SwedeSpeed - Volvo Performance Forum banner

Oil or PS Leak? Location?

11K views 46 replies 7 participants last post by  tekline123 
#1 ·
I was doing some work to change the WP, Decoupler, Acc. tensioner/idler and belt, and noticed this large oily mess. Also, the top of the power steering pressure hose (where the crimp is) is wet. I attached a photo of the hose and the area from the leak.

What would be a possible cause of this? Has anyone seen a similar pattern leak? It's a family members car and they said a Volvo diagnosed it as needing to replace both timing chain cover gaskets. Could this all be from the bad hose crimp?

PS was 1/2 full upon inspection with no other leaks seen, and oil level was fine.

It's probably been leaking for at least 40k miles.
 
See less See more
1
#2 ·
Looks like a 3.2 from the pics and your XC90 is not listed in your signature. If so, then look up the leaky vacuum pump. It's the silvery roundish metal thing in the upper middle of your second pic. That looks like engine oil.

The o-ring is a replacement item listed in the About the XC90 3.2 thread. FCP has a kit.
 
#4 ·
That line is just seeping a little, not enough to make that mess. Even if the vacuum pump had been leaking and previously repaired without the residual oil being cleaned up, I've never seen oil all over the timing cover from a vacuum pump leak. You probably need to pull the timing covers and reseal them.
 
#5 ·
Would you recommend replacing both gaskets on the cover? Inner and outer? I guess now would be the time since it's already all apart, right?
 
#6 ·
Yeah now would be the time. The outer cover is easier than the inner. For the inner, you have to remove the timing chain and cam pulleys, which will need a special tool to hold. Or clean it all up, put it together and try to see specifically where it is coming from.
 
#9 ·
I thought you still need special tools for the outer cover to reposition it back on correctly. Or is there a trick where you don't need the two pieces?
 
#7 ·
How many miles on the 3.2? What year?

I would clean and re-inspect to trace the oil to the source. It could still be the vacuum pump and the moving serpentine belt/pulleys threw the oil all over. I wouldn't take the timing cover off unless you have done that before on another car or familiar with sealing gaskets, keeping bolts in the right order, and have a 3/8" torque wrench. It could also be a valve cover gasket, leaky seal from REED drive, sensor o-ring, leaky PCV, etc.

Or it could be an old leak that was already taken care of if the vehicle was bought used. What I don't see is dripping oil like when I see a 2.5t blow its cam seals. Do you know the history of the maintenance of the vehicle?

Here are some videos for your reference of what it takes to take apart the covers and valve cover:


 
#8 ·
Thanks for the videos! That makes it seem pretty straightforward.

2007 with 150k miles.

I talked to the family member that owns it more. They have owned it since original. It developed a leak around 110k. They took it to the dealer, dealer replaced vacuum pump seal. Went back to the dealer, and the dealer recommended replacing both timing gaskets. I replaced the vacuum pump seal for them because they wanted to try that again. And that is where we currently are. The vacuum pump seems dry. It is wet on the timing cover and below the PS pump. So, I don't think it is old.

The PCV was done around 110k, the READ assembly seems dry, and there is no grinding noise from the bearing. The alternator side of the READ assembly is dry. Most of the oil is on the outer timing cover bolts or housing. It has dripped all over the transmission and down to the pan. Owner states they lose about a quart of oil every 3-4k miles.

They want to get it done, so that's why I didn't mind the idea of doing the gaskets. It doesn't seem worth cleaning it up and putting it back together to troubleshoot the leak more. Everything is already off, and all that labor would have to be done again. If anything, I'd do the outer gasket, and clean it up. I have a friend that had the special tool kit from Volvo.

Is that logic of mine flawed? That seems to be the most sense. It's interesting the top of the case is wet and oily. That makes me think gaskets, but I didn't find anything about that being a common leaking point.
 
#12 ·
It sounds like good logic, you have the time, and you have already decided to move forward. Take pics and post here!

I wish I could see the serpentine belt before the vacuum pump was sealed at 110k miles because the oil made it all the way to the top of the transmission. Any splatter on the hood pad?
 
#13 ·
I'll do a write-up depending on the outcome lol I always forget to take photos because my hands are covered in oil.

That's a good question. I'll post back when I look at the hood insulator.
 
#14 ·
There is oil on the top insulator.

Also, I took some more pictures. I haven't seen it in a couple thousand miles, but now that I have it, I noticed it actually is wet on the alternator side of the intermediate shaft. It leaks all the way down to the bottom of the transmission. (I did clean the other side up a bit since the first photo, as you can see.)

Now I'm wondering about the READ. It looks very wet on the auxiliary side and wet on the alternator side...

Thoughts? Advice how to proceed?
 
#15 ·
Do as planned and change the shaft seal for the READ on both sides too, including the alternator side. A little more work, but like you said, while you are there and the vehicle is already down. Once you change those gaskets and seals, the hope is you won't have to go that deep again. Anything residual could be sensor o-ring or might have been residual from the vacuum pump.

Once everything is clean, drive and observe. That's the issue with old oil leaks, it can be difficult to find the source with all the gunk. If you want to, buy a dye kit for the oil. When you run it for a little time, use a blacklight or UV light, depending on the kit, and see if you can source a leak. If nothing lights up, then you are done with that leak.

Just a thought, did you remove the ignition coils to see if there is any oil in the spark plug holes, which could indicate valve cover gaskets?
 
#17 ·
I haven't pulled any spark plugs to see, I can do that after. Also, I'll see about the valve cover, makes sense, but I'm not sure.

Here it is stripped down. I have to remove the remainder of the inner gasket. It's cold here this week, and it's not easily removable. Any tips?



Anyway, I got it all off after being a little busy this week. I'll save pictures and info for a write-up, but I'm wondering if the gasket circled in blue should be replaced to?



I'm trying to order all the o-rings and gaskets to begin reassembly.
 
#19 ·
If it were me, yes change that gasket and any o-rings, seals, gaskets you can see. If you use a razor, make sure not to scratch or mar the aluminum surface. When I remove valve covers or timing covers in any vehicle, I like to change the plastic chain guides while I am there. I sometimes do the chain tensioner too, depending on the engine.

I haven't researched this, but is that dirty inner channel running from the rear upper to the front intake manifold the PCV return? If so, clean it out.

I'm not due for a serpentine belt for another 50k miles, but after seeing your pics I'm a little tempted to do seals, gaskets, chain guides, and cleaning for longevity's sake. :) Before, my goal with my 3.2 was to hit the 200k mile mark, but I might readjust that to at least 250k miles.

Could you keep us updated on your parts cost because I think this good measure can be done for around $100-$150 in parts.
 
#20 ·
If it were me, yes change that gasket and any o-rings, seals, gaskets you can see. If you use a razor, make sure not to scratch or mar the aluminum surface. When I remove valve covers or timing covers in any vehicle, I like to change the plastic chain guides while I am there. I sometimes do the chain tensioner too, depending on the engine.

I haven't researched this, but is that dirty inner channel running from the rear upper to the front intake manifold the PCV return? If so, clean it out.

I'm not due for a serpentine belt for another 50k miles, but after seeing your pics I'm a little tempted to do seals, gaskets, chain guides, and cleaning for longevity's sake. :) Before, my goal with my 3.2 was to hit the 200k mile mark, but I might readjust that to at least 250k miles.

Could you keep us updated on your parts cost because I think this good measure can be done for around $100-$150 in parts.
I'll post a part list later!

I'm not sure about the oil channels, but yes, the do look like they could be cleaned.

Also, I wasn't sure about the chain guides and tensioner, so I'm glad you mentioned that. The chain looks good, and the guides look fine. I was trying to keep costs down, but am open to looking into it. From what I saw they are "lifetime", but we all know that doesn't mean it'll last 999999k+ miles.
 
#24 ·
Have you seen tensioners fail? Does the tensioner expand a decent amount? It's my understanding that as the chain stretches, the tensioners pushes itself out to keep tension.

I'm curious when the point is that the tensioner can no longer extend to compensate for chain stretching. Or is this all kinda not a big deal in the real world application.
 
#28 ·
#29 ·
Yeah. A local dealer has local pickup at prices the tensioner at $38.21, and the guides at $25.13. They also offer a kit (30759065) which would include the chain.

I'll talk to the owner about it. I get the "while you're in there"mentality.
 
#31 ·
I would do the same thing since a tensioner alone is ~$38-$40, but the chain & tensioner pair is ~$70. Still looking like this all can be done for around $150 in parts.

If the owner wants to keep this for a long time, may I also suggest to do the transmission fluid since you have it because the dealer probably hasn't done it. It is a bigger pain in time for an owner to come back to do that additional work. What year 3.2 is it?
 
#34 ·
Great summary! I like how you also gave the aftermarket/OE parts price and that can drop the overall cost nearly $200 for all you are doing.

The chain/cover parts cost still isn't bad at ~$250. If I buy the tools, I could recoup part of the cost and re-sell it here when I'm done.

I'm gonna add this thread to the About the 3.2 one.
 
#35 · (Edited)
Great summary! I like how you also gave the aftermarket/OE parts price and that can drop the overall cost nearly $200 for all you are doing.

The chain/cover parts cost still isn't bad at ~$250. If I buy the tools, I could recoup part of the cost and re-sell it here when I'm done.

I'm gonna add this thread to the About the 3.2 one.
Sounds good! I'll post the write-up here. Everything is apart and finally cleaned. Honestly, cleaned took the longest. The remaining parts should arrive at the end of this week and it'll go back together this weekend.

As far as the tools go, they aren't that bad. The decoupler pulley tool is good to have. The timing set kit works on 3.2 and 3.0T engines. I have a 3.0T XC60, so I'm sure I'll need it at one point.

The seal installer is cheap but needed! It is a reverse lip seal. If you do not install it with the special tool, the "lip" will be backwards and the seal will leak.

The positioning tool is tricky. Some say you don't need it, but I didn't see it worth the risk. It helps align everything up quickly so the AC clutch and decoupler pulley are aligned for the accessory belt. It's a silly design that you need a tool to realign them, which is probably why Volvo changed the bracket design later.
 
#36 · (Edited)
Replacing 3.2 Timing Chain Cover Gaskets, Chain & Various O-Rings.

Issue: Oil leak coming from Outer/Inner Timing Chain gasket. I decided to refresh everything in this area since I was already in there.

I'm not going to detail how to remove the accessory drive belt, accessory tensioner, accessory idler, AC Compressor, PS Pump, water pump, water pump coupler, or decoupler pulley. All of these have been detailed in other threads.

REMOVAL

To start, you need to do the following:

1) Disconnect power from battery (-)
2) Drain Coolant
3) Remove air cleaner assembly
4) Remove air charge pipe
5) Disconnect positive terminal in engine bay to fuse relay box
6) Remove vacuum pump
7) Release accessory tensioner tension and put 3mm rod into tensioner to keep it loose
8) Remove PS Pump from water pump coupler
9) Remove Water Pump
10) Remove accessory Idler
11) Move AC Compressor to side and remove AC auxillary bracket.
12) Remove coolant pipe that goes around outer timing case. Just give it a nice pull, or use a piece of wood to pry it out. It is held into the timing chain cover by an O-Ring. You should replace this O-ring
13) Remove decoupler pulley (you need a special tool for this. It's a 33 tooth counterhold that goes into the pulley, and a T50 torx that goes in the middle to access the bolt.

Now starts relevant information. You can do these next steps in any order, but I did them the following way.

14) Lock the crankshaft
NOTE: The genuine Volvo special tool has an offset center to match the offset insert hole on the crankshaft. The aftermarket tool does not have this offset extrusion. It's not a big deal because you know the crank will have to be turned 180° if you can't insert your camshaft tool.




To insert the tool, you need to pry off the cover. Just put a hole in the middle and pry it out. Then, you can put the tool on. The tool has a pin held by a spring. It'll only go into the hole when it can. Just rotate the crank by hand using your 1/2" ratchet in the special tool, and it'll pop in.

15) Lock cams

To insert the cam locking tool, you need to remove the coolant reservoir. Just pull it up and move it to the side. Then, you need to remove the engine's upper torque arm and cover. Next, pop a hole in the middle of each cap on each camshaft, and pry it off. Then, insert the tool. It should slide right in with no issues if your crank is locked properly. Do not force the cam locking tool on! It has offset grooves that should drop in. Once the tool is seated in the slots, thread each bolt in. The exhaust cam bolt is tight, but it will fit. You may need to jack the engine up a tad, and it helps the place the bolt into the tool while putting it into the exhaust cam. Tighten up both bolts and then tighten the center bolt between the two camshafts on the tool.




Now the engine is locked and you don't have to worry about messing up timing! Don't touch it.

16) Remove Outer Cover

There are 20 torx T40 bolts, and two 10mm head bolts to remove. The numbers on the bolts are only relevant for installation. The order doesn't matter for removal. I removed all torx bolts first, then removed the two hex bolts. You'll hear cracking as you do this. Don't panic, it's just the metal gasket expanding. Pull the cover off, it should slide right off the READ shaft. At this time, it's good to remove the oil seal that goes around the READ shaft that is now such inside the timing cover. Knock that out - you'll be replacing it with a new one.






17) Lock Tensioner

First, insert a small flat head into the tensioner lock plate and pry it up. This will unlock it so you can move the tensioner down to relieve tension on the chain. Then, you need to push down on the lower chain guide bar. This will force oil out of the tensioner. Once it is at the bottom, insert a 3mm rod into the small locking hole.




18) Remove intake and exhaust cam pulleys

First, make sure you know which pulley goes where. It's pretty obvious, but if you mix it up, the intake has a slot for the vacuum pump. Then, you need to position the special counterhold tools. They are keyed and only fit on their respective hub. Just insert them and move their orientation around until you can place the nut over the threaded bolt that connects both tools. Then, tighten down the bolt to lock them in.

Now, insert your long T60 torx bit into the hub of your choice. Make sure your counterhold is fully on the pulleys and is locked. At this time, use a long breaker bar to gently loosen each cam bolt. They aren't torqued that much, so they should come right off. Once the bolts are off, throw them out. At the very least replace the exhaust bolt. It's TTY, and is it really worth chancing all this on a $2 bolt?




19) Remove Chain

Slowly move the hubs off and now you can remove the chain. Just pull it off and maneuver it off. It may get hung up on the READ shaft gear, but use a plastic stick to help move the chain to get off it.



20) Remove Chain Tensioner

It's held on by two bolts, just remove those and it'll pop off.

21) Remove Chain Guides

Two of the three are keyed with hidden plastic ridges. Carefully pry up each corner of the top two guides. Then, it'll slide off the cover. To remove the larger bottom one, flip the cover over. There is a roll pin with a small snap ring on it. Remove the snap ring, and it'll slide off. Then the guide can be removed.



22) Remove Intermediate Timing Cover Gasket

Remove the bolt for the oil slinger, and the other bolt. Then it can be removed and replaced.



23) Loosen Coolant Pipe on Back of Engine

There are two studs on each side of the rear of the engine that hold down the coolant pipe that goes there. Remove these two bolts, and then remove the 10mm head hex bolt that connects the coolant pipe to the inner timing cover. The pipe needs to be popped out of the cover.



24) Remove Inner Cover

Surprisingly, the inner cover is only held on by 2 T40 bolts. Remove those, and it should come off. If it doesn't, grab a dead blow hammer and gently tap it off near the READ shaft. It should start to break it's seal. Once it starts to come off, take a plastic trim tool or that, and help release it all off. Then, slowly wiggle it off. If it is stuck, it is stuck on an O-Ring that connects the water pump pipe to the engine. Just keep rocking it back and forth, and it should come off fully.



25) Remove Inner Cover Gasket

This gasket may leave a residue on the engine because it has rubber channels on it. Scrap it all off carefully with a razor blade if so.



26) Remove All Gaskets and O-rings

Now is a good time to replace all of these. There is a gasket on the READ shaft to replace, as well as a gasket on the inner cover below where the READ shaft goes. Then, replace the water pump pipe O-Ring that is probably stuck to the inner timing cover. Replace the O-Ring on the coolant pipe that goes into the inner timing cover behind the engine.



27) Clean Area

Get the area all clean and looking new to get it ready to be reinstalled.

INSTALLATION

Time to put it back together! Installation post is on its way. Stay tuned. I had a part ordering complication and am awaiting new ones. The process is this in reverse, but there are a few special tools involved.
 
#37 ·
This is a nice write-up and very helpful to people. Thank you for the update and look forward to seeing the completed project.
 
#38 ·
Does it matter how the new chain is placed on? I notice that one link on one side of the chain, is a different color. You can see it in the photo here.

I'm not seeing any orientation of the chain or hubs, so I would think they can go on any way. Is that correct?

 
#39 ·
Never heard of a directional chain on a car, just needing the removable link to face the correct way. But I could be wrong.
 
#41 ·
Time to install!

Installation is pretty straight forward.

To start, you need to place the new inner gasket on. You can place it in place and there is a little positioning pin on the right hand side that holds it in place. Then, you need to place the inner cover on. To help the gasket not move out of position, I threaded in a few turns two of the longer bolts. This helped the gasket stay aligned while the cover was placed over it.



I'm not going to lie, it doesn't go on easily. I lubed up the water pump o-ring and that one went on easily, but the gasket over the intermediate gear was tough. I lubed it with motor oil, and the cover still did not want to go on.



To get it on, I placed a block of wood to brace the portion of the cover near the water pump, and then used a rubber mallet to gently tap the cover on until it was flush.

[Don't forget to change this O-ring]


After that, you need to screw in two T40 bolts. One that goes through the timing chain tensioner arm, and another one under that.



Then, slacken the two alignment screws on the cover by two turns with a 9mm hex key.

Next, you are going to reassemble the chain and pulleys.



First, place the chain carefully over the intermediate shaft and drape it over the tensioner arm. Then, while pulling the chain taut, place it around the intake pulley and slide the pulley into the shaft a bit. Finally, take the slack up off the chain with the exhaust pulley. You may need to move the intake off the shaft a bit to allow for the chain to fully go over the exhaust.

At this point, slide both pulleys on, and then thread both bolts for the pulley on HAND TIGHT. Do NOT tighten them all the way. You want the tensioner to take up the slack first.

Once the bolts are hand tight, remove the pin from the tensioner and it should fully extend to take up slack. To help it, you can pull the tensioner arm upwards and you may be able to make the tensioner extend one more "click". The tensioner is controlled by oil pressure, so it will tighten up once you start the engine and oil flows.



Once the tensioner is removed, place the pulley installation tools on again to prevent the pulleys from moving. Tighten the intake pulley first to 110Nm, then the exhaust to 75Nm + 90°.



Then, remove the cam locking tool, and rotate the engine over twice using the crankshaft special tool. You want to make sure there is no binding, and you have 6 compressions felt.

At this time, make sure you have removed the intermediate shaft seal from the cover, and get your new outer timing cover gasket out. Align the new gasket over the outer timing cover, and you will notice that 3 spots on the gasket have "wings" on them to allow a bolt to go into those holes and keep the gasket in place while you fit the cover. The three positions are shown in the below photo. DO NOT tighten these three screws, just thread them in a few turns, and then fix the other two special positioning tools. One goes into the intake pulley when the vacuum pump bolts on, and the other slips over the intermediate shaft. You may need a rubber mallet to hit the tool in that goes over the intermediate pulley. Once these two positioning tools are in place, the gasket should be lined up and pretty close to being in.


Install the three T40 bolts shown below.

Tighten the outer bolts in the order shown. It goes anti-clockwise from short bolts to long bolts around it.



Tighten the two positioning hex bolts to HAND TIGHT with a 9mm key. These are meant to just brace the cover when in use. As you see, the inner cover is much smaller than the outer cover. The hex bolts are used to alleviate added stress, and to help it stay uniform across three different pieces.

Install the two 10mm head bolts that thread into the hex positioning bolts.



Install the coolant pipe, auxillary belt idler pulley, and vacuum pump.

Now, you need install a new intermediate shaft gasket with the special tool. Place the cone onto the tool, and push the new seal onto the tool. Next, remove the cone by unthreading it. Take the tool, and now thread it into the intermediate shaft. Once hand tight and flush to the shaft, take the tool and slide the body of it to transfer the seal to the shaft. To bottom it out, thread the nut until it no longer turns, and you have installed the seal! Just unthread the tool and you are all done with it.







To install the auxiliary bracket, you need to use a special tool to make sure it is lined up properly with the other pulleys. Start with the two pieces apart, and only hand tighten the top bolt with the convex washer below it.



Then, place the lower brace on, and hand tighten in the two bottom bolts and top two.



Then torque down the top bolt.


Next, tighten the hex set screw on the right to make contact with the bracket.


Then tighten the screw into it.


Tighten the bottom bracket bolts.


Tighten the bottom bracket set screw until it makes contact.


Then tighten the bolt into the set screw.


Reinstall the rear coolant pipe.

Install new rear cam covers and crankshaft cover.

Install upper engine torque rod and cover.

Fill engine with coolant and check for leaks.

Reinstall tensioner on accessory bracket, and other accessory drive components and you're done!

The job was not that hard. The VIDA instructions are very self explanatory - that's why I included those. They are probably better than I could word it. Also, the video series on YouTube about these engines is very helpful!
 
  • Like
Reactions: safetyfirst
#42 ·
Thank you for the write-up, pics, and update!
 
This is an older thread, you may not receive a response, and could be reviving an old thread. Please consider creating a new thread.
Top