I have been using regular 10w-30 in my 95 turbo since I bought it new and now realized that I should have been using 5w-30 or synthetic oils...
I am going for a oil change soon and wanted to know if I can just change to a synthetic or synthetic belnd oil. I have read the previous post in the archives on debate between amsoil/mobil1 and possiblity of leaks coming. Is Mobil 1 a safe bet at 85000 miles or i will defintely see some leaks at this mileage. I guess I could have preserved my turbo more if I used syntehtic from begining..

I also read something about flushing the engine before switching to synthetic oil..what is the procedure the mechanic should use to flush the engine or what precautions should i take switching to synthetic..

comments would help

I USE MOBIL ONE "RED CAP" 15-50W AND HAVE USED IT IN MY CAR SINCE AROUND 50K MILES WHEN I BOUGHT IT USED. I NOW HAVE OVER 100K MILES ON MY CAR AND I HAVE NEVER HAD A OIL LEAK (KEEPING FINGURES CROSSED)

I ALSO SWITCHED A OLDER 244 TURBO TO MOBIL ONE WITH ABOUT 75K MILES ON IT AND ALSO HAD NO LEAKS.

I THINK FOR A TURBO CAR THE OIL SHOULD BE A FULLY SYNTHETIC TYPE. THE DINO OIL WILL COKE UP IN THE TURBO OIL LINES AND CAUSE TURBO FAILURE DUE TO OIL STARVATION. THIS IS WHY I CHANGED TO MOBIL ONE IN THE 244. I HAD A TURBO FAILURE AND HAD TO REPLACE THE TURBO, WHEN I REMOVED THE OIL FEED LINE TO THE TURBO IT WAS ATLEAST 50% BLOCKED WITH COKED OIL AND HAD TO REPLACED ALSO. I COULD TAKE THE LINE AND HIT IT ON THE GROUND AND PIECES OF CARBON WOULD JUST FALL OUT OF IT. I COULD IMAGINE WHAT IT LOOKED LIKE IN THE OLD TURBO'S OIL PASSAGES.

AFTER SWITHING TO MOBIL ONE I REMOVED TEH OIL FEED LINE AFTER LIKE 10K MILES AND THE INSIDE WALLS WERE SHINY METAL NOT BLACK CARBON LIKE DINO OIL WAS.

IN MY OWN PERSONNAL EXPERIENCES AND TESTING I WOULD NEVER AGAIN PUT STANDARD OIL IN A TURBO CAR.

DAN
1997 850 GLT TURBO, CUSTOM MAGNAFLOW EXHAUST W/ MUFFLER RELOCATED TO BEHIND REAR TIRE, AMSOIL TWO STAGE HI FLOW AIR FILTER, MOBIL1 15-50W, DAWES DEVICE SET AT 9 PSI, ETC.

I DRIVE MY CAR HARD AND MOBIL1 HAS NEVER LET ME DOWN.

My experience is : Bought a used '94 turbo. Put top quality synthetic oil every 5000km. 3 months later developed oil leak at camshaft seals at front of engine. Had seals replaced. Talked to someone in oil industry and was told that you have to be carefull about additive shock to the rubber seals when changing from non to synthetic oils. Went back to using nonsynthetic oils. Never went back to synthetic.

Using synthetic I believe is overated. You still have to change oil at the same intervals and it's not like we're driving in the 24 hrs. at Le Man's. I would stick to conventional oil and save your money.

I switched my '93 850 to synthetic at around 80k miles. I got a rear main seal and front seal leak (the flame trap was clean!)

You have 85K on your car. You use dino oil. It runs good, and will last another 100k+. Save the money and take your best girl out for a nice dinner.
--
RussB in Ct '96 855T - '91 944T

I've switched a bunch of Saabs/Volvos to synthetic with 87,000 miles or more on them.
You can just go ahead and change over. If you do that, the first batch of synthetic will clean out the gunk left by using non-synthetic. After a few thousand miles, change the filter and top off. If the oil get very nasty, you might want to drop the first batch after 3-4,000 miles.

I recommend using a good engine flush, such as made by AMSOIL or BG. Normally put in hot oil, then fast idled for 15-20 minutes before draining and refilling with synthetic. You can do this yourself, then give the keys to the mechanic.

Give the "keys to the mechanic" after a flush? Why?
--
95 855R, K&N, Bilsteins, Tinted, Brembos

There are a lot of good resources for synthetic-- some of the concerns that you stated are in this article. I think you should read it. I have learned a lot about synthetic oils in the past few weeks and 100% synthetic is the way to go with Volvo turbos.

Go to this link-- it will answer a lot of your questions:
http://www.mobil1.com/why/myths.jsp

Turbos are exposed to etreme heat and operating conditions. Many spin around 150,000 rpm. The volvo trubo is shaft based and relies on oil for lubrication. Synthetic oil when compared to standard oil lacks the proper qualities to sustain a turbo over time-- especially under heavy load. It just breaks down too easily.

If you are interested in knowing more about how a turbo works-- go to:
http://auto.howstuffworks.com/turbo.htm

Hope this helps.
Ryan

THanks for the great link..funny i own a turbo but I have little idea on how the Turbo works...I used to hear the term artifically aspirated engine/ Natural Aspirated engine during formula racing on tv ...and i had no idea what they were talking about..