If the anaerobic seal is failing in my 2001 Volvo w/ 51k is this a manufacturing defect? What is the least expensive way to fix it?
PS. It is leaking oil like crazy.
Anaerobic simply means “without air”.
Exactly what seal is failing?
I believe it is the seal between the upper engine block and the oil pan, does that make sense? 2 mechanics have seen where it is leaking, but 2 Volvo dealer have not. I am wondering if they are avoiding seeing it, because it may be a manufacturing defect? My car is leaking oil, the last Volvo dealer gave me an estimate of $1000 but did not gaurentee it will stop the leaking because there may be more leaks??? Shouldn’t they be able to see all leaks now?? Any advice? Thanks.
One way to diagnosis where an oil leak is coming from is to lightly pressurize the crankcase and listen for air leaks with a mechanics stethiscope with the head removed. Seal the valve cover vent to the air box and the PCV pipe. Pressurize the crankcase by slipping a hose over the dipstick tube and connecting it to an air supply of less than 1 psi (if two people are available one blows into the hose while the other listens for leaks). With the open end of the stethiscope go around each oil gasket and seal. If air is escaping oil will also exit there. In your case you might be able to even feel the breeze of the air escaping.
Hope that helps.
There are lots of possible leak sources and they can be hard to trace mainly because they pass fluid so slowly, only under pressure, and the oil messes up the whole area. The are ways, the best being to completely clean the area, perhaps add a tracer dye, run the car for a few days and go back and look.
However leaking “like crazy” needs more definition. How much oil is the car losing?
By the way, 51,000 miles on a 7 year old vehicle indicates all local or city driving. Is this an accurate assumption? If that’s true, the wear could be significant even at 51K. And at that age it’s unlikely to be covered by warranty or to have been caused by a manufacturing defect.