by Ian21401

I’ve wondered about this for a while. My bog standard B200F has done 220,000 miles. Following Dave’s advice some time ago I now clean the PCV system and IACV at each oil change and I use semi synthetic 10W 40.
However, I have never replaced the oil filler cap, thinking that it was just that “a cap”, but, even given that the PCV etc is being cleaned regularly, eventually an oily film accumulates on the cam cover, apparently emanating from the oil filler cap.
I to have the oily block as described by the OP without any noticeable reduction in oil level. The oil slowly appears over such a long period of time that it is almost imperceptible until one is under the car for some reason and notices the oil on the gearbox. Then look at the offside of the engine block, partly hidden by the exhaust manifold and heater pipe, and there is the oil again.

Sorry guys, I had updated on another thread re this but had forgotten about this thread. I did obtain a new oil filler cap seal from my dealer (part no. VO1275379). The old seal was so hard and brittle that it broke up whilst I was removing it. There is no longer an oily film on the cam cover or oil on the side of the block. However, there is still some oil appearing on the underside of the gearbox. Could that be caused by a leaking crankshaft rear oil seal? If it is, it will have wait until the clutch needs replacing at some time in the future. (Different thread regarding possible dragging clutch etc).

Dirty Rooster. Re the cam cover gasket. A couple of months after I acquired the car back in 2005 I found a CH gasket blow, together with stripped thread in no.4 plug hole. I removed the CH to have a helicoil fitted in the plug hole and obviously replaced the CH gasket and fitted a new cam cover gasket during the rebuild. IIRC that cam cover gasket was not very substantial and difficult to locate accurately. Shortly after that the cam cover gasket was leaking oil onto the sides of the CH. Not knowing any better at that time I had obtained a CH overhaul gasket set from my local motor factor which had included the said cam cover gasket. I obtained a replacement OEM cam cover gasket (VO1378870) from my local dealer and carefully fitted that and it is still there 15 years on.

[Laird Scooby]

Originally Posted by Ian21401

Sorry guys, I had updated on another thread re this but had forgotten about this thread. I did obtain a new oil filler cap seal from my dealer (part no. VO1275379). The old seal was so hard and brittle that it broke up whilst I was removing it. There is no longer an oily film on the cam cover or oil on the side of the block. However, there is still some oil appearing on the underside of the gearbox. Could that be caused by a leaking crankshaft rear oil seal? If it is, it will have wait until the clutch needs replacing at some time in the future. (Different thread regarding possible dragging clutch etc).

Dirty Rooster. Re the cam cover gasket. A couple of months after I acquired the car back in 2005 I found a CH gasket blow, together with stripped thread in no.4 plug hole. I removed the CH to have a helicoil fitted in the plug hole and obviously replaced the CH gasket and fitted a new cam cover gasket during the rebuild. IIRC that cam cover gasket was not very substantial and difficult to locate accurately. Shortly after that the cam cover gasket was leaking oil onto the sides of the CH. Not knowing any better at that time I had obtained a CH overhaul gasket set from my local motor factor which had included the said cam cover gasket. I obtained a replacement OEM cam cover gasket (VO1378870) from my local dealer and carefully fitted that and it is still there 15 years on.

Check your oil level Ian, if it's about 0.5L below where it should be, add 0.5L of Carlube ATF-U to the engine oil. This will start reviving the oil seals. Next oil/filter change, add 0.5L of the same to the sump before topping up to the correct level with 10W40. Keep doing this until the oil leak stops as i'm fairly sure it will if it's minor. It will also help clean the engine internals (so the firs few oil changes will be dirtier than before but then get cleaner) and make sure everything is free to move as it should including the piston rings etc improving compression.

Is your clutch problem more prevalent when you haven't used it for a few days? I'm thinking the driven plate is sticking on the input shaft splines.