1996 850 Sudden Oil Consumption

Our 1996 850 GLT wagon, wtih 75,000 miles, has had regular oil changes and never indicated any drop in oil level between changes.

Shortly after an oil change, two months ago, the oil light came on on the dash and it was 2 quarts low. I topped it up and watched it closely. Since then, in the past two months, it's taken another 5 quarts (one every couple of weeks).

The underside of the engine is clean and dry, no drips or leaks.

If it were something horribly wrong with the engine (rings?) I'd expect the exhaust to be black and smelly, but it's not. Also, the OBD hasn't indicated any faults.

What should I look at next?

Thanks, as always, in advance,

-RL

p.s. This is not the 850 with the bad transmission, this is our *good* car.

Reply to
Robert Lutwak
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It is reasonably common for the valves in this engine to pit and then for a small hole to burn through. This will result in considerable oil consumption. I know several 850s that consume about 1 quart of oil every 1000 miles.

Since an entire valve job is expensive, my usual recommendation is for the owner to decide how much longer they plan to own their 850s, and then determine whether it is worth their while to spend ~$1500 to fix the problem. Otherwise just keep topping off the oil ever so often.

Although with your car the oil consumption seems to be (quart every

500 miles?), my guess is that it is the same problem. If you plan to keep your car another 75,000 miles, get it fixed. If you don't, don't bother. If you do get it fixed, keep in mind that in addition to the valve job, the car will need plugs, wires, distributor cap to be replaced around 90,000 miles, and timing belt, tensioner and water-pump at 140,000, and the cost of this maintenance might be important for your decision.

Beverly

Reply to
Bev A. Kupf

Thanks for your reply.

How would I verify that a valve pinhole is the problem before undertaking a valve job? Would I see it from the top if I took of the valve cover? Is there a particular signature in the exhaust emmissions to indicate oil in the mix?

I'd suffer the expense if necessary. Probably even seek out a Volvo-certified mechanic to do it.

I always expect my Volvos to last for 250 Kmiles. Sometimes they even do, but never without the occasional $1500 repair. I just want to make sure that it's really the problem. I've only needed a valve replacement once before, on my 264 GL at 200 Kmiles. Did it myself that time.

Thanks again,

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-RL

Reply to
Robert Lutwak

Looking at the spark plug tips and a compression test will tell you just about everything you need to know. It's amazing how much oil an engine can burn without leaving a cloud of smoke. I had a '74 145e that I'd need to fill with oil before gas, and there was never any smoke at all behind it.

Reply to
Mike F

Oil consumption does not always result in an exhaust pipe mess. I would try a couple of simple things. First, I would try,with a well warmed up engine, driving along at about 50-60 mph, releasing the gas pedal and coasting down to about 10-15 mph slower. Then step abruptly on the gas, while looking in the rear view mirror for a telltale puff of smoke. That would indicate that oil is getting past a bad piston ring. The other thing to do is to have a mechanic perform a simple compression test. If there is a low cylinder, you can be fairly certain there is a damaged valve or ring in that cylinder.

Reply to
jelliot

Reply to
John Robertson

Oil doesn't burn off. It carbonizes and becomes a molasses like substance which is almost impossible to get out. If you use ordinary motor oil in air-cooled engines in very hot weather you will discover this quite quickly. To avoid this, I use motorcycle oil in my air-cooled engines. It is formulated for very hot use.

Did you really think that a small amount of synthetic is going to make the other 4 quarts of regular motor oil not do what it was doing before. I think not. Otherwise, why not just use 90% cheap oil and 10% synthetic.

I saw the same weird use of oil happen once in a friends Dodge. It was speed dependent. Above a certain speed the engine blew or burned oil. Below that nothing happened. He was in a big hurry going from PA to NM and carried and used oil in bulk. On the return trip, he took time to smell the daisies and didn't use any oil. That sounds more plausible.

Reply to
Stephen Henning

Reply to
John Robertson

You are saying that the car was 3 litres low on oil and the engine was still running. I don't believe you. Have you tried contacting the guiness world book of records. I think they will put yours in the whoppers section. I still think you had a speed related problem that was either blowing the oil out or leaking it. Telling such whoppers won't change my mind. How long is your nose.

Reply to
Stephen Henning

It does depend on the size of the oil reservoir in the old Japanese car in question. That being said, the most I've seen _car_ engines take is about 7 - 8 quarts of oil, which is about the same as 7 - 8 liters of oil.

On an 850, losing 3 quarts of oil would certainly damage the engine. I think the reservoir is between 6 - 7 quarts.

Beverly

Reply to
Bev A. Kupf

He said that 3 litres was 75% of the capacity.

Reply to
Stephen Henning

Hi.

Remember me? I'm the one who started this slugfest. Well, at the risk of prolonging the discussion (which long ago diverged from addressing my problem), here's a little info I left out the first time:

Historically, we've always had our mechanic, who only uses Quaker State, change the oil. This last time, we were in a hurry, on our way out of town, so we had it changed at Jiffy Lube. Naturally, when the light came on, I figured they had cross-threaded the oil plug, or the filter, but it's not dripping anywhere.

Perhaps the quality of Jiffy Lube oil IS an issue here.

At this point, though, I've added 6 quarts over two months, so it's likely had a near complete transfusion.

We have an appointment with the Volvo dealer next Wednesday. Stay tuned...

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-RL

Reply to
Robert Lutwak

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