Volvo Oil leak discovered by Accident

There are always oil leaks on higher mileage cars. How bad they can get depends on how long they're ignored. Take this Volvo for example; it started to loose power, and then the CEL/MIL appeared! CHECK ENGINE (scary, generates apprehension of BIG REPAIR BILLS! eek!)


Engine began to run on possibly three cylinders. Code P0300 for multiple/random misfires appeared. Time to park the car or, jump into that frightening world of diagnostics. You know the one, you fear it because you don't understand what it's REALLY all about. 

There are books that explain theory and practical application of automotive diagnostics, but they seem to be written in a long forgotten language, right? - Not really. Watch and read the diagnostics that follow.

**Drove car into shop (actually pushed is much closer).
**Removed turbo to inter-cooler pipe to access valve cover/ignition area.

 (just the beginning...)

(Cause of code P0300 )

**Found all coil packs and harness in their own "oil bath" under that center plastic cover. 

       **Removed all coil-packs to access spark plugs. 
**All but two of the five cylinder head plug wells were or had been full of oil. 

(the cause isn't always that difficult to locate)

**Only one spark plug is stilled threaded into the cylinder head. 
(thank goodness for those coil packs although they're not intended for that..!) 

**# 4 plug has been blown out and threaded hole in cylinder head is damage too. A portion of that spark plug is also missing and is most likely been through the top of the engine or worse. 

                                (bummer........ gotta make a few phone calls now)
**# 3 plug well is still full of oil so I must correct myself, there are possibly two cylinders without plug hole thread damage.

There are two ways oil can collect in plug hole wells; 
1. Gasket material sealing failure between cylinder head cam cover to the cylinder head. (rare)
2. Oil leaking slowly out of the filler cap and collecting in the lowest point. That's where the plugs are. (common)


Diagnosis: Needed an oil cap because at the mileage this Volvo with TURBO shows they're usually in need of some simple maintenance to open up passage ways & allow this sucker to run! 

BUT, this problem has become one that is more in depth than one would really have expected.

MORAL: Call an independent repair facility such as ours. We will establish routine 5K service/inspections. You get reminders to have a 5K done. Then things like this just won't seem to happen to good people like the ones that own this car.  JP