I have a 1995 Volvo 850 Turbo T5 that I think the turbo is shot in. It is leaking a lot of oil out of the oil filler cap and blue smoke is coming from the exhaust. I have done a compression test to make sure the engine is okay and it all came out fine. I think the turbo is shot but i am not sure. If the Turbocharger is bad would it cause oil to spew out of the oil filler cap and blue smoke to come from the exhaust? The smoke is not all the time, maybe every 1/4 of mile it smokes. Thanks! Eric

Not up on the Turbos but it could be that or a clogged PCV system. I'm sure others will post with more information. You have exhausted mine.

+1 on that suggestion.

... i just posted this for another fella somewhere...

have you looked at the turbo lines/fittings? and under the car to check for the oil source? your main seal?

the oil on the top near the filler cap and under the wire cover is not uncommon. it was on my 850 when i bought it and on a friends 850 also. it can show up from sloppy refilling of the crankcase, or... the PCV system being blocked/choked up. with the car running at idle open the hood and pull the dipstick up an inch or two. if there is "smoke" or vaporized oil puffing out like a small smokestack it is a sign that the PCV system needs cleaning/attention.

the dipstick smoke is only a sign that a problem may be coming. now, push the dipstick back down and loosen your oil filler cap with the car at idle... if the oil filler cap is popping up and being pushed off by crankcase pressure you will want to clean and correct the high pressure in your crankcase soon. too much pressure will cause the main seal to fail and leak oil like like a drippy faucet. the best thing to do is check all the vacuum lines/elbows for leaks and clean the flametrap, PCV, PTC valves/sensors, etc... if that doesn't do it your breather box (oil trap) may be blocked or failed. i have attached a pdf with the breather box repair described, it a beauty! oops, its a knock sensor repair, but it shows the breater box and it's a good idea to do both while you are in there. on pages 18 and 20 there is a good view of the oil seperator/breather box.

it could be something simple like a new oil cap rubber gasket... my buddy's car had an oil cap ring that was all cracked. i dont own a turbo and wish i could tell ya more about that. good luck! and i hope its a simple fix for ya!

Thank you!! I will try these and hopefully will get down to what the issue is. Thanks again! Eric

hi eric! :00000732: and glad to see you here!!!! one of my myspace friends!
oh, and i have the same problem, now im in the know! but mine only wisp if i sit at idle too long. but i do have the piss spots on the drive. plus its main seal time!
pointers anybody?

It's not your turbo. It's the PCV system, as others have mentioned. This is a common problem. Pull the intake manifold and remove the oil seperator. Make sure it's not all full of crap. Some places will try and sell you a new one. If it's clogged, just spray it out with carb cleaner.

While you're there, check the hose that goes from the oil seperator, across the engine to the right, and around back to the turbo inlet. That hose becomes either clogged or breaks up into little pieces. It's $60 at the dealer.

Also, the fitting on the turbo inlet where the hose attaches gets clogged up. Pull it off and clean it out. When you get everything back together your oil leak and blue smoke should both be fixed.

I will add this. When my oil filler cap was leaking a bit. I bought a new O ring for it and it stopped.

And it could be just that simple in some cases, but the smoke out of the exhaust is the give-away. That, plus the description of "leaking a lot of oil"

I hope he replies to see what he found. As you see, the possibilities are quite a few.

:liebe011: I am still working on it. I did get the Catalytic Converter replaced because it was plugged. I looked to see if there was a pcv on this car but there is not apparently. I am going to check out the lines to the turbo and see if there is something plugged there. I definately think something is plugged because oil just overflows out of the oil filler cap. I will keep you posted. Thanks for all your help!! Eric

The car doesn't have a specific PCV valve like others. It has a PCV system, which is comprised of a few components. The engine vents to an oil seperator which, as the name implies, seperates the oil from the pressurized air vapor that is blowing out of the engine and into the PCV system. That seperator is mounted on the front of the engine (actually the side of the engine, but it's facing the front of the car), under the intake manifold. In the pic, there is an orange arrow pointing to it.
(IMG:http://img84.imageshack.us/img84/626/pcvpointae1.th.jpg)

From there, the pressurized air, now free of oil, is feed through a hose to the intake. The hose attaches where the arrow is pointing, and from there it goes to the right, around the engine, to the turbo, and attaches to a fitting on the turbo inlet tube. This fitting is shown in this pic.
(IMG:http://img390.imageshack.us/img390/9698/pcv2ov4.th.jpg)

Notice that there is another fitting just to the right of the hose. The hose from the seperator to the turbo is actually plastic and can break up into pieces. If you need to replace it, it will come with a smaller hose, both wrapped together in a protective rubber sleeve. The smaller hose attaches right next to the big one at the turbo, and the other end attaches to the intake manifold. I had to take it off and hold it out of the way to take the pic.

It's a little involved taking off lots of *stuff* to get access, but it's not as bad as it looks. I had other stuff taken apart at the same time. The hardest part is getting the intake back on. You loosen the bolts and gravity removes them. It can be a challenge to get a couple of them back in.

There a pinned thread out front on how to access the PCV oil trap. You should check it out, to at least understand the kind of work you'll be getting into, if you DO decide to replace the PCV.

Why did volvo put the turbo way down and back there?

:liebe011: It was the separator. I am getting the parts on Monday. Thank you to all of you I appreciate it!!

Eric,

I hope i can trouble you to explain what you mean by "the separator".

Thanks.