98 2.5 850 estate.... smokin!!
Discussion
My 850 10valve has started to produce puffs of oil smoke when pulling away from a standstill. It is progressivly getting more noticeable over the last couple of weeks, although no loss in performance or other signs of potential doom.
I seem to remember some years ago hearing of a similar situation and it turned out to be a blocked engine breather of some sort.
Does anyone have any knowledge or info on this?
I seem to remember some years ago hearing of a similar situation and it turned out to be a blocked engine breather of some sort.
Does anyone have any knowledge or info on this?
10valves are especially good at blocking the breather pipe for some reason - remove the breather pipe and flame trap and clean the pipe out - chances are the flame trap will fall to bits when you remove it so might be worth buying a new one (cheap part) and get it running on some quality oil (I'd personally recommend Shell Helix Semi Synthetic - Don't bother with fully synth), New filter obviously and then thrash the s
t out of it for a few months and do another oil change. DON'T use engine flushes or any of these stupid sucker deal Slick 50 or greased lightening rubbish - just a decent service and some quality oil should cure it. Worst case is it might be worn rings or leaky stem seals - Again, quality oil will help reduce piston leakage too - in which case just live with it and keep an eye on the oil levels
t out of it for a few months and do another oil change. DON'T use engine flushes or any of these stupid sucker deal Slick 50 or greased lightening rubbish - just a decent service and some quality oil should cure it. Worst case is it might be worn rings or leaky stem seals - Again, quality oil will help reduce piston leakage too - in which case just live with it and keep an eye on the oil levels 
Right found a useful little thread on cleaning a breather on a 10v - Not sure you need to pull the inlet manifold off but if you feel up to it go for it - injectors are simple to remove as is the manifold - bear in mind I would recommend replacing the manifold gasket if you remove it (make sure you clean off all the old gasket and leave no oil or muck on the surfaces (clean them with brake clean in a spray can)
If the breather pipes are completely blocked with carbon then prob best bin them and buy new pipes from Volvo. Hope this all helps - it looks mega complicated but any amateur mechanic can do it - its simply removing parts, cleaning and put back together - just remember to be methodical and if necessary take pics of parts before removing them (esp pipes) so you can put them all back in the right places
http://www.google.co.uk/imgres?imgurl=http://img80...
As for the flame trap, on the thread link below the second pic on the page shows the throttle assembly (Black plastic cover removed)On the pic just above the open plastic pipe coming from the throttle body, you'll see a small perforated yellowey white plastic disc in a black plastic pipe, thats the flame trap - normally with clogged breathers you'll find it will a)be clogged up, b)discoloured and c)easily broken so just replace it (cheap part from volvo)- this is much easier to replace than cleaning the breather so maybe try it first - if the pipe connecting to it is full of carbon and oily st then you'll know the rest of the breather will need attention -
http://www.google.co.uk/imgres?imgurl=http://www.v...
Hope all this helps!
Get stuck in and good luck - To be honest there is little you can damage as such and provided you clean everything replace the manifold gasket properly if you take it off you'll be fine
If the breather pipes are completely blocked with carbon then prob best bin them and buy new pipes from Volvo. Hope this all helps - it looks mega complicated but any amateur mechanic can do it - its simply removing parts, cleaning and put back together - just remember to be methodical and if necessary take pics of parts before removing them (esp pipes) so you can put them all back in the right places
http://www.google.co.uk/imgres?imgurl=http://img80...
As for the flame trap, on the thread link below the second pic on the page shows the throttle assembly (Black plastic cover removed)On the pic just above the open plastic pipe coming from the throttle body, you'll see a small perforated yellowey white plastic disc in a black plastic pipe, thats the flame trap - normally with clogged breathers you'll find it will a)be clogged up, b)discoloured and c)easily broken so just replace it (cheap part from volvo)- this is much easier to replace than cleaning the breather so maybe try it first - if the pipe connecting to it is full of carbon and oily s
t then you'll know the rest of the breather will need attention - http://www.google.co.uk/imgres?imgurl=http://www.v...
Hope all this helps!
Get stuck in and good luck - To be honest there is little you can damage as such and provided you clean everything replace the manifold gasket properly if you take it off you'll be fine
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