I've recently seen oil all over the top of the engine, and i've narrowed the cause down to a clog in the vicinity the flame trap. My theory is that the clog is increasing oil pressure which is forcing oil out the fill cap. Has anyone else had this problem? The latest clog looks to be just inside the engine, but far enough that i can't pull it out. (there's also a possibility that this isn't a clog at all, it belongs there, and i don't know what the hell i'm talking about. if this is the case, feel free to ridicule me while providing me with the correct answer) Is there an easy wasy to go about fixing this, or am i forced to suffer another massive mechanic bill?

Flame trap, small vacume line and it's orfice at manifold must be kept clear and clean. This is a normal maintenance item, just lke changing your oil. If flame trap or vacume source is blocked you will build pressure in crankcase which forces oil out the cap and maybe the seals.

Where is this clog that you can see inside the engine but cannot get at.

I'm pretty sure that the clog is just inside the engine and that i can see it when i take the flame trap and assorted hoses off the engine. I just wasn't sure if that was the clog or if it was some other problem.

Can you describe where the clog is located, what part of the engine? The flame trap connects to intake manifold, the flexible bellows hose and the oil separator.

i'm not sure. i haven't looked at it in a while. I'm going to look at it next week, and i'll get back to you then about specifics

its happened on all my volvos, if the flame trap your talking has a wire gauze in it like mine did my dealer told me to take it out and dont worry, so i did and nothing went wrong. i did this on a 83 240glt and a 88 740gle, but i could have just been lucky.

You are NOT alone.

As usual I have an answer: synthetic oil, preferably a low Volatile synthetic oil such as Amsoil. I know I'm a walking talking commercial, but clogged flame traps simply don't happen with Amsoil because of the low volatility and the fact that it doesn't carbonize until EXTREMELY high temps.

So to answer your question you just need to take the flame trap and all associated tubing out, and replace. Also clean any/the orifice at the intake manifold. There is a possibility that the oil separator is clogged and needs rotor rooting.....

i remember hearing sometihng about synthetic oil, maybe you can clear this up. it went something like this. . .

"using synthetic oil would help to clean out your engine (if you've been using non-synthetic in the past). However, this 'cleaning' action would remove some of the build-up that has accumulated in places where seals have worn away. This buildup, which was functioning as part of the seal, would now be gone, and leaks would be exposed."

Is this the truth, or have i been the victim of bad information?

I switched to synthetic oil at somewhere around 190K miles. No problems. No increased consumption. No leaks. The origional seals held up fine. I had changed the dino every 2 or 2.5K miles, and had never seen anything in the flame trap before or after changing oil types.

How long do you leave the dino in there, and what have you been using? Quaker State?

when i do it myself, i used wolf's head a couple of times. . .lately i haven't had time to do it myself, so i've had valvoline do it for me. could this be the problem? someone please tell me i can blame it on them. i usually change about every 3K or so. . .it's not exact because i only drive to and from school (i make my roommates drive to buy beer), which might amount to 5 or 6k a year. it usually gets changed based on time and not miles

True, but:

a) The cleaning action is not as fast as people assume.

b) The car would have started to leak anyway. Grime is not a very effective seal in my estimation, chances are the car was leaking oil before and the grime sorta plugged up the leak.

In the real world old, not very maintained cars leak oil. These leaks should be fixed for the sake of our ground water/environment regardless of oil type. Synthetic oil does not cause leaks....in fact synthetic oil is better for seals than petroleum oil. Good synthetic oil keeps seals pliable and does not extract plasticizers as do the volatiles in wide grade petroleum motor oils.