1998 V70 T5 with 160,000 miles. I've had a recent oil leak, very bad and seeming to get worse, and finally got around to installing the oil separator box kit from IPD (great kit with Volvo parts) which was suggested as a first step before doing the rear main seal. I followed the instructions from Matthew's volvo site to do the job. Instructions were excellent and a big help. However, I found no clogs and did not have the telltale puffs of smoke from the dip stick. PCV valve was not clogged either. But all of the hoses were rotted, or broken or brittle, so I am glad I did it.

I checked the rear cam seal on the exhaust side and discovered the seal had been blown out of the block, it was just sitting there. I suspected that the huge amout of oil the car was dropping was coming from the dislodged seal on the rear cam seal housing. I replaced both rear seals and used volvo seals from the dealer. I also pulled out the abs module while I was at it because it is going bad. I replaced as much vaccum line as I could find, cleaned everything up, pressure washed the engine, top and bottom. Changed the oil and filter. Put everything back together, had no "extra" parts, all seemed good.

I then tried to start the car. It fired up, and then died. It won't idle unless I am running it at 1000 rpm. I have no power assist with the braking, unless I am in neutral, racing the engine, then I have power assisted brakes.

If I come to a stop, the engine will die. At first, the car ran very strong, really impressed, even though it would not idle, but at the end of the test drive, I was hearing back fires and the power had dropped off noticeably on hard acceleration.

I know it is ridiculous to ask "what's wrong" in the abstract, but I was hoping that the fact that I don't have power assist on the brakes might give some clue to what I may have done wrong. Just coasting to a stop with the car in gear, I really have to stand hard on the brakes to get the car to slow down. If I have the car in neutral, racing the engine as I come to a stop, I have power assisted braking. I don't think removing the abs module affects the power assisted brakes, only the abs. I don't recall removing any brake vaccum boost tubing to do the job. I checked all the turbo hoses and made sure they were all very tight and not blown off and they were all secure.

I am thinking that I have an open line somewhere for the power brake booster, but I don't know where to look to find it.

Any suggestions would be appreciated.

Thanks.

P.S. I just checked under the car and there are some new oil drips too!

Update:

I started taking the car back apart to see if I could figure out what I did wrong. When I pulled the intercooler hose off the throttle body, I noticed that the bottom lip of the rubber hose had folded under when I had reinstalled it on the throttle body fitting. Thinking that was the source of the vacuum leak, I put everything back together again and tried it out. It runs much better, but I still have a major vacuum leak, based upon the lack of power boost on the braking and the dismal engine performance. I now suspect that its the intake manifold that may be leaking. I cleaned off the surface of the head, but don't recall checking the manifold sealing surface. Hopefully, that will be the problem. Tearing it back down again tomorrow for the third time. On the up side, I am getting pretty good at doing the pcv system service and I know where all the vacuum lines go! John K

If you don't have a bottle of butane, spray brake or throttle body cleaner around the intake gasket with the engine at idle. If there is a leak, that will show it by changing the idle speed.

You did torque down the manifold at 14 lbs?

Klaus
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Two great Volvos, a 1967 220 and a 1998 V70R

Problem solved! The intake manifold was leaking. I completely tore the whole thing back down tonight and redid everything. I can't believe I made such a dumb mistake. I had two vacuum leaks, the hose that attaches to the throttle body rolled over when I installed it and the manifold itself was not tight. Tonight was the third time I have pulled it apart since Sunday. The entire job tonight took me 2.5 hours, and I spent around 30 minutes getting the two bolts that support the intake manifold from the bottom back in. It took me over eight hours to do the complete job the first time. This job could be done easily in 2 hours by somebody with some experience and the right tools. I would recommend taking the two bolts that secure the intake manifold from the bottom out by accessing from the top of the engine compartment and using a box end 12mm ratchet wrench. I spent hours trying to get them out from the bottom the first time, took me around five minutes to get them out tonight. Also a 1/4" drive socket set with a universal would be perfect for getting to the intake manifold bolts on the head.

I'd say overall, I am very happy I did the job. I've been using mobil 1 since I got the car with 50,000 miles on it, and it has 160,000 on it now. There were no clogs in the tubing, oil box or even the nipple in the fresh air line. I didn't have the tell tale puffs of smoke from the dip stick hole. However, I was able to replace all of the vacuum lines on the car, they were all rotted. Plus I stumbled on the exhaust cam seal that had blown out of the head, causing the massive oil leak. Price for all the part was reasonable-I got the ipd kit and it was $115 delivered. I purchased a handful of extra clamps and some vacuum line at the local auto parts store for about $15. I purchased cam seals from the dealer and got them for a bit over $9 each using my mechanic's account and bought the turbo return line gasket and seal also. My oil leak has been greatly reduced. The performance improvement is unbelievable. The car pulls hard to 6000 rpm (I have an upsolute chip) running regular gas. No misfires, no bucking, smooth power all the way. Real fun to drive again. Thanks to all for the help and suggestions.

John K

My first thoughts are that the brakes are not your biggest problem. Something tells me you get the car running well the brakes will follow (how surprised does that make you?) ...

First off, when you start and it goes a few times then dies have you pulled a plug or two to see whats up? I'm wondering if you have oil or fuel coating the plugs. Running faster (and therefore hotter) will clean your plugs enough to keep the engine from stalling. If the plugs are coated in gas when it stalls out you probably have a big air leak. Your brakes rely on vacuum and a huge air leak can kill that pretty quick. I don't think an unattached line would create this much problem (well, maybe the big one that goes to the oil separator) but most likely your intake manifold's loose, your air hoses between the MAF and the throttle body is either loose or cut, your vacuum tree isn't mounted properly (maybe the o-ring fell off), or the throttle body isn't attached well..

You pulled out and replaced the ABS module, or is it still out? (though if its still off how are there no codes?)

As to your oil leak, have you looked to find its origin yet? If your cams were worn you might have had to push the seal in a couple mm more and if you just made it flush you might have the leak there. However, if its the RMS I'd try running an AutoRX through the system with hopes that it will clear the sludge, lube the seal, and re-seat it.

"but most likely your intake manifold's loose, your air hoses between the MAF and the throttle body is either loose or cut, your vacuum tree isn't mounted properly (maybe the o-ring fell off), or the throttle body isn't attached well.. "

This is what I'd suspect too.

On a '98, there's a stupid spacer bracket thingy at the right side of the intake manifold. Remove it completely - there is no need for it, and seat the intake back down firmly against the gasket.

Thank you for your suggestion. I checked the manifold this morning. It appears to be flush on all sealing surfaces with the gasket, and its tight. The bracket you mentioned is on the bottom right manifold bolt and it appears to be a bracket to hold the air hose where it bends around the head to go to the fresh air tube. I checked and the bracket is not between the manifold and the head.

Car is able to idle today, but not last night, however it is surging at idle from around 1000 to 1500 rpm. There is now no turbo boost at all, at least nothing noticeable when I press hard on the gas, which was not the case last night, I had good power when I first started out last night, the motor was making decent power, it would just not idle. By the end of my test drive, it wasn't making good power either and it would not idle.

I pulled the spark plug cover off and made sure all the plug wires were on tight. There was no water sitting around the plugs from the pressure washer.

I suspect part of the problem may have been the pressure wash of the engine last night when I finished, I wanted to clean off all the old oil to confirm that I no longer had leaks. I definitley am still leaking, have not figured out where yet. I will again check the cam seal to see if it is blown out again.

I checked all the turbo hoses and connections again, they are all tight.

I am going to go back through and disassemble everything I did from the point after I bolted the manifold back on to see if I can figure out what I screwed up. I suspect I blew off a hose somewhere, or I mis routed some of the plumbing connections.

John K

Well, that speaks volumes. Water in the distributer cap, water in the wiring, etc.

Please look for any loose lines. There are so many and hard to see even in daylight.

And let the engine dry out.

Klaus
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Two great Volvos, a 1967 220 and a 1998 V70R