Beck TD, Part 35 - Fixing an Oil Leak

After a couple of very involved projects with correspondingly involved blog posts, it's a relief to do something easy for a change! In fact, so easy I almost didn't post it, but I wanted to document the part needed to fix an annoying leak, in case some of my other Volvo/MG buddies are having a similar problem.

After driving Beck TD for any distance, I always got a sizable oil drip under the car upon returning. For the longest time, I thought it was coming from the dipstick tube, caused by too much crankcase pressure due to bad piston ring sealing. But on a recent visit to the Grant St. Garage, Cor Engelen looked at it and said, "You know, there's a seal behind that vent tube, and it has gone bad. That's your leak!"


Here's an "after" photo of that tube, called the "Ram's horn" by enthusiasts due to its shape.

That's the "after" photo because I had just painted it. Previously, it was a mess of peeling red paint. I didn't take a picture of that, but I did capture it on the bench so you can see the entire shape:

This mechanism predates any sort of emissions controls - any oil that makes it through it just drips onto the pavement! But the peak of the Ram's horn functions as a sort of trap, ensuring that it mostly drains back into the crankcase.

Once I removed the Ram's horn, I found that Cor was partly right. The seal wasn't damaged - it was missing altogether! No wonder oil was seeping from the junction. All I needed was a new seal, but I had trouble finding it. No parts catalog calls that tube the Ram's horn. I finally settled on "crankcase breather" and got lots of hits. The part number is Volvo 418412. I was amazed to see that it is still a current part in the Volvo Penta line, where it is used in boat engines. Here's a web photo. It's 27 mm in diameter, with a 21 mm hole.

I tried the local Volvo dealer, and they quoted a 21-day wait to get one from Sweden. Amazon prices hovered around $15-20, and on eBay they were all over the place. The most absurd one was only $2.69, but with $45 shipping from the Netherlands.

The best price I found, $7.65 shipped, was from a marine parts dealer in my home state of Mississippi. Here's his URL if you ever need that seal - just search the store for part number 418412:

http://stores.ebay.com/marineparts104

This easy fix was a total success! I drove Beck for quite a while this afternoon, and then checked under the car several hours later. Not a drop of oil on the ground. I'll close with a couple of photos taken on that drive.

Continue on to Part 36...