HPL Engine cleaner / 2015 Volvo XC60 high oil consumption progress report

The MDX is Full time active, rear diff is torque vectoring. Acura is the only one that has SH-AWD which is only available in the MDX, RDX and TLX. Also used to include RL which is discontinued. Less slippage could be a tire difference. Honda uses a total different kind of AWD setup.

Right. Pretty much if not the same as IVTM 4 in the Ridgeline.
 
I've always been a huge fan of the various Jeep 4x4 systems (they have several, quada drive, quada track etc). My 2012 GC Laredo was as simple as it gets, but I had all terrain tires and pushed some pretty heavy stuff (low speed) backwards up a wet grassy slope, it always had traction, never overheated the TC, never let me down.

The Jeep's system is basically RWD, and then it sends some power to the front when/as needed, but it's a RWD biased system.

TFL has tested these things too, Jeeps always do really well (except the cheap ones, renegade??).

Nothing beats the Rubicons system but of course it's not really as nice on road so you win some you lose some.
 
To my way of thinking, the Acura SH-AWD was and is designed first and foremost for street/road (performance) handling, not for rock climbing or inclines, although it will likely get you out of "situations". As that, it is indeed one of the best, if not, the best for that, although Audi also offers torque vectoring.

Having said that, it's also an engineering solution to an engineering problem with FWD and a powerful(relatively) engine. Acura even tells you they designed it with RWD feel(at the limit) oversteering but not overly so and neutrality. .........problems that wouldn't need solving if it were RWD and also have less parts, maintenance, cost and weight.

For dedicated AWD to solve actual issues because of where i live or hobbies that one may have where that type of system is necessary, i'd choose something else.
 
This is a bad idea. @High Performance Lubricants went into great detail on EC use and recommendations, and it is clearly stated to not exceed 20% of sump capacity with the EC. It can cause issues with seals. It’s not worth it.

Your engine didn’t become a mess internally overnight; there is no safe way short of full disassembly and hot tanking things to clean it up overnight, either.
Agreed. I came to the same conclusion with a little more research.
 
You could do it that way, incrementally, but i would use HPL fully and instead change out the filter more often. Keeping in mind that most filters are usually about 20 microns i would also not do extended drains, about 3000 miles at most, perhaps even less, for several OCIs. It's a little extra money but your trying to solve a problem and worth it. I would continue using it until i was satisfied and then eventually extend the drains to normal with it.

Call HPL and ask them lots of questions telling them what your trying to do. They remind me of Redline in that they are good in answering questions and giving info on their products which they are proud of. It's really worth it to call them. Try doing that with a corporate behemoth and you'll get a scripted answer.
All what you are saying is very good course of action and would likely resolve the oil consumption sooner, but that would be expensive
oil changes with those intervals. So I will go another round of fresh oil with EC 30wt and see what happens.
 
Update:
So my first round using Walmart Castrol 0W20 5 quarts with one quart HPL EC is at the end of that cycle. Up until this point the XC was requiring a quart of oil every 500 miles.
The first round went a1000 miles and I added a quart at a 5:1 ratio. That followed another quart at another 1000 miles in which I changed the filter. That went another 1000 miles with same same addition of the 5:1 ratio quart. That addition went 700 miles so I did a complete oil change with filter and the same Walmart Castrol 0W20 5 quarts to 1 quart HPL EC. I would say is fair to say the 700 mile change was due to the oil breaking down. So let's see how the second round goes. I noted Walmart 0W20 as the cost is lower that the Volvo spec oil and I am basically doing 4000 mile OCIs at this point.
I am curious if the piston/ring drain holes get plugged up from carbon due to piston heat or engine "sludge" blocking them up. I can see where a piston ring soak could speed things along but not till after a few rounds of the EC route if I don't get longer oil additions than a 1000 miles.
 
Update:
So my first round using Walmart Castrol 0W20 5 quarts with one quart HPL EC is at the end of that cycle. Up until this point the XC was requiring a quart of oil every 500 miles.
The first round went a1000 miles and I added a quart at a 5:1 ratio. That followed another quart at another 1000 miles in which I changed the filter. That went another 1000 miles with same same addition of the 5:1 ratio quart. That addition went 700 miles so I did a complete oil change with filter and the same Walmart Castrol 0W20 5 quarts to 1 quart HPL EC. I would say is fair to say the 700 mile change was due to the oil breaking down. So let's see how the second round goes. I noted Walmart 0W20 as the cost is lower that the Volvo spec oil and I am basically doing 4000 mile OCIs at this point.
I am curious if the piston/ring drain holes get plugged up from carbon due to piston heat or engine "sludge" blocking them up. I can see where a piston ring soak could speed things along but not till after a few rounds of the EC route if I don't get longer oil additions than a 1000 miles.
Is the XC a cartridge or spin on? If cartridge wrap it up, let big oil wick away and cut open to check inside pleats. If Spin on, get a cutter and do the same. This is 3900 miles from sons Forte with EC30. His barely burned any oil prior, still doesn't. Filter is at bottom of motor so junk will collect at bottom of can. Give the EC30 a chance to work as directed. Maybe even more than 2 rounds.
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What measure are you using to determine the oil breaking down?
Very good question f355. I did not do any oil analysis. It was a mere assumption as anecdotal evidence was going the direction
of mileage dropping between additions. Adding to that is that I did not want to go past 4000 miles on my first round. On this second round I am hoping to go further than 1000 miles before adding another quart. I will post my next 1 quart down miles as soon as that happens. The oil was pretty black and with all the small particles of sludge and carbon swirling around, the oil change was the wise thing to do.
 
Is the XC a cartridge or spin on? If cartridge wrap it up, let big oil wick away and cut open to check inside pleats. If Spin on, get a cutter and do the same. This is 3900 miles from sons Forte with EC30. His barely burned any oil prior, still doesn't. Filter is at bottom of motor so junk will collect at bottom of can. Give the EC30 a chance to work as directed. Maybe even more than 2 rounds.
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Hey Seq!
Great minds think alike!
The XC has a spin on cartridge filter. The bottom of the cartridge housing has a torx drain plug to drain the cartridge before unscrewing.
Upon draining and unscrewing, I observed some debris on the bottom of the cartridge. With hindsight I should have examined the oil that drained out for debris. I did put each oil filter in a baggie to store until I either find a local auto store to have them sent out ( I heard NAPA does) or examine them myself. I have a 30x lighted microscope with a led screen that I can use. You can find them on amazon as I bought it to examine coins.
My plans are to going 2-3 oil changes using the HPL EC with a 4k limit on the oil.
 
The Volvo spec oil is hard to come by at reasonable prices but MB 229.71 is hitting the same or similar targets and is found on more products. If it were my volvo I would look for this spec if I wanted to run xW-20 weight.

Also, if you wanted to run a xW-30 weight, there are several oils at walmart that meet the requirements of both A5/B5 and Dexos1 Gen3, which, combined, is very close to the aftertreatment compatibility and TBN concerns of the Volvo VCC spec, but in a 30 weight. I would comfortably do that as well. Just offering this up for consideration, as I wouldn't personally want to be feeding a qt/500 miles of hard to find expensive oil into one of these. You can find these alternatives at walmart for around $5/qt.
 
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The Volvo spec oil is hard to come by at reasonable prices but MB 229.71 is hitting the same or similar targets and is found on more products. If it were my volvo I would look for this spec if I wanted to run xW-20 weight.

Also, if you wanted to run a xW-30 weight, there are several oils at walmart that meet the requirements of both A5/B5 and Dexos1 Gen3, which, combined, is very close to the aftertreatment compatibility and TBN concerns of the Volvo VCC spec, but in a 30 weight. I would comfortably do that as well. Just offering this up for consideration, as I wouldn't personally want to be feeding a qt/500 miles of hard to find expensive oil into one of these. You can find these alternatives at walmart for around $5/qt.
Hey Md,
My sentiments exactly as to why I was noting Walmart Castrol 0W20 during my engine cleaning. I will dig a little deeper to find the MB229.71 for future use. I noticed but did look deeper into Castrol GTX which claims to have additional cleaning ability.

I am hesitant to use a xW-30 weight oil for no other reason to keep the thinner Ow20 flowing thru the piston drain holes at a faster rate to clean better. This is a pure feels good engineering theory.

But no matter, thank you for your input.
 
So I am on my second round of my HPL EC 5 -1 ratio full oil change with filter.This time I used the Liqui Moly 15 minute oil flush before draining the oil feeling confident enough that the engine would not be dropping a bunch of debris into the oil pan.. I went 975 miles before the 1 quart down light came on.It went up from my very last one quart down 700 mile mark to where I decided to change the oil. I am hoping to see an increase in miles before the quart low light comes on again. I am seeing results at least. Where this goes remains to be seen...
 
Well, I went 440 miles till the add 1 quart light came on. So with the second complete oil and filter change adding 5-1 HPL EC,
The first1 quart down went 975 miles and the second 1 quart down went 440 miles. Maybe the next will go back up to close to a 1000 miles. Time will tell. I am at a loss why this is happening except for the thought that there may be more gunk in the crankcase than I realized. No way of really knowing without dropping the oil pan of which I am not going to do. I don't think I should do a piston ring soak
until I am sure the engine crankcase is clean enough as to not re-block the oil drains. I am still hopeful as I have seen 1000 mile intervals.
Or maybe I will to a quick piston soak next oil change?
 
A wild guess to try to be helpful ( as it seems the oil control rings may be carbonized in some way, from what I could gather): pour GM top end cleaner into the spark plug holes and let it sit overnight. It should seep through to the sump. Change the oil the following day and then start the car. Let it warm up but then drive it hard - the top end cleaner may have freed up the rings enough to let the combustion process blow out the deposits, so to Speak. If this is off base, just disregard. i admire someone who doesn’t just throw in the towel. Good luck!
 
I disagree with the post above. Don't add anything else. The whole point of the EC is that it cleans those oil rings. With it doing so, it is common to see increased consumption initially. For a while now, the crud on the rings has been acting as a seal. With it being cleaned up, more oil will pass by until it's removed enough for the oil ring to become unstuck and seal better. Keep the course. This is normal.
 
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