Long trip prep? ('04 XC)

[abscate]

Best thing you can do for the engine is get a bicycle for short and super short trips.

Agreed. Except we are in America here, where bikes are only used to exercise, not to get places

We take bikes, make them stationary, so that we can lose the weight we gained eating bad food in our cars, instead of driving.

Ratnalle - some people live so close to work here, they don't even make the car go forward, they just reverse from the driveway all the way to work...

[Rattnalle]

Best thing you can do for the engine is get a bicycle for short and super short trips.

Agreed. Except we are in America here, where bikes are only used to exercise, not to get places

We take bikes, make them stationary, so that we can lose the weight we gained eating bad food in our cars, instead of driving.

Ratnalle - some people live so close to work here, they don't even make the car go forward, they just reverse from the driveway all the way to work...

Now that's something I haven't tried yet. I might if I get bored of pedaling past all the stationary cars clogging the roads

[BlackBart]

To answer some questions above -

Yes, the Italian tune-up. I have practiced it (after a good warm-up). Good for cleaning off the plugs and opening up the Webers.

Sludge breaking loose may have been what killed the Audi. The motor was pretty varnished when I pulled it apart. Broken rod in the pan, hole in the block.

Agreed....short trips suck - so bad for an engine. We just haven't gone anywhere recently, and I'm still learning to fully trust this car. As a bit of a mystery car, she has to earn a place in the family, and I think she will. She came new from Brooklyn then Providence RI, so some of you guys may have met her!

My wife drives a mile point 5 to work. We try to bike all summer. I work at home, zero miles. Rural state - everything is far....unless you stay in the city and walk.

Oil has 4000 miles, from when I replaced a cam and the TB. I may change it before I leave. Never solvent - just good synth.
PCV system replaced as well - all Volvo parts.

I'm taking most of the day off and jumping into these tasks. Need the 3/4" tubing for ATF flush, a big drift pin for the ball joints, and a 2" x 4" galv pipe and cap to seat them back in, per a members idea here. It's a new control arm, so there isn't crud or corrosion in the hole. Ball joints are in the freezer.

Need to check the 120k (125?) service to see what all should be changed. I have only NAPAs and Autozones and O'Reilly's for choices - but sometimes they surprise me with what they have in stock as far as plugs, filters, etc. Closest Volvo is 3 hours away.

Spare is an un-used skinny Pirelli, jack never used. I tried a full-size but I don't think it'll slide under the floor. Decent Michelin all-seasons (I know, I know). AAA is up to date.

From the head and TB job: Oil, TB/tensioner/plugs/serp belt, cam seals, coolant, air filter, etc are new. I'll check age on fuel filter from records. Check steering fluid, brake fluid (a little pedal drop holding at stop lights), air pressure, charging. My info from a Volvo P2 thread says accessories off: 14 - 14.4V. With accessories on, 13.5 - 14V. Anything below 13.5, not enough charging.

I see a good quantity of gooey oil gunk on the big intercooler feed hose behind the radiator just now. Blow-by from the turbine seal maybe?

[BlackBart]

There's just no point when I live just 4 km from work.

I biked to work 8 miles each way in Seattle traffic for many years. Those were fun times, and I never felt better. You had to be aggressive, though, and well-lit (not from drinking...).

[BlackBart]

A bit of sewing machine valvetrain tapping. How much is normal?

[- Pete -]

1.5 mile per trip is exactly the thing that makes me nervous.
We bought our 04 V70 2.5T AWD from an old man who took meticulous cosmetic care of it, yet did 7.5k OCI’s & drove 2 miles to town, 2 miles back home & that was it for the cars use. He owned it for 60k. It got driven like this for I’d estimate 20-30k, then we bought it & drove it 3 hours home. I kid you not, after getting it home I put something like 13 miles on it after that initial long drive home & the “No oil PSI stop engine” come on. Luckily I caught it super early & no damage was done to the rod bearings nor journals.

[Rattnalle]

There's just no point when I live just 4 km from work.

I biked to work 8 miles each way in Seattle traffic for many years. Those were fun times, and I never felt better. You had to be aggressive, though, and well-lit (not from drinking...).

I've got a separated bike lane all the way so I can afford both to not have to be aggressive and be well-lit from time to time..

[Rattnalle]

1.5 mile per trip is exactly the thing that makes me nervous.
We bought our 04 V70 2.5T AWD from an old man who took meticulous cosmetic care of it, yet did 7.5k OCI’s & drove 2 miles to town, 2 miles back home & that was it for the cars use. He owned it for 60k. It got driven like this for I’d estimate 20-30k, then we bought it & drove it 3 hours home. I kid you not, after getting it home I put something like 13 miles on it after that initial long drive home & the “No oil PSI stop engine” come on. Luckily I caught it super early & no damage was done to the rod bearings nor journals.

Yikes.

These engines don't have the same rep for oil sludge self destruct as engines from the VW group though.

[- Pete -]

In my experience they aren’t far behind

My other example is our 2001 XC70 which I bought with 130k miles & it had seen very similar driving/heat cycles. Having learnt my lesson with the 04 V70, I simply ran the car longer periods of time (40 minutes per drive, no traffic) & changed the oil at 1k intervals with low cost oil until the tar-like stuff seemed to decrease dramatically at oil changes. I probably did 4-5 oil changes at that interval, then switched to Rotella T6 or Mobil 1 ESP diesel oil @ 3-4K intervals. That car has 146k miles now and at the end of each oil drain there is still some nasty looking carbon laden tar like junk that comes out. I’m just saying, sludge is a real thing in these cars that see short drive cycles & care needs to be taken where due.

Nothing puckers you up like seeing that “no oil psi” light.
And doing an oil pan removal/clean out job takes a good amount of time & you can’t just do it on the side of the road.

[Rattnalle]

Oh I'm not saying sludge isn't a thing but they don't actually die completely from it as easily.