I just went through the same thing with my 01 S60 with 73K miles, for a while the car felt heavy & sluggish & every mechanic said it was fine. I change the oil every 3,000 miles but the previous owner didn't, he did it every 5000-8000 miles, I do confess to adding Lucas oil additive twice, which may or may not have been a good thing to do. I tried changing the oil pressure switch, but that didn't work. I took it into Volvo & when they dropped the pan the engine was full of sludge; they even had to send the oil pan out to be boiled to clean it off. In end they had to fill, run, drop & clean the oil pan 3 times. Now the car is running smooth & has regained the pickup it was missing. I'm going to change the oil every 1000 miles for the next few just to help clean out any remaining sludge. The rep told me they don't recomend chemical flushes because if large pieces of the sludge break off & clog things up I would sieze the engine. As it was he said I was pretty close to needing a new engine, he said he hasn't seen sludge like that on a car with only 73kmiles.
Bringing it to the dealer cost me a small fortune but they seem to be the only ones that really know this car, other " specialists" recommended engine flushes, but thanks to Tech I knew not to do it.

 

Hi all,
This looks like a very informative group. Thanks in advance for any info!

I live in California and have a 2002 S80 turbo with about 82K miles. It recently started emitting white smoke from the tailpipe when idling at stops. Took it to my local dealer, who diagnosed sludge in the oilpan and dirty PCV. Estimate to fix (i.e. clean PCV, clean oilpan and replace gasket) is over $3K, plus an additional $4400 if they need to pull the cylinder heads. Service mgr says that they won't even approach the extended warranty company unless I can document timely oilchanges.

I know dealer maint is very expensive, but need I really pay that much? I'm going to get a 2nd, non-dealer opinion.

Thanks,
-MMC

 

If your dipstick pops of the tube.....then it is usually from excessive oil pressure from a clogged PCV....You can do it yourself, but requires some work.....http://www.lakesidedp.com/uploadpics/pcv/

http://www.fcpgroton.com/ should have a kit....

You can try cleaning the parts yourself, before you replace anything. Clean all the intake hose and hose to and from the PCV....

Wait for others to comment.....