Hi everyone I am a complete newbie here so be gentle. I have a 1994 850 T5, I want to do a complete service myself, I can get the parts but I was unsure of the oil to use. It has done 150,000 miles, and I usually use Castrol GTX mgnatec 10w 40 (on my other car), will this be alright on this engine (2.3). I was thinking that because the engine is getting on a thicker oil might be needed as the hydraulic tappets are quite noisy, anyways, other question is my MPG is reading 18.3 around town, I know its a bit of a drinker but this is surely toooooo thirsty. Any help would be much appreciated and I hope to speak to you all soon, Many thanks, Dixie

 

Hi Dixie,

Sorry for delayed reply, I was off the forum for a month.

See attached copy & paste: https://volvoforums.com/m_48928/tm.htm

OIL/FUEL RECOMMENDATION:
Oil/fuel selection is a personal preference. I use Valvoline Synthetic Blend 10W-30 with OEM filter (MANN, Germany/Argentina). I try to avoid 5W-30 for turboed engine, but the difference might be negligible. During winter, I let the engine idle until the coolant temp gauge begins to rise, before driving away. As for the fuel, I use 91/higher Octane rating, but some people use 87 and have no problem as the ECU retards ignition timing IAW different grade fuel. If you notice knocking, however, switch to 91 or higher.

As to the fuel consumption, have the tyre pressure checked, have the alignment checked (the fronts are simple enough for a generic shop to do, but I'm not sure if they can do the rears, as the rears on 850 are unique delta link set-up, I went to a dealer for this), make sure the PCV system has been serviced not too long ago, and have a good tune up if not done recently. Also, make sure that the transmission fluid is at proper level.

I hope this helps.


JPN