Had an issue when my daughter was driving the S40 today.
140k miles
2005 5spd non turbo.

She called and said it wouldn't start.
I went to rescue her and managed to get it to start after a lot of cranking with it trying to fire.

So it starts and is missing, but I take off back for home.
Doesn't seem to want to idle but I didn't let it die for fear of not restarting.

low on power seems to get worse as I am driving.
The I start to hear a ticking noise and now its blowing smoke.

Pull over pop the hood.
The oil cap has blown off and now it has spewed oil as one would imagine.


So does this sound like a PCV issue? Would that keep it form wanting to start and idle?

Dig some more diagnoses on this
First compression test only one cylinder had moderate compression.
Added oil to the cylinders through the plug holes. One cylinder @170psi 3 center ones next to nothing other one on the end 110psi.

Should I pull the head or are there other things to investigate?

All indications point to rings in 2-4 cyls. That explains the loss of power while driving. The oil might have been 'low' when you went to retrieve the car.

I assume the T-belt is still intact, so timing is not an issue.

When the rings are gone, the block is ruined. Removing the head will give you complete diagnosis, but I think the head and block are toast.
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Keeping it running is better than buying new

Oil was up to level when I got to the car so I would suspect damage happened after that. other than it did sound a little off when I cranked it over plus the missing.

I guess at this point it can't hurt to pull the head and be sure of the diagnosis.

Once I do that I should expect to see substantial scoring on the cylinder walls right?

https://minneapolis.craigslist.org/hnp/cto/d/minneapolis-volvo-s80/7152316655.html

About 20 minutes from me. Just to show you an option rather than engine replacement :)
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Keeping it running is better than buying new

Still has coolant in it? The coolant hose routing in the manual transmission S40/V50 has a plastic tee that is prone to cracking after many years.

That's what happened in my S40 T5. That T broke, coolant quickly drained leaving the temp sensor dry (gage never showed the overheating condition). Driver went on until the engine was totally cooked, no compression. :-(
I didn't pull the head to see the damage.
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XC60 / Odyssey

Coolant was a little low but far from empty.

As I was refilling it I found the T you are referring to and I believe that is where I was slowly loosing coolant. Wonder if I had a similar issue with the gauge not reading hot.

Hmm, Methinks my sad tale was a different sort of case then. The block was dry. What little coolant remained was nearly frozen (was 0degF day). That tee, just downstream of the thermostat and temp sensor, had failed catastrophically.

If your car had coolant in it, the gauge should read. I was trying to come up with a reason for your engine's sudden downfall.
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XC60 / Odyssey

Lack of compression will keep it from starting/running.

Smoke from the tailpipe or from under the hood (burn-off of the oil splashing from the missing cap)? If someone failed to replace the cap after adding oil then maybe, just maybe, you could be in the clear. But it sure sounds like there is some massive overpressure in the crankcase caused by blowby in the cylinders (worn rings). Usually the PCV box spews oil all around the oil filter housing, not the fill cap though.

Look for anything else gross and obvious and check the oil and coolant levels, top them off then try again. Not much to lose at this point.

Best of luck,
Will
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XC60 / Odyssey

Thanks

I wouldn't think the rings are too worn as it hasn't been burning oil or using it.

My initial thought on the hard starting and not idling was MAF sensor.


Like you said nothing to loose by topping the oil back up and see how it goes.

As mentioned, if you’re lucky someone forgot to tighten or left the oil cap off together. Did the car have a recent oil change?

Years ago, I took my 88 VW Jetta 16V to a local gas station for an oil change. Did it because it was some $12 special or something. Picked up car, drove about 3 miles and smelled oil! Yes, they left the cap off!! Found it on top of fender. Engine was okay. Lesson learned....
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Will I buy another Volvo??? We'll see....

Time to look for a new car, the engine is toast. It is more than the PCV being clogged. No oil cap will let all of the oil splash out, the crank bearings and the cam bearings are now kaput. Correct, the cam does not have a bearing, but a race which acts like a bearing.

Why the oil cap came off is beyond me, probably loose and vibration caused it to move.

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Keeping it running is better than buying new