1996 850 Synthetic Oil Or Regular Oil?

tylenol · Post by **tylenol** » 15 Aug 2007, 11:48

I just got a volvo 1996 850 with 75000miles on it. I don't know what kind of oil was used in it. Should I use synthetic? What do you guys use?
Thanks!

Post by **vince** » 15 Aug 2007, 13:03

Wow! A 1996 Volvo that only has 75 000 miles on it! Lucky guy...

Well, I'm by all means no mechanic, but I was once told by the people where I went for my regular maintenance, years ago: "Why would you want to use synthetic oil?" and I said, because it needs to be changed less often (5k versus 3k miles). The guy said, "who wants to take a bath in the same water for 6 months?...".

That being said, I am sure some other people on this forum will be glad to weigh in, and I am looking forward to reading their opinions. For I wonder if the synthetic oil technology has improved/changed/evolved since that conversation with my hometown's trustworthy mechanic...

Post by **vince** » 15 Aug 2007, 13:06

As a matter of fact, I forgot to answer your other question.

My 1995 850 turbo has 169k miles on it, and I use "high mileage" oil every other oil change, alternating with normal oil. And I make sure never to exceed 3000 miles between each one of them. My engine barely consumes any oil, i.e. less than a quarter of a pint, in between services! Gotta love those Volvos.

lucast · Post by **lucast** » 15 Aug 2007, 17:06

tylenol wrote:I just got a volvo 1996 850 with 75000miles on it. I don't know what kind of oil was used in it. Should I use synthetic? What do you guys use?
Thanks!

Hey there mate.

I have driven two different 850s. One a borrowed normally aspirated 1994 850 wagon which had nearly 200,000km on it (and probably hit about 220,000+ km when I stopped using it) , and now, a 1994 850 T-5 sedan which had 120,000km when I first bought it.

The NA wagon had a service done on it and the Volvo specialist chose to use Castrol GTX (regular dino oil AFAIK). Apparently the mechanic feels that it's better for the engine seals on an old car. The engine runs fairly quiet and the car returns decent fuel economy.

My current 850 T-5 with much less mileage is running a Valvoline semi-synthetic blend. The engine (it's practically the same engine) revs a lot more freely compared to the previous car on regular oil. Once again, the mechanic chose not to go fully synthetic for the sake of the seals.

75,000 miles - is a timing belt change due?

Post by **MadeInJapan** » 15 Aug 2007, 19:51

lucast, so what are YOUR impressions (which is doing better) of the 2 cars with different oils? OH, and by the way, at 75K miles, you're 5K over-due on a timing belt....BETTER CHANGE IT BEFORE IT BREAKS and it BREAKS the ENGINE with it.

Personally, I use Mobil-1 synthetic changed at every 5000 miles....I drive over 100 miles everyday (highway miles, Hi-way speeds), so with dino oil, I'm changing every month- with synthetic, I change every other month....I hate changing so often- so that's why I go synthetic...and change the oil filter with a MANN or MAHL with every change. Synthetic is proven better for a a car with a turbo anyway- helps to keep "coking" go a minimum.

My impressions: No leaks, quiet and powerful engine/turbo and decent mileage (just over 150K miles on the S70)... I'll stay at this interval and with this oil. By the way, I have this same oil and interval going on with both cars now and feel good about it. Oil, when changed is not totally black and probably can actually go even more miles between changes (http://www.bobistheoilguy.com/ has decent info on oil and changes for those interested).

lucast · Post by **lucast** » 16 Aug 2007, 03:46

MadeInJapan wrote:lucast, so what are YOUR impressions (which is doing better) of the 2 cars with different oils?

Well, quite frankly, I prefer the semi-synthetic oil used in my T-5. Like I said, the engine seems to rev up easier than the NA 850 using dino oil.

zenmervolt · Post by **zenmervolt** » 16 Aug 2007, 08:50

My own preferences mirror MadeInJapan's.

Full synthetic on a 5,000 mile interval because of the turbo.

If you don't have a turbo, regular dino is fine.

Tsquared · Post by **Tsquared** » 16 Aug 2007, 09:09

MadeInJapan wrote: Personally, I use Mobil-1 synthetic changed at every 5000 miles

(http://www.bobistheoilguy.com/ has decent info on oil and changes for those interested).

I do the Mobile 1 every 5 K on my daughter's 850. The manual recomends synthetic...

Post by **hausmeister** » 16 Aug 2007, 13:39

lucast wrote: Well, quite frankly, I prefer the semi-synthetic oil used in my T-5. Like I said, the engine seems to rev up easier than the NA 850 using dino oil.

might be because of the turbo?

I would use synthetic oil if it's not too expensive.
I'm using Castrol RS 0w40 - probably overkill, but I got it rather cheap on the internet. As far as I know the car was always filled with synthetic, I often wonder how clean the oil looks when I check or change it.

Post by **eroosa** » 16 Aug 2007, 19:49

My advice it NOT to use synthetic. Here is my bad experience this last winter. I put synthetic in my 1993 850 with 145K miles on it (approximately). Within 1000 miles I started leaking oil and smelling it after I drove it for a while and I was at a light. I immediately changed it to the 5W30 oil but it is too late. My car now leaks oil. Since my car always ran on Dino Oil for the last 13 years it probably built up some normal deposits. The car did NOT leak any oil prior to this and like I said within 1000 miles it leaks and the leaks are not just tiny drops either. Now I have to have the oil seals, gaskets done and I learned the hard way. I was told the pure synthetic cleaned the engine right out and that is why it is now leaking a lot of oil. Keep your dino oil in it and change it every 3K with a GOOD filter.
BTW - If the car always had synthetic (after the break in period) I have no problem with using it, but like I said if it always had conventional oil, stick with conventional oil and don't make the same mistake I made.

Ed