23 replies to this topic

[850_GLT_owner]

I'm losing a good amount of oil from the front(passenger side) of my engine. When parked,it looks like it is trickling down the frame and dripping at a spot between the tire and the passenger door. It seems as if a lot of it is concentrated below the timing belt/oil tstat area. It seems to be worse when the car is on(drops of oil all over my street), but continues when off. It has gotten oil all over the passenger side of my car(control arm, wheels) My initial hunch was the oil cooler bracket thing, lots of oil in and around that area, but its hard to tell...That or a cam seal. I'm thinking it is on the front of the engine because of how concentrated the oil is over there. No real smell of burning through vents or anything like that. I'm going to my carwash soon to wash it off and hopefully get a better clue. What other areas can leak alot of oil over there?


http://imgur.com/a/XOpXA

[phunktified]

I would pull the outer timing belt cover (just one bolt) so you can have a better look at the front of the engine with a flashlight..

[atefitty]

850_GLT_owner, on 05 April 2011 - 08:39 PM, said:

I'm losing a good amount of oil from the front(passenger side) of my engine. When parked,it looks like it is trickling down the frame and dripping at a spot between the tire and the passenger door. It seems as if a lot of it is concentrated below the timing belt/oil tstat area. It seems to be worse when the car is on(drops of oil all over my street), but continues when off. It has gotten oil all over the passenger side of my car(control arm, wheels) My initial hunch was the oil cooler bracket thing, lots of oil in and around that area, but its hard to tell...That or a cam seal. I'm thinking it is on the front of the engine because of how concentrated the oil is over there. No real smell of burning through vents or anything like that. I'm going to my carwash soon to wash it off and hopefully get a better clue. What other areas can leak alot of oil over there?


http://imgur.com/a/XOpXA

If your oil cooler lines are wet then they are leaking.
The only other area I've seen that can leak a ton is the turbo drain tube seal and rear main seal.

[850_GLT_owner]

atefitty, on 05 April 2011 - 09:16 PM, said:

If your oil cooler lines are wet then they are leaking.
The only other area I've seen that can leak a ton is the turbo drain tube seal and rear main seal.

The rear main seal wouldn't spray exclusively onto the other side of the engine though right? I had a bad RMS that made me get rid of my otherwise good GLT, but the leak was exclusively on the drivers side, where as this is exclusively on the passenger side. The weather has been bad around here lately so I couldn't give it a thorough check. I'm really hoping its not the RMS.

I checked under the timing belt a few weeks ago but i was looking at the condition of the belt and not checking to well for oil, but it wasn't soak. I'll give it another look tomorrow when its a not raining. For now i'm going to do my best to degrease my car.

[Zappo]

I would say oil cooler lines are a good guess, but it could be other things.

When was the last time you replaced them?

[850_GLT_owner]

Zappo, on 05 April 2011 - 10:19 PM, said:

I would say oil cooler lines are a good guess, but it could be other things.

When was the last time you replaced them?

Just got the car a few months back, so never. I'll have a better idea tomorrow as to whats going on, I'll try to get some good pictures too

[AverageVolvo]

Degrease it first.

Most likely the oil cooler lines as suggested, could also likely be the Oil thermostat housing or the lower front seal or Oil Pump/gasket/ Seal, I have seen quite a few of these sneaky lil bastard.

[the commissar!]

AverageVolvo, on 06 April 2011 - 06:22 AM, said:

Degrease it first.

Most likely the oil cooler lines as suggested, could also likely be the Oil thermostat housing or the lower front seal or Oil Pump/gasket/ Seal, I have seen quite a few of these sneaky lil bastard.

^^^This!

I had one in the shop last week just like it...

[850_GLT_owner]

I'm thinking it might be the exhaust cam seal after giving a better look under the timing belt cover today. The back timing belt cover had some oil running down the side of it, on the exhaust cam side, especially towards the bottom. I tried to get a look at the seal itself through the holes and it appeared to have some oil coming out of it. I figure i might as well do the timing belt job since its been a while. Could cam seals be the source of a significant oil leak?

http://imgur.com/2YdR3 General view under timing belt cover

http://imgur.com/PnENk View through a hole in the rear cam timing gear.

[cn90]

I have the exact same leak.
I am thinking EXHAUST Cam seal.

I am doing the whole thing in the Timing Belt area this summer (from a to z) and will post a DIY later.

[850_GLT_owner]

cn90, on 08 April 2011 - 02:14 PM, said:

I have the exact same leak.
I am thinking EXHAUST Cam seal.

I am doing the whole thing in the Timing Belt area this summer (from a to z) and will post a DIY later.

How much oil are you losing? I'm losing a lot, making me think its more than one thing, but i will replace it and find out.

[cn90]

850_GLT_owner, on 08 April 2011 - 04:24 PM, said:

How much oil are you losing? I'm losing a lot, making me think its more than one thing, but i will replace it and find out.

I am losing 10 drops a day.

If you lose alot, check CCV system.

[850_GLT_owner]

The leak has gotten worse and it seems like i'm losing a lot out of the oil thermostat housing, so maybe thats where its been all along. Does anyone know the size of the o-rings and if i can get them at pepboys or something?

[scumcity14]

Could be not just one, but some or all of the above...most of mine were leaking. I had the engine out and replaced everything. clean first and go for a drive and see what's dripping..

[fastwagonhawaii]

This might sound stupid but heck the oil filter. I thought i had a major problem but when i went to take a closer look it was a loose oil filter. It dripped a lot when running and dripped for a little while when turned off then stopped sounds like your problem.

[850_GLT_owner]

amassagebyjames, on 23 April 2011 - 09:22 AM, said:

This might sound stupid but heck the oil filter. I thought i had a major problem but when i went to take a closer look it was a loose oil filter. It dripped a lot when running and dripped for a little while when turned off then stopped sounds like your problem.

I can actually see the oil dripping from the oil Tstat housing,only when running. I was thinking it might be more things than just that but there is enough oil leaking from the thermostat housing that would account for all the oil i've been losing, like a drip a second or two.

850_GLT_owner, on 23 April 2011 - 05:20 PM, said:

I can actually see the oil dripping from the oil Tstat housing,only when running. I was thinking it might be more things than just that but there is enough oil leaking from the thermostat housing that would account for all the oil i've been losing, like a drip a second or two.

**don't know how to edit**

Wanted to add that i tried hand tightening the oil filter and its not moving at all. It seems like its coming from that area but i'm pretty sure its the oring going into the Tstat

[jdlc]

850_GLT_owner, on 23 April 2011 - 05:22 PM, said:

I can actually see the oil dripping from the oil Tstat housing,only when running. I was thinking it might be more things than just that but there is enough oil leaking from the thermostat housing that would account for all the oil i've been losing, like a drip a second or two.



**don't know how to edit**

Wanted to add that i tried hand tightening the oil filter and its not moving at all. It seems like its coming from that area but i'm pretty sure its the oring going into the Tstat

Clean the t-stat well using spray and brush, make sure where the leak is from - the o-rings going to the cooler lines or the mating of the t-stat into the pan which also has an o-ring (rectangular). Be 100 % sure it's not something else.
Replacing the two o-rings for the cooler lines is a PITA job you just want to be sure.

[g96nt]

Did you ever solve this? mine is leaking profusely from the passenger lower side, too. the timing belt is dry, and so are the pullies.
initially, I thought it was a bad front seal, but I think the belt would be wet with the amount of oil I'm losing. we're talking about a quart/week right now, and it's covered the entire passenger side of the under-car.

I saw someone elsewhere mention that it may be oil thermostat gaskets?

for reference, I have a '00 motor in my 850, so it's got the oil cooler in the oil pan. ( I think that eliminates the oil cooler lines?)

Thanks, guys!

[rmorse]

atefitty, on 05 April 2011 - 09:16 PM, said:

If your oil cooler lines are wet then they are leaking.
The only other area I've seen that can leak a ton is the turbo drain tube seal and rear main seal.

Damn it. Someone +1 him. I'm on my phone and accidentally -1 him while scrolling.

[g96nt]

I fixed mine.
Ended up being a cracked turbo oil feel line.
It was dripping from the banjo bolt @ the block, and making a hell of a mess.
I bought a turbonetics 3' stainless line from summit for $25 the appropriate banjo fittings for $25, and swapped it out. I had to cut the old line in half to remove it without removing the turbo coolant lines, which made me happy I chose the stainless line.
Dry as a bone, now, and won't need to be replaced if/when I upgrade the turbo.