Login Register

96 850R Losing Oil

Help, Advice and DIY Tutorials on Volvo's P80 platform cars -- Volvo's 1990s "bread and butter" cars -- powered by the ubiquitous and durable Volvo inline 5-cylinder engine.

1992 - 1997 850, including 850 R, 850 T-5R, 850 T-5, 850 GLT
1997 - 2000 S70, S70 AWD
1997 - 2000 V70, V70 AWD
1997 - 2000 V70-XC
1997 - 2004 C70

Post Reply
User avatar
rspi
Posts: 7303
Joined: 5 November 2011
Year and Model: 850 T-5R Wagon
Location: Cincinnati OH
Has thanked: 34 times
Been thanked: 72 times
Contact:

Re: 96 850R Losing Oil

Post by rspi »

Your car has a turbo, you really should use FULL SYNTHETIC.
'95 855 T-5R M, Panther - 22/28 mpg, 546,000 miles
'95 955 T-5R Yellow Wagon, Lemonade, 180,000 miles
--------------------
Volvo's of past: '87 740 GLE, '79 262C Bertone, '78 264, 960's, '98 S70 GLT, '95 850 T-5R YellowVolvo Repair Videos

User avatar
misha
Posts: 5379
Joined: 7 December 2008
Year and Model: '97 850 2.5 20v
Location: Serbia
Has thanked: 152 times
Been thanked: 402 times

Post by misha »

rspi wrote:Your car has a turbo, you really should use FULL SYNTHETIC.
It's highly recommended but not necessary.Quality semi synth is also an option.

Also....5w-30 for Florida temperatures is too thin.
5w-40,5w-50,10w40 or even 10w-60 is recommended for Florida temperatures.
Since it's "R" it would be more happier 5w-50 or 10w-60 racing oil.
'97 850 2.5 20v / fully equipped / Motronic 4.4 from the factory / upgraded with S,V,C,XC70 instrument cluster / polar white wagon
History of Volvos in the family:
'71 144 S
'73 144 De Luxe
'78 244 DL
'78 244 DL
'79 244 GLE
'85 340 GLS

tryingbe
Posts: 1893
Joined: 18 June 2009
Year and Model: None
Location: Mesa, AZ, USA
Has thanked: 1 time
Been thanked: 26 times

Post by tryingbe »

misha wrote:
rspi wrote:Your car has a turbo, you really should use FULL SYNTHETIC.
It's highly recommended but not necessary.Quality semi synth is also an option.
The issue I have with term semi synthetic/synthetic blend is, you can have 99.9999% of convention oil with 0.0001% of synthetic oil in there, and legally you can call the oil "semi synthetic" or "synthetic blend". You literally have no idea what you're buying. You'll be better of buying 4 qt of conventional and 2 qt of synthetic then mix it yourself so you know what's in there.

Same type of issue with Group III synthetic, Group IV synthetic, and Group V synthetic oil. They all different but they are all called synthetic. :roll:
85 GLH, 367 whp
00 Insight, 72 mpg

polskamafia mjl
Posts: 2640
Joined: 1 April 2009
Year and Model: 1995 Volvo 854 T-5R
Location: Hershey, PA
Has thanked: 19 times
Been thanked: 21 times

Post by polskamafia mjl »

Perhaps a better question on my part; OP, does the oil light work on your car?
'All my money is gone and I have an old Volvo.' - Bamse's Turbo Underpants

Current: 1995 Volvo 850 T-5R Manual - Bringing it back from the brink of death
Previous: 1996 Volvo 850 GLT - Totaled

User avatar
misha
Posts: 5379
Joined: 7 December 2008
Year and Model: '97 850 2.5 20v
Location: Serbia
Has thanked: 152 times
Been thanked: 402 times

Post by misha »

As you know...when it turns on,it's too late.
What i was talking about is higher internal wear because of not enough oil in the engine.
With 3 quarts low...it was at 50% of crankcase capacity.Some internal wear occured for sure....time will show.
'97 850 2.5 20v / fully equipped / Motronic 4.4 from the factory / upgraded with S,V,C,XC70 instrument cluster / polar white wagon
History of Volvos in the family:
'71 144 S
'73 144 De Luxe
'78 244 DL
'78 244 DL
'79 244 GLE
'85 340 GLS

User avatar
erikv11
Posts: 11800
Joined: 25 July 2009
Year and Model: 850, V70, S60R, XC70
Location: Iowa
Has thanked: 292 times
Been thanked: 765 times

Post by erikv11 »

rspi wrote:In Florida, you should be running 10w-40. ...
Yes!
'95 854 T-5R, Motronic 4.4, 185k
'98 V70, T5 tune-injectors-turbo, LPT engine, 304k, daily driver
'06 S60 R, 197k
'07 XC70, black, 205k
'07 XC70, willow green, 212k
'99 Camry V6 :shock: 153k
gone: '96 NA 850 210k, '98 NA V70 182k, '98 S70 NA 225k, '96 855 NA 169k

User avatar
rspi
Posts: 7303
Joined: 5 November 2011
Year and Model: 850 T-5R Wagon
Location: Cincinnati OH
Has thanked: 34 times
Been thanked: 72 times
Contact:

Post by rspi »

Light usually doesn't come on until about 4 to 4-1/2 quarts low (intermittently). Ask me how I know.
'95 855 T-5R M, Panther - 22/28 mpg, 546,000 miles
'95 955 T-5R Yellow Wagon, Lemonade, 180,000 miles
--------------------
Volvo's of past: '87 740 GLE, '79 262C Bertone, '78 264, 960's, '98 S70 GLT, '95 850 T-5R YellowVolvo Repair Videos

tryingbe
Posts: 1893
Joined: 18 June 2009
Year and Model: None
Location: Mesa, AZ, USA
Has thanked: 1 time
Been thanked: 26 times

Post by tryingbe »

rspi wrote:Light usually doesn't come on until about 4 to 4-1/2 quarts low (intermittently). Ask me how I know.
It's a oil pressure light, not oil level light.
85 GLH, 367 whp
00 Insight, 72 mpg

User avatar
rspi
Posts: 7303
Joined: 5 November 2011
Year and Model: 850 T-5R Wagon
Location: Cincinnati OH
Has thanked: 34 times
Been thanked: 72 times
Contact:

Post by rspi »

tryingbe wrote:
rspi wrote:Light usually doesn't come on until about 4 to 4-1/2 quarts low (intermittently). Ask me how I know.
It's a oil pressure light, not oil level light.
Lol, I'm well aware of that. When you have about 1.5 quarts left, and you make a turn, and the pick up sucks up air, the light comes on because there is no pressure at the sensor.
'95 855 T-5R M, Panther - 22/28 mpg, 546,000 miles
'95 955 T-5R Yellow Wagon, Lemonade, 180,000 miles
--------------------
Volvo's of past: '87 740 GLE, '79 262C Bertone, '78 264, 960's, '98 S70 GLT, '95 850 T-5R YellowVolvo Repair Videos

Post Reply
  • Similar Topics
    Replies
    Views
    Last post