I'm going to start keeping a little log so I know exactly how much oil I'm using and how often. Then I'll present it to my Volvo mechanic and go from there. I kind of wonder if this last episode had something to do with that BG additive he told me to use as an attempt to quiet/clean my lifters. He said it would clean the build up on my rings and in the lifters and mentioned it has restored compression to new specs in the cars he's used it in. We will see.

As for checking the pan. That was done right after the first engine flush. I pulled it... flushed and cleaned it (no gunk or metal shavings) when I replaced the pan o-rings.

It's strange how these tempermental swedish girls dirty synthetic so quick. I've never had synthetic get dirty so quickly (4k-5k)in the other cars i've run it in. At a 10k-15k change it still looked new (Saab 900, Honda Accord, Subaru).

Thanks for all the advice everyone and I'll have that compression test done next time I'm in my mechanics neck of the woods.

-J