1997 850 huge oil consumption no leaks

[erikv11]

Yes, that 15g from your 96 will drop right in. The car will be slightly less peppy at low speeds because the 15g is slower to spool up. You can also make the car T5-faster by changing just the tune and/or the injectors, but that is entirely optional.

G-Pop Shop is highly trusted for turbo rebuilds. But they are a little pricey, they quote $350 for a 13g (or a 15g) plus there is a hidden, additional shipping charge of like $40. They rebuilt one of mine and I am very happy with it. I'm not sure if they do core swaps, but you could just send them your 15g now.

I don't know what a shop would charge for a turbo swap, I would speculate 3-4 hours of labor. Whoever does it, be sure to replace the rubber cooling line hoses at the same time.

[m491]

No luck so far getting my hands on a 13g turbo. The car is drinking a bit of oil but still not safe to take more than 100 miles without checking the oil. I have a 15G turbo I'd swap with anyone who'd like to upgrade. PM me if anyone has a decent 13g and you'd like to trade.

[JDS60R]

Call Robert Arnold at ARD. http://www.ardideas.com. I think he has a ton of them.

[scot850]

Unfortunately I live in Canada, as I have a good 13G from a V70 XC sitting under my workbench. It was sold to me by an 'expert' in turbos who said it was good, but I had that confirmed by the dealer as having minimal wear. Not sure what to ask for it as I recall costing me $300, but it now sits with no purpose as the XC is long gone.

Cost for shipping might be the killer as shipping between our 2 countries is hugely expensive!

Neil.

[erikv11]

I've got one too, I sent you a PM.

[erikv11]

OK I looked over the whole thread again, here are some comments:

Any of these P80 turbos will install seamlessly into your car, from an 850 or an x70. The 20t or 19t (00 and 99 R models) you don't really want but you can for certain use a 15g, 13g, 16t, whatever, as long as you bolt the turbo up to the exhaust flange presently on your car. And they will all bolt up to it. The 15g works totally fine in a GLT with no further changes, I have done that one myself but so have dozens of other people.

These turbos are in general very, very, VERY hardy, consistent with your initial post about 6 Volvos etc. I would feel fine about the 13g I have (215k, minimal shaft play), or for that matter about the spare 15g you have, as long as there is no excessive shaft play. Rebuilding time does come for some turbos but it is rare. The 15g I rebuilt was probably working fine; I didn't test it, I just wanted to indulge and have one I know is tight. If your 15g is really under 150k then it is almost certainly fine. The outlier is the one you have that failed at 110k!

Check the shaft play on your 15g from the front (intake) side, does it wiggle much? If not or if it is minimal then I would swap in that 15g, at least try it out. Or get back to the junkyard and include 15g's in your search. I realize the labor on a turbo swap is not trivial, especially the first time, but it is not unbearable. A few bolts you must reach from underneath, then at the end a little is done laying on top of the engine to get close to the beast, and the turbo comes out the top. Or give it to the shop to install if you have a good turbo.

[abscate]

Erik..isn't most of the pain of turbo removal dealing with exhaust bolts? Looking at mine it doesn't seem like a bad r/r.

Of course,I played Tetris for an hour with my alternator

[erikv11]

Yes exhaust flange can be a hassle but I wouldn't remove any exhaust parts in this case. Instead remove the V-band clamp and separate the turbo from the wastegate/flange housing, leave all exhaust parts in the car. Still removal is a hassle, due to accessing some of the fasteners. But you can get it pulled in a couple hours the first time, then it gets easier.

It's been a while but from memory and looking at a couple of my older posts:
- Drain coolant and remove all heat shields and the SAS check valve if you have it (hopefully not!).
- Pull the airbox and the snorkel tube from the airbox to the turbo, plus any vacuum lines to the turbo assembly. Pulling the airbox is overkill but also super easy, I like to make some room to avoid getting frustrated.

- From the bottom, remove the two allen bolts holding turbo oil return line (the drain pipe) to the turbo. Note that you will want to replace the paper gasket to the turbo and the rubber gasket to the block upon reassembly.
- Remove the V-band clamp that holds the turbo to the exhaust.
- Unhook the rod to the wastegate by removing the cotter pin. You may need to remove the wastegate actuator from the turbo, I can't remember, to access the rest of the fasteners. The wastegate actuator is held on by two bolts.
- Remove the oil lines and coolant lines (banjo bolts), at least one of them you need to go from the bottom. I always have to lay on the engine for these, may need a stubby wrench or I use a ratcheting wrench. I also think I usually leave one coolant line attached to the turbo and released the other end where it attaches to the coolant hose over toward the coolant bottle.

Turbo is ready to come out. You may have to tap it off the exhaust flange (it is centered in place by small pins) but often if you just get two hands on it and wobble it will break free. Handle it gingerly, don't force anything as you maneuver it out of the engine bay.

[NineEleven]

My car also consumes quite some oil. I think around 1l/3000km. I have checked the intercoolerpiping, throttle body, and turbo when I placed new do88 piping back in march. No signs of any excess oil deposits. I check the PCV system, it's nog clogged. The exhaust smoke isn't blue either and there is no leak on the engine.

So I nearowed it down to one cause: Valve seals. Is this more common on 2.4 lpt engines?

[cn90]

@NineEleven,

1L/3000km is not bad.

My 1998 S70 GLT with 172K miles on the odometer drinks about 1qt/1000 miles or about 2L/3000km.


Potential causes of oil consumption in the P80 cars:

1. Clogged PCV system.

2. Leaking valve seals (hint: blue smoke). FYI the valve seals can be replaced without removing the cylinder head from the car.

3. Turbo seals. This is the likely cause b/c I also have a 2005 XC90 2.5T with only 90K miles, yet it consumes the same amount of oil as my 1998 S70 GLT with 172K miles!