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My '95 850T began a slow leak of oil (about 3/4 qt in 1k miles) a few months ago. I posted here, and I got some good advice on replacing the crush washer and locating the leak. It looks the the RMS.
My question is, could my change to a lighter weight oil have hastened (caused) this leak? I used 20W50 in the summer, then switched to 10W40 in the late fall and now 10W30. This was based on what "dad used to do". I live in PA, and we go down to 0 deg F sometimes. My car is in the garage a lot, so I may not need something as light as 10W30. Let me have it folks. All opinions welcome.
Thanks, Don
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Looks like my biggest mistake was using the 20W50 - should have looked in the manual first. I appreciate the responses. To further the stupidity of this I haven't found 5W40 oil in the few places I have looked so far. 5W30 but no 5W40. Starting to feel like a real square...
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5W-30 should be good for now...when spring comes and it starts to warm up, switch to 5W-40...you should be able to find it by then.
--
1998 S70 T5 Emarald Green Metallic, 2004 V70 2.5T Ruby Red, Previous Owner of Black '94 850 Turbo Wagon. My cars have been running so well lately they've got me worried.
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If the leak isn't too bad you might get some help by using one of the high mileage type motor oils such as Valvoline MaxLife, etc.
20W-50 is too heavy for your Volvo. If you look in your owner's manual it has a chart of recommended oil weights by temperature range.
John
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posted by
someone claiming to be breadboy
on
Thu Jan 26 07:19 CST 2006 [ RELATED]
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hmmm, dont quite no how to read that graph. does it mean 15/40 is good down to -10? anyway, i live near toronto and i switched to 15/40 year round about two years ago. seems to be alright for me, engine sounds nice and quiet. 669000km and rolling. please eat more bread.
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Very impressive at 669Km (415,000 miles), your brick has been properly maintened
Your car is a turbo or non-turbo? What year?
--
Jack
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Don,
I bet your Dad never had a high strung turbo with tight tolerances. My Dad, now 86, did do just like your Dad - 20W in the winter and 30/40W in the summer. That was with Ford and Chevy V8s, low rpm engines, rear wheel drive, two speed auto trannies.
Your engine needs light oil for startup and heavy oil for the high temp turbo. So 5W40 is perfect, year round. The heavy stuff you used may have dirtied up the RMS and blocked a potential leak, and the thinner oil may have cleaned it out. Check the vacuum lines that go to the turbo intake and make sure they aren't clogged. With the car warmed up, loosen the oil cap - if it doesn't get sucked down or tries to "float", your manifold pressure is too high.
Klaus
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(V♂LV♂s 1975 164, 1995 854T, 1998 V70R)
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Hi Klaus. Thanks for the info. I will check the vacuum as you describe in the warmer weather we are expecting this weekend. I just got your message this evening, and it is as cold as a witch's t**, an expression dear old dad used to use often. He did NOT have a turbo. He did have two interesting cars, one was a XKE Jag and one was an original rotary Mazda. I rebuilt the Mazda - a lot of fun, but he was the one who tinkered with the Jag. He was constantly trying to synch the three carbs on that thing. It was a maintenance PITA, but I wish I had that car today. You brought back fond memories of RWD, low mpg and slipping around on the roads. I am happy to hear of an oil that someone uses year round successfully. I hope I haven't screwed it up with the 20W50. Thanks again, and thanks to BreadBoy as well. Don
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From the 1995 Volvo 850 Owner's Manual.
(This is the paperback book about 2cm thick that usually resides in a car's glovebox.)
Volvo designed and built the car.
Maybe their engineers, like, know something?
(I used 20W50 Castrol late in the life of in my old Dodge Dart with a cast-iron OHV V8 and there were about a bazillion miles on the thing.)
-BTC
'98 V70 T5 5-speed, 167k mi, front IPD stabilizer bar, rear factory HD bar, Bilstein HD, Volvo strut tower brace and skidplate, e-codes, V-1, Mobil-1 since new
"A common mistake that people make when trying to design something completely foolproof is to underestimate the ingenuity of complete fools." -- Douglas Noel Adams (1952-2001)
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Donald--you don't say what model your 850 is or where the leak is manifesting itself. Is it a turbo or aspirated? Is the oil coming out a rear seal, filler cap, dip stick? All would indicate that your flame trap is plugged, thus allowing crankcase pressure to build and forcing the oil out through one of the various seals. If it's a turbo, it would not have a flame trap and you would have to look elsehwere for the cause. Is it being burned? Smoky exhaust? We need more info.
I own two 97 turbo wagons, an R and a GLT. The GLT is here in Norway and I run 0-40 Mobil 1 synthetic in it, and I lose about half a quart every five thousand miles. The R is in western Oregon and I use 0-40 in it as well. Many of the European cars (Mercedez and Audi) come from the factory with 0-40 weight synthetic because of the close engine tolerances (0) and the turbo (40). Temp range in southern Norway because of Georgie refusing to sign the Kyoto Agreement is less than in your part of the world, ranging from 15 to 80F. Oregon from 20 to 90F. Both wagons have about 60K miles on the engines, and I have experienced no oil loss in either using a 0-40 weight. Dick
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Hi Dick - I used the wrong moniker - 854T which is the turbo - no flame trap. As another poster has pointed out, there is something known as the owner's manual, and I have one of those. The manual is nice and shiny, but the engine no longer is - it has 160K miles. I like to think of the car as almost new, as it is in very nice shape. In the old days, as a car got older and the clearances got larger, we would use a heavier oil. But we also used thinner oil in the winter. I don't use synthetic, so I was hoping for anecdotal comments on regular oil. I'll shut my flame trap and go consult the owner's manual. I am sure all the answers are in there. Thanks for your comments, and living between Norway and Oregon is impressive. Don
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