I am hoping to be able to go into my mechanic armed with a little information (not "loaded for bear" but informed). I picked up my '98 V70 awd this morning after having had a tune-up done (distributor, car, wires) and I had the timing belt done about a week ago. I drove about 20 miles and got up to about 80 on the freeway and went home. About 20 minutes later, when I backed out of the driveway, I noticed a fair amount of oil on the ground (there had not been an oil leak before I brought it in. I suppose I am wondering if it is fair to expect the mechanic to repair, at no charge, a leak that wasn't there when I brought the car in, or whether it is likely that I could have just coincidentally sprung a new leak within 20 miles of picking the car up. Again, I'm just trying to figure how to approach this with the mechanic.

Thanks!

If the oil is coming out of the distributer, then you have a claim.
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Hey Klaus,

Thanks! Is that a possibility (can oil leak from the distributor)? (This is a sincere question; I don't know much about these things.)

Open the hood and look for the distributer, driver's side across from the air cleaner. There is a donut gasket between the distributer and the intake cam.

Also take a look for the oil dipstick, it should be there! Without knowing where the oil leak starts, it is hard to diagnose.

Klaus
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Did you do your Random Act of Kindness today?

had a similar leak about three weeks ago. I'd start by getting a can or two of cleaner and getting rid of the messy oil. Do this when the car is cold. Clean it, let it "dry" then start her up.

I had the usual small expected leak from the turbo return line, but also, the rear main cam seal. Determined the leak probably started after I went wide open throttle when trying to merge onto a 65MPH from a dead stop (typical in MA highways).

Once addressed and hopefully fixed for cheap I'd see if your shop has the gizmo that tests the crankcase pressure. Come to find I was barely pulling vacuum at idle and had 0 - slight pressure with throttle and boost which did not return back to the ever so slight vacuum....PCV needed some love and it wasn't the PTC unit.

steve