Oily sludge and its eventual destruction (a work in progress)

[jbg]

Hello everyone,

When I bought my D24T-powered 740 back in 2007 it had a noticeable oil leak. I figured "hey, it's an old car, and I'll just fix it, no problem". I actually posted this type of message on the "volvo_diesels" mailing list around the same time. Fast forward to now and the leak is much worse. It will leak about a quart of oil in 750 or so miles. The jet black markings of my car are well represented in both my work's parking lot, and my home turf.

I cannot determine the exact source of the leak. It is built up on the oil pan, turbo, turbo intake tract, oil cooler, near the front of the engine at the crank, etc. My plan is to degrease and entire area, hose it down, and see if I can figure out where the oil is coming from. If I cannot, I'll clean it again and add some oil dye, and repeat.

My front suspension is in dire need of a rebuild but I'd rather not begin this job until that area is not a greasy, sticky, horrid mess! I'll update this thread with pictures and information as I tackle the clean up and investigation.

It begins tomorrow!