Oil leak on breather

Presumably you are referring to the engine crankshaft rear oil seal...

The oil seal has various designs depending on age and application and while they all sometimes leak to varying degrees it is very rare such a leak can be described as "pouring out".

When something drastic does happen to the rear crankshaft seal, there are usually other influences causing the seal to leak - a blocked engine breather is fairly common and older engines sometimes have seals made of a material that is intolerant to some of the modern oil additives.

Some engine designs provide other possible sources of oil leaks at the rear of the cylinder block but the transmission and the flywheel will need to be removed in order to assess the situation...

I would question crank sensor they normally put management light on check breather pipes and gaskets first if it is the sensor it's about an hours labour plus price of the part good luck.

Extend the trans crankcase breather with a hose and clamps,then zip tie it to a safe elevated location ---The leak will likely stop for good...

"possibly" front seal(crankshaft) if it's from lower pulley where timing mark is; you sure it's not dripping from valve cover?,oil breather cap?,etc.,running down to lowest part of engine??; I would steam clean entire engine,then run it for a little while then start checking for leaks.....starting from top part of engine as fluids run """downhill""...ha,ha. Hope this helps.

I will try and simplify the problem. I have an oil leak, which I traced up the back of the engine to the cylinder head area.
When I removed the top plastic cover on top of the coil packs I found oil in every recess next to the coil packs. The crankcase breather pipe was also off. The source of the leak is not evident, but it is definetely above the cylinder head gasket area.

Yes, is it the 4 or V6? I think it is either the oil pump shaft seal, or the crankshaft nose seal. The second one can be damaged by work in that vicinity such as removal of the crankshaft sprocket.

The oil pressure sender is not at that location on the 4-cyl or the 3VZ V6, but on the 1MZ V6 it is on the front face of the engine block below the alternator mount.

You could also try replacing or cleaning the filter element inside the airbox. It may just be saturated with oil after all these years.

Hi,
oil getting on a breather can indicate excessive crankcase pressure. Check all the `crankcase breathers and the valve cover breathers.

if the crankcase has been overfilled with engine oil. The crankshaft has to "beat" it's way through the oil and thus acts as a pump and sends oil all over the internal surfaces of the crankcase.

If the engine cylinders have developed 'blow-by" they will also contribute to an increase in crankcase pressure which will be evident by oil in the breathers. The fumes / pressure in the crankcase are designed to be removed by the engine breather system, and drawn through the engine etc.

I hope this info helps.

Hi,
The main reason for the oil leakage is most probably due to the rear crankshaft seal.
First thing to do is check the engine breather is clear. You can clean it with isopropyl alcohol and dry with a heat gun.

Thank you for contacting www.Fixya.com

Your info is confusing. The rear cam seal is not inside the timing belt cover, and the crank seal is at the bottom of the engine, while the cam seal is at the top.

Is there oil at the top, around the cam seal? Or just at the bottom? It's common for the oil pump seal to leak. If you get the oil pump reseal kit, it contains the oil pump seal and gasket, as well as the crankshaft seal. Make sure you seal the oil pump bolts, Volvo has special copper washers for this purpose.

Just try to locate the oil leak before replacing any more parts. Sometimes it can be something simple like the oil cap seal or the oil trap housing.


Bret
RepairPal.com