Leaking Rear Seal

Discussion in 'General Motoring' started by squirrely, Nov 26, 2003.

  1. squirrely

    squirrely Guest

    At around 85K my non-turbo S70 1998 rear seal began to leak.

    Volvo dealer maintained including oil changes. Switched a while ago to Mobil
    1.

    Should I be disappointed in service, or is this a cost of ownership for
    these vehicles. Had the mechanic check the flame trap. Appeared to be pretty
    old, plastic brittle, but compressed air went through it, blowing some
    carbon grit though.

    Cheers,
     
    squirrely, Nov 26, 2003
    #1
  2. squirrely

    Herman Guest

    There are several views on "this" topic........ when switching from
    "regular" oils to "synthetics" on older (read several miles), leaks
    develop!!!
    I would imagine your leak developed as a result of going to synthetic
    oil. Apparently, the synthetic oil due to detergent properties "cleans"
    out the engine, that wouldn't have happened staying with regular oil.
    P.S. I don't need the flames folks!!!!!! As stated in the beginning,
    there are several "VIEWS"
    Herman, '83 282 5.0 H.O. formerly 242 Turbo intercooled.
     
    Herman, Nov 26, 2003
    #2
  3. squirrely

    squirrely Guest

    So the theory would be that synthetic cleans out grit between seal and metal
    wall, then leaks?

    Just strikes me as odd that rear seal leaks seem so prevelant in Volvo vs
    other vehicles. Do a google search, and you end up getting messages from
    this newsgroup primarily.

    Gotta let this one go I think, but it bothers me.
     
    squirrely, Nov 27, 2003
    #3
  4. squirrely

    Alex Zepeda Guest

    Nevermind that all of the white block motors are prone to rear main seal
    leaks. Nevermind that the seal itself has undergone a few revisions to
    attempt to fix this problem.

    If the synthetic oil were really the culprit, I'd expect that some of the
    other seals would spring leaks.

    - alex

    '85 244 Turbo
     
    Alex Zepeda, Nov 28, 2003
    #4
  5. squirrely

    Kirth Gersen Guest

    Happened to me too, at 230.000 km or so.
    And that's perhaps the real reason: high mileage.
    Because lots of people simply won't let go of their beloved volvo !

    Just a thoought.

    Kirth
    854T5
     
    Kirth Gersen, Nov 28, 2003
    #5
  6. squirrely

    squirrely Guest

    Thanks for the comments.

    What might be interesting would be constructing a spreadsheet on this
    problem.
    Example:
    Engine Turbo/NonTurbo Mineral/Synthetic? Synthetic Mileage Start
    Rear Seal Leak date etc.

    See if a real pattern exists

    I think that my problem may have been related to crankcase pressure due to
    improper flametrap PCV maintenance. Was getting some oil blow out from oil
    cap too I think.

    Cheers
     
    squirrely, Nov 29, 2003
    #6
  7. squirrely

    Rusty Guest

    Synthetic oil doesn't "cause" leaks, it exposes them.

    RS
     
    Rusty, Dec 10, 2003
    #7
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