The volvo dealer states they do not know why there is no oil pressure going to engine. First they stated needed reset valve then new oil pump but neither was the issue. Now they state “internal problem within engine”. So either have to take engine completely apart to diagnose or replace entire engine. The car has been maintained religiously and is in mint condition. Does this make sense to anyone? Love my car but not sure what to do next. Thought of towing to independent mechanic for second opinion?
Your dealer should be able to diagnose what the problem is without tearing the whole engine apart. I WOULD RECOMMEND GOING TO A GOOD INDEPENDENT SHOP. Those shops are also less expensive per hour that the dealer.
The car is no doubt out of warranty, and, depending on where you live there should be at least one independent shop that knows Volvos.
It could be that the intake tube of the oil pump is broken or plugged, and it can’t suck up any oil. This can be fixed by dropping the oil pan on most cars.
How often have you changed the oil on this vehicle? and how many miles on it now? Make sure you inform the independent shop exactly what type of driving you do and what maintenance has been done.
The car has 135,000 miles and I have changed the oil very frequently…maybe every 3000-5000 miles with the same Volvo dealer.
I also thought of complaining to Volvo North America Headquarters as it seems strange I cannot get a diagnosis.
polly; dealers seldom have to deal with older cars since owners usually go to independent shops as soon as the warranty runs out. They therefore are often stumped by cars with problems that result from a lot of miles. Since you appeared to have changed oil often enough I would rule out a sludged up system.
No car dealer has ever confessed to being incompetent; they usally blame it on something mysterious. I still suspect a broken oil pickup tube, or a failed oil pump, inspite of what the dealer says.
Thanks Docnick. You make some good points. Yes, the dealer first tried to blame it on sludge (a new guy) then he realized they did all the oil changes so changed his tune and had the mechanic “take another look” and said there was no sludge. They said they put in a new oil pump, hooked it up to a “gauge” and their was still no oil pressure. I just hate to pay them any money for no satisfaction. I guess I’ll go with an independent guy to see what he says then make my decision from there on what repairs to make from the 2nd opinion. The most frustrating part is I am without my car to get back & forth to work. Guess that’s what car rental companies are for!
I would hope the garage has, but have they actually put an oil pressure gauge on it to verify low pressure or are they simply going by a light or gauge in the car. If they are going by the light or gauge in the car it could be a bad oil pressure sensor. A clogged oil pump pick up tube or clogged oil filter could also cause this problem, but the screen should have been cleaned when the oil pump was replaced and the oil/filter should have been changed when the oil pump was changed. I also agree that taking it to an independent garage would be just as good as a dealer and the repair cost would be much less.
They said they put a “separate gauge” on it and did not rely on the light in the car.
As Docnick has stated ANY COMPETENT mechanic can find the source of this issue…As Doc said again…the dealers probably do not get to do troubleshooting on older vehicles all that often…it is the INDy garages that keep most peoples cars on life support and have to deal with the complexities and nuances of how vehicles wear out over time…they (independents) probably see far more Weird engine symptoms than most…myself included (I’ve repaired so many now that I forget more than I recall).
Now i HOPE some dealers have a few mechanics like me or the other guys on this board…One who knows his stuff…trained in the old school and then learned the computer controls for vehicles as they come out…but a strong foundation in the “old school” is invaluable…a mechanic is NOTHING without the basics…all else is built upon that foundation.
I agree with the Doc here quite a bit…There are many ways to troubleshoot this issue…Since there are several different styles of oil pumps utilized on vehicles…the test would vary accordingly… I DOUBT your car has a system like an old Chevy 350 (the guys here will know what I mean)…and it is probably a more modern type of pump…possibly driven off the nose of your crank maybe? These pumps can and do suffer failures of their drive components and stop pumping… I will look up your oil pump type and advise further…
Blackbird
How often was the oil level checked between oil changes?
How was the oil pressure problem diagnosed by the dealer? Were there any prior symptoms before you took the car to the dealer?
Ed B.
As I suspected…you have a more modern type of pump…is is located on the nose of your crank. It unbolts from the front of your enigne so it is not a massive engine teardown that is needed…YEs is is labor intensive but it is not like many other engines where the oil pump is inside your engine block and everything must come apart to get to it…I bet you have just suffered a similar type of failure that my Honda H22 engine suffered…
On my HOnda the oil pump is much like yours…the pump is driven by the nose of the crank…with no gears…it was basically a round hole with a flat side molded into it…the crank had the matching piece to drive this pump…the oil pump drive ring can crack…and then the crank just spins inside this round hole now too big or damaged to be driven by the crank nose… You can see a picture of your pump on Ebay…thats how I knew about your pump…a picture is worth a thousand words sometimes…
A FULL inspection of this pump needs to be done…chances are HIGH…that it just suffered the same failure as my HOnda H22 style pump… Thats where I would start…any mechanic worth his salt would/should agree. Probably as easy as unbolting the old pump and installing the new… You need to take off the T-Belt during this process…so it may be a good idea to throw on a belt…or the ENTIRE T-Belt kit at the same time…the same job has to be done whether you install the T-belt kit or not…Great time to put a T-belt kit into the mechanics hands…he needs to deal with all of that anywho
Blackbird
FYI Oil pump swap directions…Like I said…that picture told me that you had a crank driven pump…Probably just an internal failure of the pump… I wouldn’t bother with checking the oil pan or oil pump screen if you were religious with oil changes…However what if the oil pump pickup somehow came loose and fell into the bottom of the pan? I don’t think that happens much or may not even be possible…and a Bore Scope Camera thru the oil drain bolt hole would alleviate any suspicions of that having occurred…I have one…all Pro’s have one… This occurring is extremely remote if you ask me…It is most likely and simply an oil pump failure… Many X occurring during cold months…with too thick oil and excess RPM’s…not all needed for this to happen…but that’s how my pump died…
1
Disconnect the negative battery cable with a socket wrench to prevent the engine from starting. Remove the stabilizer brace for the engine. Disconnect the expansion tank and servo reservoir.
2
Remove the accessory drive belt by turning the belt tensioner clockwise with special tool 999 7109. Disconnect the front cover for the timing belt with a socket wrench.
3
Loosen the lug nuts on the right front wheel with a lug wrench. Raise the vehicle with a jack and support it on jack stands. Remove the right front wheel.
4
Disconnect the upper cover for the camshaft with a socket wrench and remove the timing belt. Disconnect the center nut for the vibration damper and remove the vibration damper. Remove the pulley for the crankshaft timing gear and the front crankshaft seal.
5
Remove the mounting bolts for the oil pump with special tool 999 5455. Install the new oil pump and press it with the crankshaft nut to fully seat the oil pump. Tighten the mounting bolts to 88 inch-pounds with tool 999 5455 and a torque wrench.
6
Complete the oil pump installation by performing steps one through four in reverse order. Tighten the center nut for the vibration damper to 133 foot-pounds with a torque wrench. Tighten the bolt for the engine bracket bolt to 59 foot-pounds. Start the Volvo S70 engine and check for oil leaks.
Read more: How to Replace the Oil Pump on My S70 Volvo | eHow.com http://www.ehow.com/how_7873817_replace-oil-pump-s70-volvo.html#ixzz1iKqC7SaP
edb1961 - The oil light came on so I called the dealer and brought it in. They did an oil/filter change then starting telling me I needed this and that and the other thing.
Honda Blackbird - They said they put in a new oil pump and tested with an external gauge and the reading was no oil pressure to the engine. So they put the old oil pump back in, put the engine back together and said they still had no idea. I kept pressing for an answer and they still won’t give me one. All they keep saying is “internal problem” but I keep pushing for an answer. Thanks to everyone here I have some more ammunition.
DUH DUH DUH…LOL…I need to get my reading glasses on…wait I dont have reading glasses…MAYBE I should just READ…LOL… My apologies Polly to you and all that have to read my “Books” that I often writeup…I’m sorry for such long posts…they help some greatly and just piss off the top guys on here I’m sure…I read right over the new oil pump info…I’m an idiot.
WELL THEN…Time to at least get out that Bore Scope camera and have a looksie… As the guys stated…they are all curious about the oil pump screen and pickup tube and for GOOD REASON.
Like I said…that Bore Scope will tell you quite a bit without taking anything apart… Very interested to know what someone sees using one of those… If the pump pickup is there…then the screen has to be blocked… This is not a complex device…its just a pump… It needs to be powered…needs Oil…A pickup screen and a pickup tube to be able to pump. The mechanics know all the ingredients…and they should use their heads when diagnosing this…dont tear the engine down when you can use a scope… The only thing the scope wont show you here is the pickup screen. The pan needs to be dropped at that time…and since you cant see the screen…just drop the pan… The scope will only show that the tube is in place…maybe it isnt?
I REALLY HOPE they ruled out an oil filter problem…FIRST…I mean for us to suggest that your pickup tube and or screen is clogged…etc…Is RATHER FAR FETCHED… I mean the screen should be clear with regular oil changes… The pickup tubes almost never ever drop off into the bottom…I mean hardly hardly EVER does this happen…so I really really TRULY hope they looked into the filter as a possible culprit…hope they tried to Pump up the new pump wit NO FILTER ON THE ENGINE ALSO…to eliminate any air issues
The mechanics will know what I mean when I say “Air issues”.not allowing the pump to draw a column of oil…could be an air issue. They should look into the entire oil filter assy actually…Any issues there would not allow the pump to draw a column of oil. HOWEVER these are things that should have been done quite some time ago by the mechanics…They shouldnt be so confounded in my opinion…I would have done the filter poking around PRIOR to any oil pump removal…but thats the CORRECT way to diagnose things…
e scra…
My next step is to try to speak directly with the head mechanic instead of just the service guys who make the appointments. Hopefully I’ll get somewhere. I know the car is 12 years old but all my friends and family have Volvo’s and they have been driven for 16-20 years…and have had over 200,000 miles on them. Thanks everyone for your feedback. It’s much appreciated.
PLEASE ask them what they found out with the Oil filter and filter body assembly… If they say what do you mean? Then they went about this ENTIRE PROCESS BACKWARDS. They need to rule out that the filter is not the culprit…and should have done so in the very early diag stages…
Did they try to get the pump to pump up WITHOUT an oil filter on the engine…I HOPE? I mean we would have tried to… The guys here I mean…
Blackbird
It could also be a stuck pressure relief valve or broken relief valve spring.
Surely…and those mechanics SHOULD know this…but isn’t that in the filter assy Circuitsmith? That’s what I was getting at actually. In my Honda…it was part of the pump…I looked at a pic of this pump and it doesn’t seem to be an integral part of that assy. I don’t know where they hide it on this car
Maybe what I said is redundant. I didn’t carefully read all the responses.
I didnt write that as an “Ah haa I told you so” Circuit…I was just actually asking… Isnt that in the filter assy? lol… No attitude from me, thats for sure… I wonder where they hid that piece of the puzzle…but the point is…these “mechanics” should know all this…otherwise what the hell are they doing working on peoples vehicles?