850 10v smoke on idle

[lightyears]

Had another look, the rear cam seal has a big old stream of oil running down the case, took the cover off and it’s pooled inside so I guess it’s either failed or about to, same with the front one. The PCV definitely has some sort of pressure going on, puffing from the dipstick and tries to inflate a glove, I think I will take a punt on these and see if it helps. On a secondary note, I can’t seem to find a 10V set for the PCV kit apart from a site in Holland, does anyone know of a closer one as my Volvo dealer seems to think it is now deleted.

[ITSv40]

Have you tried https://www.google.com/aclk?sa=l&ai=...zEQ0Qx6BAgKEAE ? Ask for Jamie as he will be able to advise.

[Luxobarge]

Originally Posted by lightyears

Had another look, the rear cam seal has a big old stream of oil running down the case, took the cover off and it’s pooled inside so I guess it’s either failed or about to, same with the front one. The PCV definitely has some sort of pressure going on, puffing from the dipstick and tries to inflate a glove, I think I will take a punt on these and see if it helps. On a secondary note, I can’t seem to find a 10V set for the PCV kit apart from a site in Holland, does anyone know of a closer one as my Volvo dealer seems to think it is now deleted.

OK, so that's pretty much exactly the scenario I had on mine. Excess crankcase pressure is well known for blowing out the rear main crankshaft seal, but on mine that was fine and it had blown out the camshaft seal instead. At the same time I was getting lots of blue smoke at idle too - in fact on one MoT if got really embarrassing as it filled the workshop with smoke. The mechs there were also talking to me about piston ring and/or valve stem seal wear, but in fact when I did the PCV the smoking stopped. The cam seal wasn't worn, just popped out so I pushed it back in and it's been fine since. That was a few years ago, and now the only time I ever get smoke at idle is if the car has done a load of very short journeys, almost certainly oil in the turbo area that has accumulated - a decent run and it's as clean as a whistle again.

So like I said earlier, I'd strongly recommend pushing the seal(s) back in, and then immediately focusing your attention on the PCV system. Maybe change the whole lot again to be sure of decent quality components, but also bear in mind what I said about the port below the intake manifold that goes into the crankcase - if that's blocked then the PCV still won't work even with all new pipes etc.

Regarding getting the PCV kit, I'd recommend speaking to FRF Volvo in Swansea, a popular parts dealer on this forum, discount code C3 too. They should be able to tell you definitively if it's still available for your car, it's certainly still available for the 20V models. That way you know you're getting top quality parts and you can get them to sell you everything you need, including intake manifold gasket and so on.