Hi all,

I have a nagging oil leak on my 83 242 turbo. It seems to be coming from the front oil seal, and I can't for the life of me stop it. I've replaced it no less than three times, the last with a genuine Volvo seal, to no avail. A friend told me to install the seal on a new wear area on the cam, but that hasn't seemed to help.

The car has always burned oil, but it wasnt until I had the head apart and put it back on that it leaked this much. I'm running Mobil One 5W40, which I've run for a while.

I'm positive its not the flame trap. Mine doesn't have the screen anymore, and I've replaced the hose to the turbo inlet that was rock hard.

Has anyone has this problem? Thanks in advance!

- Mack

The parting line between the upper half of the front bearing cap and the head surface is supposed to have a small amount of sealer applied as it is installed (factory procedure). I use aviation sealer, and a very small amount at that. Oil can seep along the surface, but not quickly. Also the transition from flat to the radius that the valve cover gasket has to take may cause a leak there too, so a small amount of silicone sealer helps the gasket to conform as it is tightened, and to fill any gaps that remain. By pulling the front cap off you can also polish the cam seal surface with some 600 wet/dry paper.

Thanks for the reply.

When you say polish the cam seal surface, do you mean inside the bearing cap or on the cam itself?

I hadn't used sealer up to this point, thinking it shoudln't be necessary. Going to tear into it again this afternoon.

Thanks to everyone for the help!

- Mack

Polish the smooth area on the front of the cam where the seal lip runs. It will have a small groove in it already, so just do a "shoe-shine" on the entire area - about 3/4 of an inch back from the snout where the sprocket mounts. Polishing also makes sure that there is no burr on the shaft that might tear the new seal as you install it.

there is this 740 at my work that belongs to my boss's friend.. the car is a total piece of crap.. apparantly the front oil cam seal literally poped out and oil was spraying everywhere.. they just put an assload of silicone sealant and stuck the old seal back in there and it actually works.. i don't suggest that but hey if all else fails...