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Thread: Curing leaks

  1. #1
    Join Date
    Jul 2010
    Location
    Rugby UK
    Posts
    427

    Default Curing leaks

    I took the skid plate off my 01 yesterday. It's a thick aluminum job made in Sweden. I't been on and off many times in the years I had the car but always had a small amount of oil, more gear than engine, covering the greater part of it. I could see by looking up at the turbo housing that the oil return pipi flange was leaking engine oil. There was however reason to think most of it was from the bevel gear.

    Well, last year I bit the bullet and changed the turbo oil return gasket. Pig of a job - and I have small hands. At the time I was cynical it was successful. To-day I put the car on four jack stands and checked the bevel gear fluid level it was about 50ml overfilled but I thought the copper sealing washer looked bad. So I replaced it with a new aluminium sump plug sealing washer. I cleaned the entire underneath and went for a drive (without replacing the skid plate). When I got back I put the frontend up on ramps and took a good look underneath. Totally oil free, I was thrilled. It made me whish I had done it years back. So if you have such a leak get a hour or so in good weather and fix it.

  2. #2
    Join Date
    Jun 2017
    Location
    Southern California
    Posts
    19

    Default

    Hey Nick -- wanted to thank you for the post. I have had one (or more) oil leaks that leave a few drips on the garage floor and coat my aluminum skid plate (IPD). After reading your post I recalled that during an earlier tire rotation I had the mechanic check the level and we didn't think about the crush washer and reused the copper one.

    Rather than take off my aluminum plate (which is a bugger to get back on alone), I first took a mirror and reached down from above and behind the engine and was able to clearly see the plug in the mirror, so then I took a long 18" 3/8" ratchet and a short wobble extension and 13mm socket and lo and behold was able to take the plug out from above the engine. I put a fresh aluminum washer on, then was able to tighten it from above as well (with a standard ratchet as I could get the right leverage to pull up until I felt the crush washer deform). A day later and not a single drop of oil now.

    No ramps, no jacking the car up, just my long skinny arm. I did check the oil and it looked quite black (and stinky -- what's up with that? almost smelled like transmission fluid) so I plan to see if I can do this again to change the oil. I had changed it at 175K miles and am now at 225K. Should actually be easier to pump it out and refill from above.
    Last edited by A.Lucas; 08-21-2019 at 07:33 AM.

  3. #3
    Join Date
    Jul 2010
    Location
    Rugby UK
    Posts
    427

    Default

    Happy to have helped and it's timely that I can announce I have very much improved the long standing leak this model is almost universally prone to -AKA the front tranfer box, angle gear, bevel gear (call it what you will).
    I've mentioned on this site before that here in the UK in 2007 the model specked the heavy duty duralumin engine protection plate (marked Gotherberg) not some crappy plastic item. Well removing this when working conditions are a small steep tarmack driveway is a royal pain even though by driving the front wheels onto 2.5 ton rated ramps I get plenty of room to lie directly underneath. The difficulty stems in part from the mix of M10 and other size bolts requiring multiple tools. The worst culprits are those two bolts which secure the rear of the plate. They pass through large holes in the sub frame that have large dished washers fitted (loose) from the inside, short portion of said sub-frame. The access is barely large enough to permit an index finger to "place" the retaining nut. There have been two occasions when while withe the plate removed I've been called away from the job urgently - before retrieving those vital dished washers and retaining nuts. Outcome have driven awau and the prised parts have vanished iritreivably into the subframe.
    I purchased new bolts nuts and assorted washers and reassembled using a product here called "Gun Gum". Looks like black blue-tack, almost bitchumin, but it does the job of sticking those *loody wasers in place in a way that they are not lost and the fittings are still "easy" to line up!
    During this pantomime I pondered the gear oil draining from the cut outs in the plate and resolved to cure tis once and for all. The solution has been amazingly simple. With the bevel gear in situe I can see nine set screws or whatever they are, three across the bottom and three as the casing reaches up turbo-wards. Very cautiously I checked they were "tight" haven't found a torque setting but settled on a very low guestimate of 15 - 18Nm. Cleaned the whole area off with brake cleaner and drove for a few days (weather here is early 30s Celcius very wark by our standards) result no longer any gear oil. Feeling quite humled I had not tried this before I removed each bolt in turn and applied thread lock. It's early days to claim cure but I finall have no leaks whatever from the engin bay! I have an iPhone - trakes good picks but they require an awful lot of time editing to make them uploadable. So since I'm very busy moving to a new home 150 miles away, they have to wait - I will try later though.
    MY01 Ocean Race XC70 Blue/Silver

  4. #4
    Join Date
    Jun 2017
    Location
    Southern California
    Posts
    19

    Default

    Well your reply inspired me to go take a look at my own, five days after I replaced the crush washer and after a drive up through the mountains this weekend. And sure enough, both the bottom of the angle gear and down to the oil pan plug there is some oil. Not nearly as much as before (no oil on the garage floor), but there is certainly still a leak. From what I can research, the torque is “Install the 10 bolts and tighten them crosswise to 18 Nm. Then angle tighten them crosswise 85º” according to https://blog.fcpeuro.com/how-to-fix-...der-angle-gear. But that needs double confirmation as the writer doesn’t specify the model other than the Volvo 5-cylinder ones.

    I used a 13mm deep socket on the nuts that have the long bolts protruding. I was able to tighten both of those nuts just a crack. The 10mm bolts that continue on the housing were very tight already – used a torque wrench on those and didn’t budge at the recommended limit.

    But I think that on mine there are two remaining leaks, one is the common weeping from the housing, second is a leak from the crown wheel (ring gear) shaft seal. I can see wet oil from both the housing and coming out of the shaft seal area. Take a look at the pics.

    On your aluminum skid plate, wow, that’s a real pain if they use nuts / washers rather than just the built-in bolt holes that my IPD one uses. I have to unbolt it with a box underneath to balance the plate, then same to get it back on. I’m skinny and can fit under the car to do some things, and the IPD plate has cut-outs for the oil plug and oil filter, so only have to take it off to do the transmission fluid.

    Try using a mirror (I used a shaving mirror) and reach with it down behind the engine from the passenger side and shine a flashlight and you should be able to check your angle gear without removing your skid plate or going under or lifting the car. The pics I’ve attached were done by just reaching down with my phone and blindly taking pics.

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