I've been having plenty of problems with my 740, but now sludge seems to be my major concern. The other day I checked my oil and it was just barely at the bottom of the stick. I buy a quart, put half in, and it's at the bottom of the cross-hatched area. From the bottom to the top is 1/2 a quart if I remember correctly so I put the rest in and drive home. On the way home I smell oil, so I opened up the hood to find oil pouring out of my oil cap in small streams (about as fast as say a bloody nose). My oil cap was bad anyway (Just recently replaced it), but after turning the engine off and checking the oil it was still reading at the bottom of the cross-hatched area. I checked it in the morning, same place.

Now I'm guessing sludge has clogged something up and is not letting the oil reach the pan, that's an easy assumption, but how the hell do I fix it. I thought engine flush, but I've heard terrible things and plus it said it's not recommended for oil cooled turbos. Looking around the web I found one article that looked semi promising:

This was for a Dodge Durango, but do you think it may work with my 740. I really want to do something fast because it's got me spooked, but short of taking the engine apart it doesn't seem like there's anything I can do. I could put zmax in it, which I can imagine isn't going to do anything, and another person suggested some mobil 1 synthetic that will get rid of sludge, which I can also imagine is total bullcrap, so what can I do?

Please, please help me

 

"Now I'm guessing sludge has clogged something up and is not letting the oil reach the pan," Well, I don't know what makes you think THAT; in this case your engine would seize up... Sludge is not a Volvo 740 problem, at least I never heard that... If I were you, I'd make sure the oil cap is tight AND clean the oil separator/PCV system...

 

I've done both. How do you explain the other 1/2 not registering on the dipstick at all, I know 1/2 a quart didn't leak out.

Think of any lazy mechanic work you could do to a Volvo, and that's pretty much my 740. Whoever had it last treated it like crap and probably didn't change the oil all too frequently if at all. She's a real hunk of junk, but I feel bad, she's only just coming up on 200k. What a crappy crappy life she must have had before I got a hold of her.

 

It's probably your "flame trap", the pcv thingy under the intake manifold. These get clogged and then the blow by pushes oil out of everywhere. On 240s, it blows the seal at the cam shaft end out and that's really messy.

On my 240, it's 1 quart between marks.

 

I've already cleaned the flame trap and PCV/oil separator.