Longevity Guesses? -1989 240- rear main seal leaking

Discussion in 'Volvo 240' started by danny2000, Sep 3, 2006.

  1. danny2000

    danny2000 Guest

    Hi all

    I have a 1898 Volvo 240 wagon with 183,000 miles. It developed an oil
    leak that has now clocked in at one quart per thousand miles. My
    mechanic says it's the rear main.

    Can anybody with experience in these things guess at what will happen
    if I just let it be instead of fixing it. The car has quite a few
    little problems that make me think it's time to run it till it dies.
    I'm just trying to get some clue as to how fast these things progress.

    Would it be silly to think I could get another 50,000 miles out of it?

    Thanks
     
    danny2000, Sep 3, 2006
    #1
  2. danny2000

    mjc Guest

    Anything is possible, but it isn't likely. Have you serviced
    the flame trap? Have you tried owning a car built after 1900? ;-)
     
    mjc, Sep 3, 2006
    #2
  3. danny2000

    jmcgill Guest

    When a main engine seal finally goes, it's usually sudden. This isn't
    particular to Volvos.
    The question you really should be asking, is whether there is too much
    pressure for some reason... rear seal being just a symptom, not strictly
    "the" problem...
     
    jmcgill, Sep 4, 2006
    #3
  4. danny2000

    danny2000 Guest

    What reasons might there be causing excess pressure? Flame trap and
    what else?

    Danny
     
    danny2000, Sep 4, 2006
    #4
  5. danny2000

    jmcgill Guest

    All the various causes of blow-by.

    Is it leaking oil anywhere else? Do a leakdown test.
     
    jmcgill, Sep 4, 2006
    #5
  6. danny2000

    James Sweet Guest


    It's not environmentally responsible to be driving around losing that
    much oil, you may as well just start pouring quarts of oil in the street.

    Check the flame trap first, if that's clean then have the rear main seal
    replaced. The car could easily run another 200,000 miles like that until
    it "dies", old Volvos rarely die, they just get ratty and ugly when
    neglected.
     
    James Sweet, Sep 4, 2006
    #6
  7. danny2000

    danny2000 Guest

    I'll check the flame trap first thing in the morning but I will not be
    spending $1000 to have the seal replaced. We all 'pour oil' in the
    street every time we turn on our ignition. Since you like telling
    people what to do why don't you walk to work?

    Danny
     
    danny2000, Sep 7, 2006
    #7
  8. danny2000

    mjc Guest


    A rear seal replacement should cost less than half what you
    quote. James and I don't always seem eye to eye, but he's
    dead tight on this, and your response is just defensive nonsense.
    Get the seal fixed. If you don't want to spend more than $10, try
    a can of stop-leak, and actually follow the directions on the can.
     
    mjc, Sep 7, 2006
    #8
  9. danny2000

    James Sweet Guest


    Look if you're gonna be a jerk about helpful advice people give then
    don't come here looking for free help.

    And I do ride my bicycle 15 miles to work on a fairly regular basis, is
    that good enough?

    I also put new seals in both my cars so they don't leak.
     
    James Sweet, Sep 7, 2006
    #9
  10. danny2000

    zencraps Guest

    I really have to wonder why people without mechanical ability come here
    and ask for repair pointers.

    Good grief, if you can't turn a wrench well enough to replace a rear
    main seal, what are you doing here?

    Do the work yourself, it ain't hard.

    Seriously.
     
    zencraps, Sep 7, 2006
    #10
  11. danny2000

    jmcgill Guest

    Rear seal means it's a tranny-out job. That's hard by anyone's standards!
     
    jmcgill, Sep 7, 2006
    #11
  12. danny2000

    zencraps Guest

    No, it is not really "hard," just time consuming.

    As with all automotive repair endeavors, all it takes is tools, a place
    to work, time, and a bit of knowledge.

    I've done many transmission R & R's in my garage at my home, and I am a
    self-taught, shade tree mechanic.

    Frankly, doing jobs like that is a character builder.
     
    zencraps, Sep 7, 2006
    #12
  13. danny2000

    austjeremy Guest

    Beyond checking your flame trap, you might also want to check your
    breather box. The breather box is usually connected to the flame trap
    by a tube. Inside the tube their is a flame trap, unless you have a
    turbo. The flame trap is a plastic disk. The holes in the disk can get
    clogged up. In addition, their is a smaller tube that runs to a brass
    nipple to the underside of your intake manifold. You might want to just
    replace this small hose. In addition, remove the brass nipple and clear
    it out. It has also a small hole and it can get clogged very easy. I
    don't know where your flame trap is located. Mine is located under the
    intake manifold. As a result, it can be a PITA to get too. And
    replacing the breather box can be difficult, if you guys don't think
    so, try to replace one on a 740 - 16 valve some time.

    You could also try and use some thicker oil to try and slow the leak.
    If I were you, I would not try and switch your type of oil this stage
    in the game. If you use dino or syn, stick with it. Changing types can
    cause oil leaks also. I would fix the seal. Although, as the people
    here already stated, the leak could be a result of something else. You
    would not want to replace it just to have it blown out again. I might
    be an idiot, but $500 is not that much money. It cost me that much just
    to have my timing belt done. You already know your car and have
    probably treated it well. Buying another used volvo is a gamble, if you
    don't know what to look for. Your car only has 190 xxx it will last
    alot longer. I mean 300+.

    If the repairs to your car cost more then it would be to get another,
    then buy another car. Although with all of the money you have saved in
    car payments, 500-1000 should not be too bad. It leaks 1q every
    thousand miles. I might be an enviornmental killer, but I once had a
    car that would burn that much oil leaving the driveway. If I were you,
    I would go to the store and get a quart of oil and put it in your
    trunk. Then, I would put $50 dollars a paycheck in the get a new seal
    fund.

    P.S. Make sure that you have a volvo oil filter. It has a check valve
    in it that keeps your oil pressure up. This is a good thing to have
    expecially if you got an oil leak.
     
    austjeremy, Sep 7, 2006
    #13
  14. danny2000

    James Sweet Guest


    It's not so much hard, but I would agree that it's a pain in the ass,
    last year I helped a friend replace a clutch in the parking lot of his
    office building which really worked out to me doing the work and him
    passing me tools. If it's an automatic it's even tougher, those things
    are heavy enough that I can't lift one back into the car without help.

    In a nutshell, I can certainly see why a person who may be fine
    replacing a water pump or alternator would not want to try something as
    major as a transmission or rear main. It's not impossible but it is
    about as "hard" as any mechanical work you can do on a 240 which really
    is a joy to work on overall.
     
    James Sweet, Sep 7, 2006
    #14
  15. danny2000

    zencraps Guest

    It's not impossible but it is
    Yes, it is physically demanding, and without a good tranny jack
    requires a helper or tw to remove and reinstallthe tranny.

    Messy, time consuming labor.

    Not pleasant work, but good lord, you can save a wheelbarrow full of
    money by DIY.
     
    zencraps, Sep 7, 2006
    #15
  16. danny2000

    jmcgill Guest

    Until my billable time reached $200/hour I could agree with that idea.
    It's actually fairly disappointing.
     
    jmcgill, Sep 7, 2006
    #16
  17. danny2000

    zencraps Guest

    My friends say I should increase my hourly up to $175 or even $200, but
    I keep it at "only" $150.

    So for me, every dime counts.

    roll dem bones
     
    zencraps, Sep 7, 2006
    #17
  18. danny2000

    danny2000 Guest

    Thank you so much for a really comprehensive response.

    Here is the status: My flame trap was partially clogged and I have
    cleaned it. There seems to be HUGE pressure in the crankcase. At idle,
    when I dislodge the oil filler cap, it jiggles wildly. When I rremove
    it I can feel a strong breeze coming up from it along with oil spittle.
    Thank you for recognizing that money is an issue here for me, if it
    wasn't I'd just buy a nice new volvo and never bother with shade tree
    wrench turning. I made an appointment with my volvo dealer for this
    coming monday so if I have no luck myself this weekend hopefully at
    least they can rersolve it.

    Thanks again and I offer my apologies for my previous nasty attitude
    answer. I am under some life pressure lately and I snap way too easily.

    Peace and appreciation to all.

    Danny
     
    danny2000, Sep 9, 2006
    #18
  19. I er don't know the kind way to tell you this... I've had exactly the same
    problems, 'cept mine was a front seal. As I was working away from home it
    was a garage/creditcard job. However, once the flame trap filled up with oil
    again, the problems restarted. I suggest you wash out the flame trap every
    week with parafin until such time as funds allow you to dismantle engine. I
    got a second opinion from Practical Classic magazine (NO, I'm not connected
    with it and am not advertising it). There is absolutely no point in removing
    the gearbox for a mere temporary repair of exchanging the oilseal. The
    simple fact is that combustion gas is entering the oil paths, possibly a
    valve letting oil by, but more likely piston/cylinder wear. (if you can run
    for a week without the oil cap it could hint as to valve exhaust 'let by'
    versus piston 'let by' theories, but dont forget some sort of porous (cloth)
    plug in oilfiller plug). I'm afraid I can't relate yankee costs to UK ones,
    but once you are reluctantly convinced its the piston/cyl problem, we can
    get 'short' engines relatively cheeply. i.e., assembled recond engine block,
    pistons, crank.
     
    michael.harris86, Sep 22, 2006
    #19
  20. danny2000

    razzledog Guest

    This is so amazing to find such a topic when I spent time today
    extracting an engine AND transmission from an old 82 model .
    Fortunately not to hard a job especially for an ex mechanic 15 years
    after downing spanners for a less energetic career in retail.
    The reason is exactly as described here...leaky rear seal in my beloved
    83 240 wagon at 320,000k`s
    I managed to find a gem of a 244 that appears to have only travelled
    126,000k`s. It`s definitely easier to take the transmission together
    with the motor as the bell housing bolts may be a real hassle
    otherwise?
    My only disappointment was to find the auto trans doesn`t have O/Drive,
    so mine will stay.
    I will exchange motors shortly, (the old girl still runs fine but must
    be getting tired?) after I`ve replaced the rear main seal on the newer
    engine before fitting.
    Removal of the whole unit only took 2-3 hours taking it really steady
    (old boys speed)
    Guess I`ll check the 'flame trap' before getting into things more
    urgently......

    Still can`t believe the coincidence in finding this post..... the
    240`s are such a joy to work on, forget the rest!

    Cheers, Dean.
     
    razzledog, Sep 23, 2006
    #20
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