Previous post

I had another look at this leak and it appears to be leaking from head gasket. It's more of a slow weep at this point though.

It's not the valve cover gasket, nor is it coming from dist.

Has anyone else had an oil leak from head gasket on intake side? It was overheated about 7yrs ago but new head/gaskets were installed.
--
Norm Cook Vancouver BC; 1989 745T 202,000KM

It's been my experience that normally head gaskets don't leak in modern engines. If they are leaking it's usually because they're warped due to overheating or uneven cooling because of blocked coolant passages. The warpage won't go away and retorgueing the bolts usually won't help at this point. Oil-coolant mixture may not happen depending on the location. I've experienced it myself and also read about it here in brickboard that the gasket usually fractures between two cylinders. Resurfacing the head at this time is usually out of the question. So, what do you do ?? If you want to keep the car for a while and don't want to be left stranded somewhere with a blown gasket then the best thing to do would be to get it taken off and resurfaced.

Oil is cheap!! Replacing the head gasket is not!! Like I say to my wife..."just keep driving it!!!" Just keep an eye on the oil level and KEEP ON TRUCKIN!!!

Best of luck...
--
Volvos4me4ever 1989 245 274K miles still going strong, 1992 745 Turbo 110K miles real nice!

The HG on my 745 had left a real mess under the intake by the time I bought it; complete failure of the gasket followed in a couple of months. Never had oil in the coolant or vice-versa, but it let go between cyl's 2 and 3, right between the pistons where there is not much gasket to start with.
Were your previous repairs done by a dealer/reputable shop or "someone else"? A poorly installed HG will not hold up very long.

Shifted
--
'87 745t 214,000; '93 Toyota MkII; '73 Suzuki Jimny (Brute) LJ20 360cc

Shifted;

The HG was done at the Volvo dealer in summer of '97--only ~80K KM ago. The previous previous owner overheated--$2500 CDN to fix!

Someone else said they fixed the problem by tightening down the head bolts some more.
--
Norm Cook Vancouver BC; 1989 745T 202,000KM

Norm,
I suppose that *might* work but those head bolts are pretty tight as torqued when assembled, they may have stretched a bit but if you go reefing on them and bust one off in the block then you will really be singing the blues. You could check with a torque wrench to see if they have loosened but I don't think I'd go beyond the specified settings, myself.
The results of a compression check would be interesting; perhaps the gasket can seep like that for years without impending doom. Nevertheless the gunk on and around the engine will not prolong the life of any components or wiring, and will eventually eat the paint off the engine.
I'd watch it close and prepare for some repairs in the spring.

Shifted
--
'87 745t 214,000; '93 Toyota MkII; '73 Suzuki Jimny (Brute) LJ20 360cc

It was only 5 more lbs of torque--nothing too excessive.

I think I'm going to leave ... as you suggest, it could go on for yrs that way. As mentioned, it doesn't really leak, it's more of a weep because the side of the block gets damp (actually it's more shiny). It does not leave any puddle.

I'll keep an eye on it...
--
Norm Cook Vancouver BC; 1989 745T 202,000KM

Hi Norm,

The HG on my non-turbo has been weeping since before I bought the car about a year and a half ago at ~352K km. It now has over 387K km on the clock and hasn't seemed to have gotten worse. All it does is make the block damp with oil and I, nor my Vo mechanic are worried about it at all. The oil just keeps the block from rusting. When the B230FT in my 745T was rebuilt a few summers ago I couldn't believe how clean (free of rust) the block was where oil had been leaking out of seals (like under the headgasket and below the oil filter adapter). It was very noticeable where the oil had been leaking after the block was stripped. Anyway I wouldn't worry about it unless your getting mixed oil and coolant or it is dripping a noticeable amount.
--
Chris. Halifax N.S. '91 745Ti, 291K km and '91 745 NA, 387K km.

Hi Norm,

The HG on my non-turbo has been weeping since before I bought the car about a year and a half ago at ~352K km. It now has over 387K km on the clock and hasn't seemed to have gotten worse. All it does is make the block damp with oil and I, nor my Vo mechanic are worried about it at all. The oil just keeps the block from rusting. When the B230FT in my 745T was rebuilt a few summers ago I couldn't believe how clean (free of rust) the block was where oil had been leaking out of seals (like under the headgasket and below the oil filter adapter). It was very noticeable where the oil had been leaking after the block was stripped. Anyway I wouldn't worry about it unless your getting mixed oil and coolant or it is dripping a noticeable amount.
--
Chris. Halifax N.S. '91 745Ti, 291K km and '91 745 NA, 387K km.

Chris;

Did your mechanic have any ideas as to why it would leak?

As long as the structural integrity of the seal is fine, is compressed properly and both mating surfaces are clean and free of any scratches/grooves, it should seal.

It doesn't make sense to me.

BTW, I haven't seen any oil in the coolant nor coolant in oil--although I haven't looked too closely for oil in the coolant.
--
Norm Cook Vancouver BC; 1989 745T 200,000KM

Looking at a new gasket there are three drainback passages on the intake side (I know it doesn't sound right but the head must be configured to direct drain back oil like that.)

A leak on the opposite side (Exh.) towards the front would be pressure to the cam.

What usually happens is that rotary disc air tools are used in surface preparation and block or head material is removed due to aggressive cleaning.
The gasket then is not loaded as well in those areas and after a few thousand thermal cycles the gasket loses some resilience and you get seepage.

A temporary "hillbilly" repair would be to clean with a non petroleum based solvent and apply some silicone. As long as your PVC system is good there won't be any pressure to speak of.