Hi all,
Just found and bought a 2001 S40 1.9T with 72,000 km's or 45,00 miles , dont know what the PO was using for oil (but suspect conventional) so in the interests of fresh fluids I had the oil and filter changed using conventional oil .
With a car with that few km's whats the feeling about using conventional oil vs synthetics ?
Thank you
Dave

If you go to longer intervals for changing oil, make sure you check your oil level to see if it is using oil.

My son-in-law is a Subaru tech - they had a series of engines that are using oil right off the lot. They did tests by carefully filling the oil and checking after 1000 miles.

He has had to rebuilt several.

He actually won a reward from Subaru for a procedure using vice grips to take the slack out of the timing chains during reassembly.

Always use 100% synthetic motor oil, not even the 'blended' junk that some brands have.

Change the oil at 5,000Km to get rid of the conventional oil. Then use 10,000Km for your subsequent oil changes.
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Keeping it running is better than buying new

Hi Dave, Congratulations on the purchase. That's low miles! Good call to swap out fluids. If the previous owner neglected to drive it they may have also neglected to change out other fluids too like the coolant and brake fluid.

As far as conventional vs. synthetic, I think you're fine as is with conventional for now. You might consider a synthetic in the future as the Volvo modular engine (you have the 4 cylinder version, not the more common 5-cyl or 6-cyl) is said to stay cleaner on synthetic lubes, especially when turbocharged.

The best advice you may get is to consult the owners manual for Mother Volvo's guidance on the matter.

In the meantime, enjoy your new ride.

-Will

I would go ahead with the switch to synthetic. High mileage cars that are switched from conventional to synthetic can be prone to seal oil leaks in some cases. Even if the engine leaks, with time the leak will dry up after the synthetic oil has done its thing and thoroughly cleaned the seals to the point of rejuvenating them.
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Will I buy another Volvo??? We'll see....

Big Mistake!

You want to use only Full Synthetic Oil prob 5-30, see your manual.

I use the Walmart brand (5 qt jug) that's probably Mobil 1 for less money.

Regular oil messes up your engine, so I would not wait to switch over.

Bill