Hello, I have a 1995 volvo 850 Non turbo. With roughly 120,000 miles, I have no oil leaks, and all my other matnince is up to date. I recently decided to clean My throttle body and flame trap. Upon inspection of the throttle body it was caked in carbon build up. And the flame trap was very clogged. I was able to clean up the flame trap and throttle body on my car. I also made a homemade vent tube that I put over the dipstick. After cleaning these parts the car is running better than ever! My questions are:
how many more miles can I go before bowing seals?

will cleaning the flame trap and venting the dipstick tube buy me any time?

Is there anything else I can do to benefit the pcv system, such as switching to a different type of oil?

(Flame trap is only part of pcv system accessible without removing intake)

I plan on replacing the system in early spring once it gets warmer out.

Thanks, Dean!

 

Also add hose 1270480, or which ever variant your particular 850 has.

There are lots of write ups about the "Volvo PCV system," Howards Volvo site has a great one. I would also strongly consider removing the oil pan, and all of the associated Orings as well. Youl find out why when the intake is off and you look into the passages from the oil trap to the engine.
It is an easy job compared with P2 Volvos.

I do not use Castrol, I use Penzoil euros, and haven't ever looked back. There is nothing you can do to buy time as you put it, every day means more build up on the rear of the valve cover. There really isn't any seals that blow out, the engine will always vent out somewhere. But plugged PCV systems are associated with valve failure, rear main seal leaks, etc,....It's kind of an item that is associated with neglect, so to speak.

Changing your oil / filter on a regular basis is perhaps the best advice anyone could ever get and or give. OH and watch out for places like Jiyy lube and some dealers, they frequently "forget" to change the filter, considering many can't be bothered to remove the splash shields.

 

Okay thank you for the response, I currently change my oil and filter every 3,000 miles, I make sure the filter is changed because I provide them with it. I think I'll take your advice on switching to that oil type. What weight oil do you run?

 

when you get a clogged PCV system in the 850s, you should also make sure that the shop rods out the ports. As noted, gunk can accumulate inside the pan which can also be cleaned out. Some have even used a Seafoam treatment prior to doing the PCV job. On my 850T I changed the oil every 3K using Mann filters and system still clogged after 150K miles and again at 250K. I did try going synthetic but as with older engines with firm seals, it developed leaks. I wound up going back to "high mileage" dino oil (name brand only) which cured the leaks.