greasy belly pan, in search of the culprit

[SquareWheels]

The passenger side of the belly pan is coated in a thick layer of dried oil, all the way from the front of the pan to the back. I inspected for leaks and only found a very small bit of wet oily residue on the passenger side drive shaft. Closer inspection revealed a grease spatter pattern. The passenger side axle was replaced at a dealer about 1,000 miles ago. Here are some photos:

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[howardc64]

The thick grease that appears in a line in your first picture is the CV joint spinning the axle grease out. The clamp may need tightening. See what clamp they used to determine how to tighten. The OEM is a crimped style clamp and I used a crimp tool (or a pair of dull diagonal cutters - what I used, the clamps are tough!) to crimp it tighter.

http://www.volvoxc.com/forums/showthread.php?20164-Failed-CV-clamp&p=140976

[SquareWheels]

Howard, did you regrease it? I'm not sure how much I lost.

I guess I'll try to tackle this issue first. It does seem to be unrelated to the belly pan oil. Since the belly pan didn't have spray patterns of grease and was uniformly damp and oily, I need to also track down an oil leak. As for wet fresh oil, I only found a little on the shaft a few inches away from where it enters the angle gear, no signs of it leaking down from above. The oil pan is clean.

[SquareWheels]

the clamp and boot are really clean and dry. Maybe it was never cleaned up from the axle replacement 1k mi ago? THe CV clamp is crimped on the top. So I can't tighten it from below. Here's a better shot of the CV and a shot of the belly pan just for kicks.

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[vtl]

THe CV clamp is crimped on the top. So I can't tighten it from below.
Raise right side, switch gear selector to N, rotate the wheel.

I would also check if any cam/crankshaft seals are leaking.

[howardc64]

Howard, did you regrease it? I'm not sure how much I lost.

I didn't regrease it. Didn't loose much so just clamped it up and no more leaks.



I guess I'll try to tackle this issue first. It does seem to be unrelated to the belly pan oil. Since the belly pan didn't have spray patterns of grease and was uniformly damp and oily, I need to also track down an oil leak. As for wet fresh oil, I only found a little on the shaft a few inches away from where it enters the angle gear, no signs of it leaking down from above. The oil pan is clean.

Since you have oil on the passenger side shaft a few inches from angle gear, take a good look at the turbo's connections above. Read this here

http://www.freewebs.com/howardsvolvos/oilleaks.htm

There is a rubber fitting/hose that connects the turbo to the charged air pipe (the one over the top of the engine). PCV dumps oily vapor on the air intake before the turbo and oil will pool and sit right here at this hose. It will weaken and may leak and crack over time. Might take a closer look here.

Hope it isn't a clogged PCV forcing oil out of the crevasses in the head.

[Xheart]

Wetness would be a clue for age.
Could it be the grease before the last axle repair?
How often do you check, what about oil cooler line?

Here is a picture of what Howard points... accumulation below the turbo, it drips on pan.
5294

[SquareWheels]

Could it be the grease before the last axle repair?

That is my hope. I have no way of telling now. I guess I'll clean up the area and see if it returns. I'm going on a 200+ mile road trip this weekend. I'll see if it returns after that.


How often do you check, what about oil cooler line?

Where is this "oil cooler line"?

I just got the car two months ago and have had two other unrelated issues that demanded my full attention since then. I did change the oil after I got it and seafoamed the crankcase. Don't know what kind of oil was used before. I don't recall the baked on oil on the pan at the time, but I could've missed it. I'm still getting acclimated to the car. I do get vacuum with a tissue test to the dipstick and oil filler hole.

[SquareWheels]

Aahhh! I've about had it with this car. My wife is stranded and now has to get it towed. Won't move. I'm guessing the axle went out. Crazy timing.

So far in 2 months, I've had the CEL twice for fuel injector and for bad etm. Spent lots of money in maintenance and just seem to get a car that is stuck in the garage on a weekly basis. Might have to cut my losses, lots of losses.

[vtl]

Cut losses? Ride a bicycle or something like that? Any new car is more expensive to own by definition. Any old car of that age has problems. Any. I drove 2005 Corolla of friend, which only 5 years later technically was a total junk.

I have V70 of age/mileage like yours. It had tons of problems, I spent lots of $ and days in garage. Look: http://www.spritmonitor.de/en/detail/430699.html, in two and half years it took in repairs and maintenance another purchase price. How it drives now, after all my love applied to it? AWESOME! Not a single glitch. I regret I can't afford new Volvo, it would be in a mint technical condition for life. Otherwise I have to solve all negligence of previous owners. But that's doable!

One day V70 got burned starter, my wife was 4 days overdue, she could deliver any moment. I've changed the starter at night, in darkness, first time in my life, and next day drove her to hospital. V70 was the only car at this time, I was confident that car can make it. She did.

Overcome temporary weakness, just fix current problem and figure out what requires your attention next. One by one, little by little, you'll fix everything what failed or about to fail. Car will pay back for your kindness.

[SquareWheels]

Thanks for the encouragement VTL. My wife is also far along in her pregnancy, hence the extra irritation. To be honest, an axle replacement intimidates me. I was thinking of having it towed to the dealer (hear me out) in hopes to negotiate with them that the axle they replaced 1k ago just failed. It's either that or tow it to my house and see what I can do.

[vtl]

Axle is easy, especially right one. And, probably, less time than tow to dealer.

Btw, extra car is generally a good idea ;)

New car is a hole in family budget, another old car is a russian roulette. The more you have fixed in your old car, the less to expect to break.

[SquareWheels]

Well, I assume it's the right axle, given what we saw at the beginning of this thread. It seems likely. I'll have it towed here and fix it myself.

Second car you say? I wish. Urban living and budget are big factors for us. I'm lucky I have a "garage" to work on it.

I wonder what went wrong after or during the axle replacement. How delicate are these axles?

[JRL]

No better, no worse than most.
Probably fell out, common.
It was not secured/pushed in all the way

[SquareWheels]

I chickened out and had it towed to the dealer :( it's my only car, I don't have a torque wrench yet, and just feel a little ill-equipped and need it done fast. I'm also hoping to negotiate considering I just bought it and the axle they just replaced prior to purchase is the likely culprit.

Also, they were surprised it was drivetrain related. They re-parked it this morning and it moved fine. ??? They assumed it was in for the ETM replacement that I turned them down for two weeks ago (installed xemodex). Now I'm thoroughly confused and will play the waiting game.

No codes. Could this axle issue be intermittent? Wouldn't the other wheels get some power to move the car even if one axle was bad?

[howardc64]

What happens when the car won't move? Does engine rev but feels like nothing is getting to the wheels? How about when shifting through gear selectors, do you feel the transmission engaging when going between P, R, and D?

[SquareWheels]

I asked her the same thing. She said the engine revved but wouldn't move. She said it felt like it was in N no matter which was selected. She doesn't remember if it felt like the transmission was engaging or not. No sounds out of the ordinary.

She also said the tow truck driver tried it and verified the problem.

[SquareWheels]

Wow. Didn't expect this. So the greasy oil pan led to finding grease spatter marks which led to the car not moving a few hours later. It's all unrelated. The dealer said the transmission is at fault :( apparently when it gets really hot it shows the symptoms. They did notice the fluid was a little overfilled. They've run tests, submitted them to Volvo and are awaiting their reply, probably regarding the warranty of the rebuild a few months back. They also want to run tests when it's cold tomorrow morning.

This sucks.

[vtl]

No better, no worse than most.
Probably fell out, common.
It was not secured/pushed in all the way
Is it possible with right axle? Bearing carriage would hold axle in place...

[SquareWheels]

"Internal transmission failure" is the diagnosis. Luckily, the transmission is being replaced at no cost to me covered by Volvo NA. The warranty didnt follow me since I bought it after the new tranny installation but the dealer must still be covered for a year. Good of them to follow through with this. Hope it all goes well and fast. What a disaster, but it's much better than if I bought the car from a different source.

I'm so glad I got this car from a dealer and not a crappy used car lot, repo lot, or private party— I'd be completely screwed.