Volvo 2.4 PCV Whistling

[Roverageous]

I daren't ask this on the Volvo forums, so seeing as there's been a few of these round these parts I thought I'd try asking here...

 

My 2.4 Non Turbo Petrol V70 has begun making a whistling noise from the engine. From a modicum of googling I realise this is a blocked PCV system.

 

The symptoms to look out for seem to be:

• Whistling
• Oil blown around the engine bay
• Excessive Blow-by from the oil filler
• When hot smoke chugging from the dipstick tube

At present the car whistles when cold and disappears after it has warmed up. Occasionally It'll do it when warm, usually if I disturb the dipstick (to see if it's chugging smoke). The engine block is dry from oil top to bottom, I can't feel any blow by with my hand over the oil filler when running, and there is no smoke escaping from the dipstick tube after the car has had a good run (and certainly nothing when cold!). Oil consumption seems to have been two notches on the dipstick over 6000 miles.

 

My question is thus: How long can I run it for like this? I realise it's not ideal to be running it like this etc... etc... etc... But it would really help me out right now if I could get a couple of months out of it? (Probably 2500 miles or so).

 

Thoughts?

[Datsuncog]

See if this guy will take it off your hands?

 

 

(Sorry, I know that's not actually very helpful... hopefully someone with actual technical knowledge will be along shortly.)

 

[Roverageous]

I have just gone and done a 'glove test' on it, where the glove was marginally sucked towards the engine... from what I've read this actually indicated a healthy PCV system... until I read that you should reverse the results for a N/A car???

 

Now I'm really baffled.

[warninglight]

That sounds healthy to me. I've changed PCV on a couple of the old 2.3 T5s and when it's blocked it's very noticeable when you do the glove test and check the dipstick.

 

Can't see how non turbo would be the reverse as the principles are still the same. Positive crankcase ventilation ie. A depression inside the engine. Partly to stop blowing oil everywhere and partly to give the oil seals an easier life.

 

Sounds like it might well be something else. Exhaust manifold perhaps? Might be worth getting an aerosol of leak detector to look for the source of the noise if it's an air leak.

[They_all_do_that_sir]

My v70 with the same engine had a blocked PCV.

 

Under load I was getting a hot oil smell and eventually it blew one of the cam end seals which isn't as bad as it sounds and is fairly easy to fix.

 

When looking at the engine it was the cam nearest the front of the car which is the inlet cam, and the seal was on the right hand (gearbox) end. Feel around there for oiliness.

 

Certainly less time consuming than replacing all the PCV gubbins which from memory required a fair amount of dismantling including lifting the fuel rail but the parts aren't too expensive.

 

The old PCV was proper gunked up solid. Weighed a ton!

 

You'll probably get away with it for a while as mine only caused the seal to stop sealing after a good run towing the caravan so the engine was getting a fair workout.

 

Off topic but I would also say they are fugging useless for towing as the 2.4 in 140bhp form like mine would barely pull itself along never mind a caravan. Sounded lovely though.

 

 

 

 

 

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[They_all_do_that_sir]

That sounds healthy to me. I've changed PCV on a couple of the old 2.3 T5s and when it's blocked it's very noticeable when you do the glove test and check the dipstick.

 

Can't see how non turbo would be the reverse as the principles are still the same. Positive crankcase ventilation ie. A depression inside the engine. Partly to stop blowing oil everywhere and partly to give the oil seals an easier life.

 

Sounds like it might well be something else. Exhaust manifold perhaps? Might be worth getting an aerosol of leak detector to look for the source of the noise if it's an air leak.

And what he said.

 

Mine was proper blocked and I had no whistling whatsoever

 

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[Roverageous]

Cheers all - including Mr Whittaker

 

Taken it out for a few miles and got it warm. When hot glove is definitely being sucked - not blown up.

 

Whistling does seem to be related as it stops when pulling the dipstick out / taking the oil filler cap off.

 

Who knows!

 

One less thing to worry about for a while.

[Roverageous]

It could well have already been done, as despite having no history for the car (other than stamps in the book) lots of the 'usual' V70 stuff has already been done like the dodgy clocks etc...

[MikeR]

inlet gasket loose , I had a similar problem on a 2.3 carb engine , it would whistle at tickover , but not when running , so in cases of high vac in the inlet it would whistle !!!

[warninglight]

Doing a full PCV change isn't the worst job in the world. The original plastic pipes all get very brittle but come with replacements in the kit from Volvo.

 

I did the first one over a couple of evenings but the second one a few months later on a different v70 I did in about 3 hours on the driveway one summer's evening.

 

Good luck with finding whatever the problem is, but I wouldn't be worried about crankcase pressure.

[CreepingJesus]

Having eliminated the PCV I'd check the inlet trunking. It can make some odd resonances in the atmo models that the turbos don't seem to suffer.