Lost All My Oil Today!

[Astro14]

I didn't pull the pan either time...but on the second time pulling the PCV system, a bent coat hanger, followed by a used .30 cal rifle brush (screwed into an old gun cleaning rod) allowed me to knock most of the carbon out from the top/block side...I had suction on the hole from a shop vacuum, but that just ended up getting messy, I couldn't really tell how much loose carbon I got...I sure got a lot of oil...and reckoned that was a good thing...though I needed a new shop vac filter when I was complete.

I was a little worried about some of the carbon getting in the oil, but it should be soft enough that if it gets past the pick-up screen, that it won't damage the pump and big enough to get caught in the filter...

If I had had more time, or a better idea of what was wrong, I would have pulled the pan on the second set of work, simply to preclude any carbon getting in the pan, and because it would have been easier than removing the manifold, and because it would be a straight shot up to the passage that was blocked.

I had cleaned the block fittings when I did it the first time...thought I had done a good job, but I didn't get all the way down to the oil pan...my mistake...

[Astro14]

Wow, Astro14, your info is good but also intense...so you're saying dropping the pan the second go-round and actually reaching up and scraping carbon off the INSIDE of the engine block made the difference? And now you'd be adding the new oil pan gasket as part of the job, How were you cleaning the inside?

I looked more today, took off the timing belt covers, cleaned everything, started the car and got the oil to start dripping real good. Cut the engine and started looking around. It's a heavy, steady drip coming off passenger front corner of oil sump/pan next to oil filter. It's hard to trace it back from there but I can see underneath the crank also is pretty wet, maybe around the oil pump/seal. I don't think the camshaft seals are leaking because I'm just not seeing much oil up there at all, nothing like the patch of thick oil I see on the bottom of the oil pan. The pulleys have some oil residue but I'm thinking that's being whipped up by the belts from somewhere else. There's no visible trail of oil leading down from the cams. I did this a couple times (once with TB covers off) with the same result. So replacing the crankshaft seal is "easy"?

Astro14, when your crankshaft seal leaked after the first time you did the PCV, you were losing vacuum/suction when PCV was in "boost" mode? And the reason why air was forcing out your crank seal was because carbon buildup on the walls was preventing it from evacuating the normal route thru PCV tube? What was mileage when you did PCV the first time?

Thanks!

I would clean this up again and be certain where it's leaking...but if your car is like mine, then the blockage will be in the passage from pan to block. The fittings on which the flame trap mounts up were 90% blocked, but there was still another blockage much deeper...so...

Generally, leaking comes from things like failed seals, cracks, etc. But it's positive crankcase pressure that forced it past the weakest point...

[Xfingers]

Well, Astro14, thanks for your advice. I took off the pass front wheel, folded back wheel liner to access the crank area, and removed the plastic TB guide/cover attached by 2 10mm screws to give me a better view. Started car and now I could clearly see oil leaking out from the crank area between the oil pump and the engine block wall. According to VIDA, oil pump assembly requires first the gasket, then the pump, THEN the crank seal. Reaching up with finger (engine off), the rubber of the seal felt dry. I took a close look at intake cam pulley and stuck my finger in the holes and felt some wetness. I pushed on the orange seal and it moved back in (hmm). The seal also felt like hard plastic so if in reality it's rubber?,,,Anyway, started car again and this time I saw a streak of oil moving down from the intake cam pulley.

So here's my plan. First do the PCV replacement. Probly buy full kit from IPD. Some people have mentioned a cost-saving substitution with XC90 part(s) but haven't been able to find details on this approach. Next, do the intake and exhaust cam seals, front and rear. I'm thinking buy the crank seal but only replace later if necessary to avoid dealing with harmonic balancer, counterhold tool, using gear puller, and VIDA mentioned something like a bevel angle gauge(?) for a 30 degree tilt when reinstalling harmonic balancer. So I'll keep researching both these jobs and start collecting the tolls I'm gonna need. Whew!

I'm a little miffed that the PCV clogged. When I got the XC with 118k miles, I did the TB and pulleys soon thereafter. I passed on the PCV because I always got good suction with the glove test, Even today the glove still gets sucked in but unfortunately no quick way to test the PCV boost circuit. I guess the PCV replacement should just be a regular maintenance item (at 100k miles?) which I think a lot of the regulars around here seem to suggest.

[Astro14]

I bought the XC with 90,000 miles on it and dealer service records...but suspect that they used conventional oil. I changed immediately to synthetic (Pennzoil Ultra) and verified that my 7,500 mile runs on that oil were good using Blackstone Labs oil analysis. The car went to 178,000 with zero leaks or oil issues (so much for the myth that switching to synthetic causes leaks...). That's when the intake cam seal went and my wife was sharp enough to notice the oil fog and shut down the car before an oil pressure loss caused damage.

The carbon that I found was disheartening. With it properly cleaned up, the car, once again, is dry.

I decided to preemptively replace the PCV system on the T5 as that car was going to be in Colorado, far from my time and tools. (Still out there, running great). When I pulled the breather box on that car, there was about 30% blockage in the passages. A far cry from the 90% visible (and 100% internal) that the XC had when it experienced trouble.

I cleaned them out on the T5 and left the seals in place. That car has run exclusively on Mobil 1 0W40 since I bought it, with no records and 72,000 miles.

The difference in blockage was surprising and I attribute the difference to previous owner maintenance practices...but it sure was easier doing just PCV on the T5 than seals and PCV on the XC...

I bought the cam locking tool on Amazon. You can make one with steel bar stock, but while I've fabricated lots of tools in my day, I was short on time and purchasing this was a lot easier. http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00...ilpage_o02_s00

This tool also locks the crank, ensuring that everything stays aligned.

Oil pump is easy to pull and replace. Four small bolts, paper gasket, once the crank seal is off. Use thread sealer on those bolts...

Harmonic balancer is a bit of a pain...because of the torque involved. Make a tool to hold it or buy one. Here is a tool for that: https://www.fcpeuro.com/products/vol...fScaAq__8P8HAQ

Sadly, I think most of these cars were the victims of oil ignorance promulgated by Volvo NA...whose dealers used conventional 5w30 Castrol on a 7,500 mile / 12 month interval. Totally inappropriate -leading to oil acidity and sludge formation.

Once you clean it up, it should be trouble free for a good long time.

[Xfingers]

Preliminary results are in. Did the PCV first and I'd say my experience was much like others have described. This car doesn't get a lot of use so I worked slowly and did it over a couple days. Learned much about the internal guts of the car. Probly try to drain some coolant first if I had to do it again because I lost a fair amount from both connections (thermostat and block) when removing tubes. My two pcv openings in the block were about 30% clogged. I reamed them both out vigorously as best I could all the way down to the oil pan. Couldn't get a coat hanger thru the passage in the smaller PCV opening but was able to use a thinner wire. Manifold banjo bolt looked clogged SOLID as well as the banjo nipple.

Now for the seals...The cam locking tool from Amazon was defective! These kits come with 4 screws, a short and long pair. One of the screw holes was out of tolerance and I could not get a screw to fit thru the hole!! I'm trying to twist the screw thru, I'm hammering on the screw to make it fit thru, the screw is stuck half way in and won't budge. I'm pssd off ready to let someone have it while also overcome with feelings of misery, dread and despair. All is not lost and for some reason the longer screw is finally able to fit thru the hole with a lot of twisting and cranking. Get the cams locked and remove belt (leave on crank). I previously did timing belt kit so no steep learning curve. Removed the front intake cam pulley to find the seal was fully pushed out and unseated. Tapped in a new seal using the old seal as a "drift". Elected not to do the seal on the VVT front exhaust cam. VVT adjustment is a little more involved and I wanted to see if the leak is just isolated to front intake cam. I guess I'm a little paranoid about my abilities. If I fix too many different things at the same time and then I still have problems, now I gotta go back and try to figure out which of the things I screwed up.

Put everything back together and started her up for five minutes at idle. Serious oil leak is fixed. Drove around the neighborhood and no leak. Took longer drive including hard acceleration up short steep hill and still no massive loss of oil. Looking underneath there is a tiny bit of wetness on bottom of oil pan. Possibly some oil still leaking or maybe residual oil just collecting. I'll be watching this very closely along with my oil level.

So still to do. Oil change because oil in there now is a mixture of syn, blend and dino (5w30, 20w50). New timing belt, old belt is fouled with oil but didn't want to replace until certain oil no longer leaking thru cams. Coolant flush and replace. Jacuzzi and full massage for my back!

Thanks to resources on this site and others. Special thanks to Astro14 for support and guidance.

[Astro14]

Glad to hear that it's worked out!

Walked the same path with my XC...avoided it with the T5 by replacing the PCV system...which, in retrospect, was probably OK for a while yet...but I couldn't know that until I pulled it apart...

Cheers,
Astro