Hi,
I am new to this car as of last December. Seems to be a decent runner, but leaks a fair amount of oil. The case is pretty oily, so I need to wash 'er down to see where new stuff is appearing from. It does seem to find it's way onto the pass side exhaust where at least it gets vaporized before hitting the ground... But since my main experience is in older volvos (122 series) where there is significantly less, well, crap all attached to the engine...
2 questions:
1) When I (hi pressure) wash it down, what could I drown? Obviously cover the air intake, and maybe the distributor cap - but what else on these engines doesn't want a direct hit of high pressure hot water?
2) Is replacing the valve cover gaskets just that? Or does it involve other parts (grommets? where?) that I will only realize that I need at 11PM Saturday night with it all apart in the driveway and storm clouds threatening? And is there any advice on what attendant crap (er, accessories) needs to be moved out of the way to make the job easier? Pass side vs drivers side?
Thanks, I really appreciate any help on this before I dive in.
Signed, an old water cooled volvo guy that is trying to learn 'new' technology (okay, it's my kids' car...)
- David