Oil leak

[davedru]

I've avoided the snow today and done an oil and filter change.

Wait. What? Snow? Yes. Snow in Sheffield. Brief, but definitely snow. In May. Then nice and sunny. Then rain. Then sun .

Anyway, after removing the undertray there was evidence of a fair bit of oil over everything - see photos.

It had it's 5 year service last year by an independant garage and they noted 'oil leak from engine (possibly cam cover gasket)'. After having the egr recall work carried out last May (R29948 / R29939??), they too noted on the visual health check at that time that that there was an 'oil leak from cam cover'.

Would they be able to say this for definite without cleaning the engine bay down first? Is this a common problem? A DIY job? Would oil leaking from the cam cover go over everything, as in the photos?

Also, I found this plug sitting loose on the undercarriage. Can anyone advise what it is and where it's from? Could this have anything to do with the oil?



Thanks all

[Toprivetguns]

Is that a Volvo part number on the plug? Looks of similar make up to the tiny dipstick on the front lower part of the engine on my D5.

[davedru]

I guess so. On the other side it looks like HSR22080.

A google search suggests this is some sort of plug for somewhere on the coolant system (?) so nothing to do with the oil leak then!

[Easington]

I'm guessing you have a D4?

Seem to remember seeing a lot of comments re oil leaks and cam covers

[Zebster]

It certainly does look like a connector for the cooling system, similar to the one that was fitted to my coolant header tank last October during recall R10027.

Various degrees of leakage from the cam cover are not uncommon on the VEA engine. Some time ago during a service I was told that mine had 'noticeable weeping from both the cam cover and a camshaft end cap' and was quoted £800 for a repair. However I've never been able to actually see any leakage (even with a mirror) although admittedly I've not removed the undertray for a better look. I understand that for environmental reasons this undertray is designed to absorb large volumes of spilt oil. I've hardly used the car in the last year so have to admit that I've largely been ignoring the issue, plus it's had two dealer services in the meantime and they've never mentioned it again!

As said, there's quite a few forum threads on leakage from this gasket, along with suggestions that the PCV valve (inconveniently located inside the cam cover) may be contributing not the problem by allowing too much positive pressure. This thread outlines the problem in some detail (bear in mind that member Clan is a former Volvo technician)... https://www.volvoforums.org.uk/showthread.php?t=297903

Unfortunately you do need to remove the diesel injectors to get the cam cover off. While I have done this before on a previous diesel car using just DIY tools it is a task that can go badly wrong and require specialist attention. For that reason I'm leaving mine until it becomes a more significant problem!

[Zebster]

Minor correction:-

Originally Posted by Zebster

...As said, there's quite a few forum threads on leakage from this gasket, along with suggestions that the PCV valve (inconveniently located inside the cam cover) may be contributing TO the problem by allowing too much positive pressure...

[davedru]

Sorry, yes, it's a D4.

I've had a look at the reservoir/header tank and there is an identical shaped connector but with a pipe attached to its rear. I've had a couple of recalls carried out recently - for the egr and the seatbelt.
What was recall R10027 for? Do you have any details on what repair work that entailed?

I've ordered some engine degreaser for a clean up at some point. Hopefully then I'll be able to monitor and see how much of a leak/problem it is.

Thanks

[davedru]

Originally Posted by Zebster

I hadn't heard anything about this problem until I got a recall notification through the post this morning; apparently trapped air in the cooling system can cause overheating, including the possibility of an engine bay fire! A bleeder hose needs to be fitted by a dealer. Affects 2014 - 2017 models.

I was just being lazy. A quick search returned this as the first result! I wonder if mine was done at some point and the old clip was just dropped down through the engine bay making its way to the undertray