To all you experienced members, what is your preference on the following:

Oil - grade? synthetic/not? any additives such as Lucas?

- Ive been running syn blend 10w-30 in my car and ofter add the lucas stabilizer since oil capacity exceeds 5 qts.

Spark plugs - copper/plat/db plat? gap?

- my stepdad(an excellent mechanic) who is not so familiar with imports was shocked when i told him these cars call for .028 gap and ive been running copper plugs as of late.

And... besides the fuel/air filters, what other type maintenance should be done to these cars to keep em running smoothly? Btw my machines got ~180k --can't check since my OBD I will no longer read codes & the odometers been stuck since 110k. thanks in advance!

 

Most of us do what the manual says. That's what the car was engineered for and although we don't like the PCV system, we do trust the engineers (espacially since Porche helped them with this one). The only service that we usually add is the tranny service (change fluid).

I use 10w-30 most of the time. Full synthetic. Not sure why anyone would go 1/2 way.

The only additive I use is Lucas fuel injector cleaner every 5 to 10k, 3 to 6 months (depending on mileage). When I was driving 4,000 miles per month I did it every 10k. Now that I drive about 1,100 miles per month, I do it every 5k.

Other maintenance as outlined in the manual. Most of us use the OEM plugs which I believe are copper.

As for your OBD-I port, maybe you have a bad test wire. You can swap the box with one from the junk yard or get a new one from the stealer to see if that helps. They unplug pretty easy. Then you will be able to test codes, clear service lights and check your mileage.

 

If yours is a 95 you should also have an OBDII port under a cover just above the shifter on the drivers side in the console. It may have a molded coin holder covering it.

5W30 /10W30 or 15W40 depending on the temperature, full synthetic.

Lucas is very good. I haven't tried the oil stabilizer but I do use the FI cleaner, transmission and power steering additives.

The gap to a non Volvo mechanic or back yarder does seem a little narrow but it's what that engine wants and if you try to open it up with or especially without a higher power ignition coil you'll have nothing but problems.
I run platinum plugs but standard copper is what it calls for and you'll have recommendations all over the place. You should see the thread a guy started about oil a week or so ago. That one is still going strong. I'm on my first set of platinum's and I have a MSD coil so my results may not be "normal" So far they work just fine and I have the recommended gap.

Transmission fluid change. Either flush it or just pull the plug and do the 3-4 quarts every so often. Depends on which method you use. I pull the hose at the radiator and let the transmission push the old fluid out with the new. It's about 9 qts but some people worry about that method and chose to just drain out a third from the drain plug and do it more often.

Check your coolant hoses for weakness, all of them. Same for the vac hoses but they tend to get brittle as they age.

Then there is the PCV system. You need to check to see if you have smoke coming from the dipstick tube when idling. There are many posts on this and a couple youtube vids also.

If it's new to you pull the wheels and check the brake linings so you have an idea what you have before you hear what you don't !!

If you're doing it yourself you can flush out the brake fluid and the power steering fluid. In both cases fresh fluid is just good maintenance and will help the components in both systems live longer and perform best.

Check your motor mounts to make sure they're still in one piece and especially the upper one to the firewall. It has a habit of pounding the bushing out.

 

i havent been on in a couple days due to my laptop ****ting the bed... oh well. Thanks to both of you guys for the great write up!! next thing on the sched is to flush out the tranny and the power steering fluids..

Now, this is a bit off topic but have either of you had the sagging headliner problem? its a nightmare, any recommendations on how to go about fixing it? thanks for the help!!!!!

 

Sagging headliner is common and is a simple fix..

I see you have a 95 but is it a 854 (sedan) or a 855 (Wagon)?
Is it a turbo, glt, or base?

If you have a sedan.. remove the headliner through the trunk... so easy... fabric is about $3 to $6 a yard depending on what you pick, and I would recommend the loctite headliner spray..

As far as oil goes I use Bel-Ray 20w-50 Motorcycle oil (non Synthetic) and have used it for the last 7 years. Motorcycle oil is engineered for longer runs at higher rpms, it make me feel safer if anything. I personally think this is one of my main reasons of why I am at 432,000 miles. Your oil is the Blood of your engine dont skimp when it comes to oil. Id just stick with a premium non synthetic depending on your situation.
If you have a turbo stay with a 10w 40 or a 20w 50, if only for the turbos sake.

Trans services are a MUST... some do it more than is recommended just because our asin 42 trannys in these 850's tend to have problems. If you can spare the extra cash get an aux trans cooler.. Cooler fluid leads to longer life and better shifts. Lucky ( from ard ) is developing a proceedure that will allow our transmissions to use 100% flow rather than the 70% it uses at it peak. Hense meaning, longer life, better/firmer and quicker shifts.

You pcv is a bother at first but you will get to know it after a while and its not that bad... some guys have replaced their pcv lines with copper lines (no clogging). If its a turbo I recommend a oil catch can... it will stop oil from the pcv getting into the ptz and being ingested by the turbo..

But as soon as we find out what model you have we can help out even more!

 

Shell Rotella 5w-40 and NAPA oil filters and change it every 5,000 miles.
I use that combination in everything.
It is great oil and is cheap at Wal-Mart.
And if you need a oil additive you need a different oil.

Read up.
Car maintenance bibles: Oil Additives

 

Thats what I used for years before I switched to the Bel-Ray.... Great Oil!!

The reason I first switched was for the price, and the Performance I can get a case of the bel-ray cheaper than a gallon of the rotella..
Our dealer cost is $17.97 for a case of 12

 

I've never heard of that oil, do you have a link?

EDIT:Never mind, I found it. Isn't Google great? lol

 

Man, you guys use some cheap oil. Woooo, scary. LOL

 

I haven't had my car long, but will be doing a semi-synthetic oil for the first 1000km then change to a full synthetic with a new filter (as per my volvo mechanics advice) Will probably use Mobil 1 full synthetic at *gulp* $60 for 5 litres

 

For your headliner there are a couple options. Try google and see what you come up with.

The two I'm familiar with are a big can of adhesive and you use a razor to cut holes every so often and glue it back up and a product called "saggy stoppers". They are probably sold under different trade names.

 

Our full synthetic oils start around $27 per 5 quarts. We need 6 to do the oil change. So, we usually spend about $33. The folks that like to use Royal Purple will pay about $55.

As for the head liner, most of them fall because the foam backing of the material has deteroirated. Once that happens there is no saving them. You'll have to take it out and do a full replacement.

 

Dollar store oil is cheap, Rotella is some of the best oil on the market.
Mobil 1 is proven to be crap over priced oil.
Pennzoil is wax based and is also crap.
Amsoil and Royal Purple are good oils if you drive 30,000 miles a year and dont want to be changing your oil every 2 weeks.

K&N oil filters are over priced and do no better of a job than a Fram Extended Guard oil filter.
Mobil 1 oil filters are good if you change your oil every 15,000 miles, if you use one of those and change it every 5,000 miles then you are wasting your money because the filter is designed for the 15k service interval.

It's a cost vs benefit thing.

 

Anything that Matt uses is good in my book. The dude has over 400k on his car. I have NO problems with that.

 

Remember we are a platinum dealer so that is our COST...
MSRP is $7.95 a quart.

Figured if it can keep a sport bike motor safe at 11k rpms with a wet clutch (uses engine oil to lube the clutch & Trans) It would do wonders at my short 6500 rpm bursts.

But when I finish the new motor I will be going full synthetic, still bel-ray motorcycle oil but the EXS 20w-50

As for the headliner... Check out TRS's headliner post... https://volvoforums.com/forum/volvo-...r-suede-55327/
The instructions he used were form a good guy down here in FL, RobT5A He was actually the one who finally showed me how to take off the sun roof ring with out breaking it... LOL

 

hey matty my car is a 95 854 with roughly 180k... have you removed a headliner thru the trunk before? seems like a simple process but i dont even know where its latched at and would like some more detail on that. thanks again!!

 

I did it 3 times by folding it and taking it out of the door... The rob told me "WTF are you doing" he showed me how to pull it out of the trunk... So much easier!

Here is he post just follow his instructions and you will be allright.

http://www.matthewsvolvosite.com/for...hp?f=1&t=26848

If you need you can contact him on floridavolvocommunity.net
His name is robT5a he is the owner of the site and is always there to help

 

thanks again for the great responses guys! Matty i got a 95 854 with about 180k~. as far as the headlines problem, have you removed headliner thru the trunk before? how is it latched and how exactly do you remove it? thanks in advance!