Leaking Rear Seal in Volvo MD2020 2001

[goofeyfoot]

Hello:

Peering under my Volvo engine, it would appear that there is a weeping of engine oil between the engine and the transmission. I have been told that that means the rear seal is probably bad.

A guy I know said that there is some kind of an additive that you can put in the oil that will make the seal more supple.

I don’t know if there’s any truth in that, whether there is another fix, or whether I just have to break down and get the thing fixed.

Throughout the summer I probably lost a quarter of a quart of oil, total as a result of this. So the leak is pretty slow.

Thanks.

Michael

 

[kloudie1]

Back in the old days when most rear seals were made of packing materials, the additive worked ..kinda.. The seal on your engine is a rubber "lip" seal .. the additive will not help.. Slow leaks are a nuisance but once you check the oil before every use and top off, if necessary, immediate repair is not necessary.. The leak will not get better, so planning a fix at your convenience would be good..

 

[dLj]

If it was me, I'd get the seal changed as soon as I could. But that's because I have bad luck with those kinds of problems. It always seems that in my case, I have this little annoyance leak, easy to deal with, and then I'm going/doing something where I really need that engine to be running and that darned little drip leak just turned into a full blown puke the whole contents of my engine oil out like right now... Now don't get me wrong. That likely isn't going to be your case. That would probably only happen if that was my boat... Decades of experience has shown me how I personally must address these kinds of issues in short order....

dj

 

[Justin_NSA]

Take a careful look before you do anything drastic. It could be as simple as a leaking valve cover gasket and oil finding its way down the back of the block

 

[goofeyfoot]

Thanks for all of the advice.

I think I am most like the second guy, namely the one who has everything go wrong at the worst possible time. Usually when I diagnose any problem, I always focus on the most expensive possibility and that is usually the one!

Thanks again.

Michael

 

[kloudie1]

reminds me of a delivery of an ODay 29 .. engine (a small universal, if I recall correctly) leaked so badly that we had to put a pan under the engine to catch the oil and pour it back into the engine as we motored along.. as I recall, the oil pump was inside the flywheel cover and the oil pump cover gasket was leaking in there.. I advised the owner to get that fixed before he did any sailing at all..