volvo 850 foam in the engine oil
 

Hey guys!

It's been a while since I posted in the forums. Sad to say the dealership in my local area is really bad so I moved to another car company. Trust me I miss Volvo but I had to leave.

I actually gave my mom my Volvo 850 sitting at over 400,000 KM's and all a sudden it's starting to get foam in the oil. Mainly noticeable on the oil stick.

Here's the deal. I did some reading online and it's either,

1. Water
2. Engine Coolant.

She only drives a few blocks a day less then a KM is there a good chance it's water? We have changed the oil a few times and it keeps coming back.

I am subscribbed!

Thanks,

Brian

Is it milky brown? If so, that's coolant in the oil, which most likely means blown headgasket, which means she should not be driving it.

I had a milky brown appearance on the dipstick prior to an oil change a couple months ago. A few weeks after that, I checked compression and all cylinders were equal and had good numbers. That wouldn't explain a head gasket in my case. I thought it was just sludge because oil was low. What are the other explanations?

She only drives a few miles at a time? that's condensation, most likely. Lots of 850s and S70s do this- your PCV is probably plugged up (usually water vapor is carried away with the other gases by the PCV) and those short trips never get the engine warm enough to remove all of it... actually, if the PCV is plugged enough, it may never all go away. But I'm going to say that, with that high of mileage , if the PCV has never been changed, or hasn't been changed in over 200,000 KM, it's time to do it. My guess is that that will take care of the problem. Condensation in the engine can lead to corrosion, especially since it's acidic, so it should be dealt with, but it's not AS urgent as a bad head or head gasket. Do a compression check to be certain, but it sounds like condensation from a bad PCV.

Are you using synthetic oil? An acquaintence's 850 Turbo used to get the foam on it all the time with synthetic oil. He switched back to a high quality dino oil and it is fine. Get a can of engine flush, flush the engine and change the oil. Then take it on about a 30 min run on the highway. I'll bet it clears up.

Here's an update:

Head Gasket check all is fine 400,000 KM man go Volvo go lol

Could it be a PCV does the Volvo have one and if so where. My moms mechanic cannot find it.

Thanks,

Brian

PCV is located under the intake manifold.

If your PCV system is clogged you can sometimes have wanter Vapor in the oil, thus the foam.

Your mechanic was probably looking for the $3 one piece pcv valve. Sadly its not that easy with the 850. I remember changing the pcv valve of my old YJ in the parking lot of the auto store in 30 seconds. The good ol days!

Easy check...with a warmed up engine, pull the dipstick and see if any white smoke comes out.(engine running). If there is, you need to change the pcv system....FCP @

http://www.fcpgroton.com/product-exe...category_id/63

And here is the walk thru that I used.

http://www.lakesidedp.com/uploadpics/pcv/

It was a fun weekend.....but he car runs great.