burnout8488 Posted May 3, 2013 Report Share Posted May 3, 2013 Last year I removed my engine and tore it down to the block, replacing everything but the bearings. It is completely resealed, but I have an issue with oil leaking from the cam cover and oil pan now. The cam cover had 140K on it before I pulled the engine apart, and it leaked prior to me pulling the engine. There is about a 1" section on the rear that seeps down onto the exhaust manifold. It had never been taken apart, so it must have been defective from the factory or warped over time. When I put the engine back together, it was completely clean, oil free, scuffed up with a scotch brite pad, and degreased for the new sealant. I used the Volvo OEM pink anaerobic sealant properly, per every guide I've seen on the internet. Now the cam cover still leaks exactly where it did before, and the oil pan has sprung a leak behind the flexplate. Initially I thought the rear main seal was blown, so I pulled the transmission last night and completely wasted my time. Since my cam cover or head is apparently not going to seal properly even with the correct sealant, should I step up to using Hondabond? I've seen it used on machined surfaces before and it seems that it will create a better seal and deal with any warped surfaces a little better than the anaerobic stuff. Are there any downsides to using a very thin coating of gray Hondabond, so it seeps out the sides a little and seals? I want to do this job ONE more time, and never have to do it again for at least another 100K. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ihatespeedbumps Posted May 3, 2013 Report Share Posted May 3, 2013 I don't like RTV at all on cam covers, namely because when you bolt the cam cover down it squishes the RTV into the engine. In some cases extreme cases I have seen excess RTV clog an oil pan. My suggestion would be to pull the cam cover off and see why it's leaking in that spot. Also, Volvo claims that the anaerobic sealer will seal a gap up to .010 inch, though I've never personally tested this claim. To further this a little more, are you sure one of the bolts isn't loose or the threads haven't pulled out causing your oil leak? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
burnout8488 Posted May 3, 2013 Author Report Share Posted May 3, 2013 Interesting. I was planning on rolling the Hondabond on using a tiny roller, just like the Volvo stuff. A very, very thin coating across the cam cover and oil pan mating surfaces. If it's used on the Jap cars, is the Volvo's engine any different? A miniscule bead should squeeze out, if any, and the Hondabond stuff dries nice and firm. I was wondering if the Volvo sealant is absolutely necessary, or what the reason behind using it is? I'm not totally against using the Volvo sealant again, but would like to make sure I don't have to do the job again if my engine's surfaces really aren't true. When I had the cam cover off I thoroughly inspected it and found absolutely nothing in the leak area. I figured the sealant just wore off or something after 140k. Sure enough it leaks again after reinstallation, same spot, same quantity of oil. I did everything perfectly when I re-did it all, and have checked the bolts numerous times. Thanks for the insight so far Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Keaton85 Posted May 3, 2013 Report Share Posted May 3, 2013 Are you sure you are putting enough on? I've never had a leak with anaerobic sealer. I'm suspecting you put to thin of a layer on? As I put enough on the covers that it squeezes out the sides. The nice thing about the anaerobic is that it won't harden and get into you engine like all other sealant will. It only hardens with lack of oxygen. 17nm on those cam cover bolts? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
burnout8488 Posted May 3, 2013 Author Report Share Posted May 3, 2013 If I do this again, there's no harm in putting too much on, right? It'll simply wash away with the oil. But since this spot has leaked even on the factory seal, I fear that it won't seal even if I tried again. I know it's very uncommon for them to leak even on the factory seal, have you ever seen these leak before? (prior to doing the job yourself) Yup, I torqued them to 17, then a week later did a little more around the leak using my wrist just to make sure I didn't forget anything. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Keaton85 Posted May 4, 2013 Report Share Posted May 4, 2013 Never seen or heard of any leaking, ever. I put a nice thick layer of it on the whole thing and if I used a roller I do both the cover and the head. Also I add extra around the edges, spark plug o-rings and around the spot that has a blank open hole on te cover. It washes off with oil over time. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DAYWALKER Posted May 4, 2013 Report Share Posted May 4, 2013 how big is the leak? if it just seeping out you can try to clean it up with some brake clean and then seal it with some silicone from the outside. if this work it will save you some time. if not it wouldn't hurt nothing. i know this is not a good fix but in the past it work out and i save myself a whole lot of time. have you taken out the spark plug cover and make sure that the top hose is not leaking out or oil cap gasket is leaking. can you take a picture? i am curious to where and how it is leaking. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
burnout8488 Posted May 4, 2013 Author Report Share Posted May 4, 2013 I actually already did that! Used JB weld too , the oil always finds its way through somehow. Ill be back home Monday and should be able to snap a pic. It's been progressively getting worse even with the seam coated in JB weld after a good spray degreasing. The top of the cam cover is bone dry, new cap gasket and Pcv hose. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LloydDobler Posted May 8, 2013 Report Share Posted May 8, 2013 A friend of mine who works at a Volvo shop uses the Volvo angle gear sealant on all his other gasket surfaces and it seems to work really really well. Not sure if it's different than the normal engine liquid gasket, but I used it on my manual tranny case and it worked fantastic there too. It's dark gray and much like a silicone. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
burnout8488 Posted May 9, 2013 Author Report Share Posted May 9, 2013 That sounds like Hondabond actually, gray and thick. At the top of this image you can see where it has been seeping out. This was taken BEFORE the rebuild, on the original 140,000mi old sealant. After the rebuild it is leaking in the same spot. Sometimes it seems like the oil is coming out of the bottom of the dowel pin that aligns the cam cover. I'm not sure. It might just collect in there. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sjmcarz Posted May 9, 2013 Report Share Posted May 9, 2013 When the engine was apart, did you check the cam cover and cylinder head in the affected area with a straightedge? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
burnout8488 Posted May 9, 2013 Author Report Share Posted May 9, 2013 I didn't. Since it had 140K on it, I figured the sealant just stopped functioning properly after all that time. I have a feeling I'll be back in there soon though. It turns out my oil pan was NOT leaking however. It was the bolts holding the flexplate to the crank. I never knew you needed thread sealant on them. Going to get a tube today and that should stop the oil leak down below. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sjmcarz Posted May 9, 2013 Report Share Posted May 9, 2013 If you do pull it apart, check the area with a good straightedge and feeler gauge to see if there are any gaps. Did you reuse the flexplate to crank bolts? If re-used did you loctite them? When they come new from Volvo they have what looks like a red sealant/loctite already applied to the threads. I used new ones for our engine swap 7 months ago and so far so good. Like you, I didn't realize that the crank thread holes have an opening at the other end, just went into the garage and checked on the crank in the old engine and sure enough. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
burnout8488 Posted May 9, 2013 Author Report Share Posted May 9, 2013 I definitely will use a straightedge when I pop off the cam cover. If its warped, what would I do? Just use a thicker sealant? Yup, I now know why Volvo says to use new bolts. These had a yellow looking substance on the threads, I thought it was loctite. Turns out it was the thread sealant from the factory. Only my flexplate to torque converter bolts had the red threadlocker on them. Since you were able to check a bare crank, can you see any reason why these holes aren't sealed from the inside? I'm amazed at this car's odd engineering every day, but this just seems ridiculous! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DAYWALKER Posted May 10, 2013 Report Share Posted May 10, 2013 make sure you clean all the gunk around the dowel pin too so the cover seat flat. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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