oil question '95 850 N/A auto

[jblackburn]

I...no. Volvo/BMW engines wear like a Toyota (as in, they don't at 150k).

-50 weights are for track racing cars that aren't expected to have a long life anyway or old, old V8's. I'm pretty sure it destroyed the bearings in a Saab motor that didn't knock before when my dad tried it under the same assumption that it was just "old". The tolerances on today's engines are much, much tighter, resulting a lot less engine wear.

Good luck to you. I would NOT recommend doing this for anyone else. It's way too thick and will not pump around this engine correctly, creating wear that would not be there with a standard-weight oil.

[cn90]

Update after 1000 miles of Mobil1 synthetic 15W50.

In the pas, with regular 5W30 oil, the engine (with 150K on it) usually consumes some 1qt/1500 miles.
Now with Mobil1 synthetic 15W50:
- Engine runs very smoothly, one would think this is a new engine from the show room.
- Zero oil consumption after 1000 miles!

I will update on Mobil1 synthetic 15W50 later.

[wheelsup]

If you filled the crankcase with fudge it probably wouldn't consume any either

Volvo made this really easy, they even color coded the recommended oil viscosity...

[rspi]

I would not go down as low as 5w, I have heard horror stories from people that have. Stay 10w please. I use 10w30 in the winter months where temps may reach a little under 32 sometimes (less than 15 days per year) and 10w40 in the summer where temps rarely reach under 60 degrees even at night and get up to 100 degrees about 30 days.

[jblackburn]

I would not go down as low as 5w, I have heard horror stories from people that have. Stay 10w please. I use 10w30 in the winter months where temps may reach a little under 32 sometimes (less than 15 days per year) and 10w40 in the summer where temps rarely reach under 60 degrees even at night and get up to 100 degrees about 30 days.

Nothing wrong with a 5W in the winter. I had a lot less cold startup noise on a 5 than a 10.

It won't leak anywhere that you don't already have a leak that should be addressed in the first place. If it's burning a lot, try a high-mileage oil with seal conditioners.

[xHeart]

Thanks to the input from MVS Mavericks, I run regular Penzzoil 5w-30 on 1997 850 NA with 125K-mi, and 2001 V70XC with 140K-mi.

It is a snow country, urban, with thousands of short stops between each oil and filter change, cn90 way, every 4 months. $36 x 3.

I will move to every 6 months once it drains little more cleaner.

[rmmagow]

I agree with rspi here, I accidentally put in 5w30 in my 195K V70 and used a qt after about 2000 miles. Not bad mind you, but with 10W30 I would not need to add before changing at 7500 miles. I go 7500 between changes because I drive 90% highway. I also use WalMart branded synthetic oil, works fine and cost about $28 a gallon.

[northernlights]

Engines are far more tolerant to different grades of oil than TPTB would have you believe.

As an example, here's a page from Volvo Australia's V70/XC70 MY2004 owners manual. Note that having ACEA A1 oil as a minimum is much more important than the grade. They also state A3 is a suitable substitute, and I personally see no reason why A5 wouldn't work equally well instead of A1 if A3 isn't required.



Volvo states ACEA rated SAE 40 is OK above 50 F. Not 10W40, but straight 40 weight! If you run a car hard with cold, thick oil bad things can happen. So... don't run it hard until the oil is hot! But, you will not blow up an engine by using good quality oil, like Mobil1 15W50. You will lose a little power and economy if you chug around town making short trips with thick oil, and if the oil never gets hot you may compromise durability because of condensation, but that's why there are specific temp ranges given for different grades.

Note that 0W20 or 5W20 weight oil is not on this list. They are very particular to state that 0W anything must meet ACEA A3, which means it has a minimum of 3.5 cP HTHS viscosity at 150 C.

My 94 Turbo 850 has a factory oil cooler that starts to open at 95 C and is full open at 150C, per VADIS. To me that means the oil is expected to get hot! That's why 5W20 scares me - the viscosity above about 108 C starts to get questionable and is scary by 120 C, even with good oil.

I've found politics in the USA drives technical decisions much more than elsewhere in the world. Our API grades are a joke compared to ACEA requirements, as is ILSAC, but that is what USA manufactures much comply with to meet our weird fuel economy test requirements that cater to a public obsessed with buying giant vehicles with giant engines.

[zacharyzoosh]

Good tips. Good Post! Thanks~

[cn90]

Very good post northernlights, Thanks!

The problem with engine oil recommendations these days is the politics of C.A.F.E., which pushes for fuel economy rather than engine protection. Virtually all modern vehicles now states: use 5W20 or 5W30 even if you live in extreme heat places! Washington Politics at work.

Many Honda vehicles now says: use 5W20. In my Honda I use Mobil 1 synthetic 10W30 for the last 7 years, zero issues, engine quiet. Fuel efficiency the same as 5W20.

Actually I have been using 15W50 and 20W50 in many many vehicles over the last 30 years when:
- Temp is above freezing (0C)
- The vehicle has more than 100K miles.

I used to have a BMW E23 (1985 735i 5sp) with M30 engine. Even the factory owners manual stated for E23 and E36, you can use anywhere between 5W30 and 20W50. Here is BMW engine chart.

Fast forward 10-20 years later, BMW now says "use 5W30". Engine design tolerances have not changed during those years!

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