Looking for some info here. My 1994 850 is using about a quart of oil a month. The car has 132K miles on it and I bought it last summer from the original owner. It came with a complete service history and the car has literally never missed an oil change or a scheduled maintenance service. Is this par for the course with these engines? Car runs fine, theres no smoke I just keep ahead of the situation and I'm sure it will run fine for a long time but this seems odd given the circumstance. ?

 

how many miles do you drive a month (and what kind of driving do you do)?Any signs of leakage or spotting? on any engine the common causes for oil consumption are engine/turbo seals, valve stem seals, piston rings or a clogged flame trap (PCV system). A few quick tests to do would be to check the PCV system (see Robert DIY's vid on Youtube), then do a compression test. I'd also suggest using a high mileage oil/blend which have seal softeners to see if that helps. If you do a wet compression test and you see you have worn/stuck rings, then you could roll the dice and try a detergent treatment (caution on this as some suggest it may actually promote a seal leak). I've been running high mileage blend ever since the rear main on my 850T went weepy and haven't had any issues since. That car has 200K+ miles and tends to use a quart every 1500 so we just watch and fill as needed.

 

Great info, thanks. no leaking or spotting that I can see. I drive a mix of highway and around town and I'm putting about 1000 miles a month on it. previous owner put about 6K a year on it. so I'm doubling his mileage. I'll try the high mile oil and look into the other things you suggest. thanks!

 

Yep, what mt6127 said.

A qt per 1k miles is a bit on the high side but not horrible. What weight oil are you running? i've had good luck w/Valvoline MaxLife 20-50; use it year-round in pac nw area. Avg is a qt about every 3-4k miles; depends on how you drive too..

 

Well, actually, after thinking this through a bit. I don't really know yet how quickly I'm using it. I just know that after driving it since August without paying much attention that I was down a couple qts. and after topping I was down again after a month or so. I'm going to change the oil today with what you've suggested here and then I'll stay on top of it to see where I'm at with it. Thanks for the friendly advice!

Scott

 

What weight of oil are you running?

 

Took it in to Jiffy Lube last Sunday. I specified "high milage oil" They put Pennzoil 5W 30 in. Someone here mentioned 20/50. No change in level over the last week with normal use.

 

If you're in Virginia, you may want to stick with 10/40 year round or only use 5/30 in the winter. I'm not a big fan of Jiffy Lube for Volvos since you don't control what kind of filter goes on. Some brands of filters are too restrictive and can lead to lower than desired oil pressure. The Mann OEM filters also have a check valve that helps keep some oil in the upper part of the engine after shut down. Since the car's new to you, I'd suggest keeping a log and check the oil at least every other fill up until you get a sense of its consumption. Also keeping a spare quart or oil and a jug of 50/50 coolant in the trunk isn't a bad idea either...