[Fraybie]

Hi all.

I just bought a '98 V70 non turbo in desperate need of correcting years of neglect from the previous owner.

The car exhibits all of the symptoms of a clogged PCV system - white smoke from the dipstick tube, vague smell of exhaust in the cabin, black wet soot from the exhaust pipe on startup. I pulled apart the flame trap housing that sits near the throttle body in the intake tract, and the trap was perfectly clean and clear.

With these symptoms and a perfectly clean flame trap, would this make you believe it was more likely or less likely that the PCV box and tubes on the block are clogged?

Trying to get a better idea before I order a replacement kit and devote 8-9 hours to taking things apart (I'm just mechanically astute enough to make a hash out of things under the hood )

Thanks in advance

 

[T5BLACKattack]

First off, In no way shape or form will this take 8-9 hours. It maybe will take 4. Second I highly suggest getting a full system from FCPgroton, it is $120 and you get everything, including all hoses. If you take off the cover over the spark plug wires, pull off the hose that sits inbetween cylinder 1 and 2 i believe. IF there is build up, you should take it apart. Also, check compression, if it is high mileage, valve seals could be bad, or even an oil control rings, causing blow by.

 

[JRL]

Do NOT buy these parts from Groton
They have some inferior pieces in the kit and the last thing you want to do is do this job twice because of a failed or collapsed hose

 

[Fraybie]

If I buy the kit, I was thinking ipd, mostly because I know who they are and they are about 1-2 days shipping from Seattle, so at least I'd get it quick.

I'll try looking at the hose that was pointed out earlier.

At this point, just want to know if it makes sense that the pcv is clogged even though the upper flame trap was pristine.

 

[T5BLACKattack]

Well, idk what is wrong with there kit. Mine got delivered yesterday, and everything i got seemed to be in nice shape, and as good as oem. Thats my 2 cents though. Yes, Check your pcv hose on your valve cover.

 

[Fraybie]

No blockage on the hose under the sparkplug cover. Interior of the port was clean, interior or the hose as far as I could get a wire up into was clean. There was a lot of oil pooled in between the ribs between the spark plugs around the outlet port though. Also, the pipe pulled clean off, so the clamp didn't appear to have any force on it if that makes a difference.

Verified white smoke out the dipstick tube when warm, and visible amount of white smoke out of the tailpipe.

 

[Avboden]

how's your coolant/oil look? You should do a compression test as well

 

[Fraybie]

No tools, etc. to do compression test at the moment. This is actually the first car I have had that wasn't brand new and warrantied in the last 11 years, so I am in some ways a little unprepared to get back into the world of fiddling about under the hood.

Coolant in overflow tank is perfectly clear and green (flash in the picture washes it out). Oil on underside of cap and on dipstick is a little dark, but doesn't have any foam/sludge/milkshake appearance or texture. Feels a little thin on the fingertips, smells like oil, doesn't smell burnt or otherwise funky.

Attached pictures I just took, if someone thinks I'm off of my assessment of what things look like.

I'll admit to being a bit cheap; I'm trying to avoid taking the car to a shop and paying $200 for a simple inspection.

 

[echase76]

Sure looks like it needs an oil change to me!

 

[rmorse]

Sure looks like it needs an oil change to me!

Common misconception that dark colored oil means you need an oil change.

 

[94gts]

Common misconception that dark colored oil means you need an oil change.

must have never owned a diesel. change oil, fire up, check level, and its allready black again lol

 

[rmorse]

must have never owned a diesel. change oil, fire up, check level, and its allready black again lol

Is that to me or to him, lol. Cuz I was saying that just because the oil is black, that doesn't mean it's dirty and needs to be changed.

 

[94gts]

him

 

[Burn-E]

Well, idk what is wrong with there kit. Mine got delivered yesterday, and everything i got seemed to be in nice shape, and as good as oem. Thats my 2 cents though. Yes, Check your pcv hose on your valve cover.

If the kit has the Uro hose elbows then while they might look nice now, they will be failing on you within 6 months by collapsing and you'll be pulling it all apart again to fix the problem. OEM is the only way to go with the PCV kit. FCP will sell you an all OEM kit, it just will cost you more.

And OP, if it's a 98, been badly neglected and driven the average miles then you probably have 155k miles on the car and it is DEFINITELY time to change the PCV can, hoses, and clear out the crud that is blocking the lower engine connections.

 

[Fraybie]

Is the ipd kit OEM? It's priced about 20% higher than the FCP kit.

 

[echase76]

Is that to me or to him, lol. Cuz I was saying that just because the oil is black, that doesn't mean it's dirty and needs to be changed.

I know that oil can be dark and be fine. BUT if I bought a car (that had been neglected as OP stated) and the oil looked like that the first thing I would do would be change it. Even if it didn't smell burned.

Pretty sure the IPD is Volvo OE (stated on their site), but I've already been whacked once in this discussion so better have someone who has used the Kit chime in.

 

[rmorse]

I know that oil can be dark and be fine. BUT if I bought a car (that had been neglected as OP stated) and the oil looked like that the first thing I would do would be change it. Even if it didn't smell burned.

Pretty sure the IPD is Volvo OE (stated on their site), but I've already been whacked once in this discussion so better have someone who has used the Kit chime in.

But the oil can be dark within 200 miles.....I don't think I (or anyone) could tell how the engine is from a dipstick/oil cap that looked like that. If it was milkshake on there or if it was chunky, then that's different. It just looks like he didn't JUST finish changing the oil. Unless you send it in to get it diagnosed, you aren't going to know anything.

If the compression test was good, and the quick dipstick test OK, then I would buy the car and just trust that the PO isn't BSing me when he said he changed the oil 1k miles ago, or whatever. Not trying to pick hairs with you; I just don't think you (rhetorical "you") can tell that much from a quick glance at oil that looks like that.

 

[echase76]

Fair enough. I have just never owned a gasoline engine car (81 volvo, 87 VW vanagon, 94 subaru, 98 toyota truck and 98 volvo) that turned my oil dark like that unless it was well over 3,000 miles of use. Maybe I have been lucky.

I'll shut my mouth now and won't judge a car by the color of its oil

Rmorse any help for the OP on IPD kit. Looks like OE to me.

 

[1999s70]

I just had my breather box changed for the second time (they seem to last about 250K LOL). Anyway, the OP did not mention the mileage on the car, but anything in the high 100s and it's a candidate for a new breather box, especially if the car were neglected. The white smoke from the dipstick hole is a good indication of a clogged breather box, too. Oil consumption will be higher than normal, though not necessarily enough to turn the exhaust blue. But you may smell oil in the exhaust. And, when you do replace the box, you should consider cleaning everything in the air intake path: throttle body, MAF sensor, air filter, etc.

BTW - the oil filler cap seal looks badly mummified in the picture and you might want to replace that, too. Couple of bucks and 15 seconds of time. I change mine every 20K with my spark plugs.