[Aven]

Hello all,
I've been seeing gradual engine oil leak, (and frequently needing to fill up engine oil) on my 09' XC60 T6. As I couldn't determine the oil leaking culprit, I decided to clean the engine compartment completely (especially the button side), drove the car for a while, and then checked up the engine compartment when the car indicated low engine oil (took about a 3 weeks).

And viola, I narrowed down where leakage is, and it seems to be a peculiar place to me. Either the gasket between the engine and the transmission or the shaft coming out of the transmission to the driver-side wheel. I checked all around, and it seems the leakage is only from these locations.

I wouldn't call myself a mechanic, but since I'm the second owner of this car, and knowing that the previous owner did service it in suspicious shops, I thought "hey let me try narrowing down the cause and try torquing trans bolts, see if someone missed with them and didn't torque it well" the moment I did turn one bolt (relatively easy) about 5 degrees, air bubbles started coming out from the bolt head. Which freaked me out a bit honestly.

So I'm here to get some insights before I mess things up. Is it possible for engine oil leak from either of these points?

Appreciating any information I can get.

Driver's side drive shaft :

 

[volvogod]

This is a 6cyl, 3.2 engine.
The brake vacuum pump on the end of the intake cam is leaking.
It looks worse that what it is.
Get a vacuum pump rebuild kit $75 Volvo list price.
Remove the pump, take it apart and install new o-rings.
The o-ring on the pump, where the pump mounts into the engine is normally what is leaking.
The o-ring dries out, shrinks, deforms and causes the leaking.
If you Google or Youtube it, you will probably see a how to rebuild the vacuum pump.

 

[Aven]

This is a 6cyl, 3.2 engine.
The brake vacuum pump on the end of the intake cam is leaking.
It looks worse that what it is.
Get a vacuum pump rebuild kit $75 Volvo list price.
Remove the pump, take it apart and install new o-rings.
The o-ring on the pump, where the pump mounts into the engine is normally what is leaking.
The o-ring dries out, shrinks, deforms and causes the leaking.
If you Google or Youtube it, you will probably see a how to rebuild the vacuum pump.

Thanks for the help. Just to clear things, my engine is the turbo 3.0 (B6304T2).
I pulled off the air filter box, checked the brake vacuum pump all around, and no signs of any leakage as seen in the pics below.
After some research, I think what's leaking is actually transmission oil from the driver side driveshaft. (And probably there's another source for my engine oil leaking / being burnt).

So this is now concerning since it's been leaking for a while, that the trans must be low in oil and there's no way I can check the level of transmission oil unless I top it up and open the plug below. can vida show the trans oil level?

Top side of brake vacuum pump:

Bottom side of brake vacuum pump:

 

[Wayne T5]

No, VIDA can't show ATF level. That said, it's not hard to remove the level plug and see if anything comes out. If nothing comes out then you know you're at least level or low, provided the car is up to operating temp.

Can you tell what kind of fluid is leaking? It should be easy to tell if it's ATF or engine oil.

 

[volvogod]

Put some of the oil on a white piece of paper.
If reddish or pink color, transmission.
If darker to black engine oil.
Awesome pics by the way.
After looking at the pics closer, it looks like the LH axle seal is leaking.
The Axle driver has oil on it and the subframe below the axle has oil on it.
Leaking rear engine seal oil would never get on the subframe or axle driver.
You can see the tran oil running down the side where the axle goes into the transmission.
You just need to replace the seal.
Push up/down on the axle driver where it goes into the tran. You should have very little play.
It is possible that the axle driver may have walked out the the tran a little to have some extra play
causing the oil to leak past the seal. The axle may need to be seated back in.
You will probably end up replacing the seal.
I have never seen a rear engine seal leak on a 3.2 or 3.0 engine.

 

[Aven]

No, VIDA can't show ATF level. That said, it's not hard to remove the level plug and see if anything comes out. If nothing comes out then you know you're at least level or low, provided the car is up to operating temp.

Can you tell what kind of fluid is leaking? It should be easy to tell if it's ATF or engine oil.

Put some of the oil on a white piece of paper.
If reddish or pink color, transmission.
If darker to black engine oil.
Awesome pics by the way.
After looking at the pics closer, it looks like the LH axle seal is leaking.
The Axle driver has oil on it and the subframe below the axle has oil on it.
Leaking rear engine seal oil would never get on the subframe or axle driver.
You can see the tran oil running down the side where the axle goes into the transmission.
You just need to replace the seal.
Push up/down on the axle driver where it goes into the tran. You should have very little play.
It is possible that the axle driver may have walked out the the tran a little to have some extra play
causing the oil to leak past the seal. The axle may need to be seated back in.
You will probably end up replacing the seal.
I have never seen a rear engine seal leak on a 3.2 or 3.0 engine.

Thanks! I borrowed a lift to get better view underneath
I unplugged the trans oil plug, and nothing came out. So I was sure the oil was at least on level or low. Topped it up with some 13 oz , unplugged the overflow plug underneath, and to my surprise, almost the same amount drained out. So maybe it's leaking but not that much.

In any case, I believe you're right, most likely the leakage is coming from the driver axle seal. There was almost no play with the axle so I guess the seal itself is faulty.

You'd reckon the shaft needs replacement or only the seal?

Thanks