Hello. I'm new here and this is my first post.
I have a 98 Volvo V70 turbo wagon with ~163k mi I've owned for 11 years. It's only had syn oil in her since the warranty expired ~ 50k mi. I'd leave it in for ~10k mi. and change the filter every 5k. I'm in central Tx where it's hot & humid!
A few months back, I noticed when checking my oil level it smelled strongly of gas. I'd had M1 in there for about 8k mi. No CEL. No vacuum leaks that I knew of. No smoke pouring out of the dipstick tube when removed either.
So I dumped the oil & filter, and filled with Castrol dino oil (it was on sale) until I could figure out what's going on. I soon discovered that the large rigid vacuum line that runs from the intake pipe to the oil separator box for the crankcase vent system, had become fossilized and very brittle! One end broke off in my hand when I removed the intake pipe for inspection. Unfortunately, it's wrapped in an outer sheath so I couldn't visually inspect it over time. Obviously, it needed replacing.
Yesterday, I pulled the intake manifold, and replaced all the vacuum lines, oil sep. box, etc having to do with the crankcase breather system. Nothing was plugged up fortunately as these cars have a reputation for either pushing the oil dipstick out of the tube or worse, blowing the rear-main seal, which is a very expensive fix!
Even the newly changed Castrol was stinking of gas. Before dumping it, I did a compression test to eliminate any ring problems. Measured 175 psi on all 5 cylinders. Remarkably consistent actually . . .
I dumped a can of BG109 into the warm engine, let it circulate for 15 min. then dumped it. Also drained the oil cooler. Added a can of MOA and 1-1/2 qrts of M1 I have left over and filled up the rest with Penzoil Platinum syn (due to the great reports of its cleaning properties I gleaned from here).
When I look inside the oil cap on the valve cover, it's deep amber inside. No black. Frankly, I thought syn oil would prevent this. Guess not. I also thought the 109 would remove some of this, but perhaps it just softens it up for the detergents in the new oil & MOA to work on? Time will tell.
I took a photo down the oil filler neck. Will see if it's lightened up in a couple thousand miles or so.
I have read of ARx. I used BG because of my familiarity with 44K, which I use ~ 30k mi or so. Last summer I used Red Line Si-1 instead. When I pulled the intake manifold, I noticed all the intake valves were very clean.
At this point, I'm not sure if it's possible or even advisible to expect a significant reduction in the varnish I see. Maybe it's not a problem. I don't like the look of it, but maybe it doesn't matter either. The compression test has eased my mind on anything ring-related.
I DO have some clicking/snapping sounds going on in my engine that I thought was lifter related. Always have. I didn't think anything of it until hearing another car of similiar year that was MUCH quieter. THEN I started noticing. It'll be interesting to see if it quiets down with the 109/MOA/Penzoil Plat combination over time.
I haven't dropped the oil pan ever. Heard it's a PITA! Read somewhere about o-rings need replacing in the pan when the lifters are noisy. Maybe someone will chime in on this.
Well, that's my long post. Have already learned quite a bit by doing lots of reading here. Glad to have found this forum!
I have a 98 Volvo V70 turbo wagon with ~163k mi I've owned for 11 years. It's only had syn oil in her since the warranty expired ~ 50k mi. I'd leave it in for ~10k mi. and change the filter every 5k. I'm in central Tx where it's hot & humid!
A few months back, I noticed when checking my oil level it smelled strongly of gas. I'd had M1 in there for about 8k mi. No CEL. No vacuum leaks that I knew of. No smoke pouring out of the dipstick tube when removed either.
So I dumped the oil & filter, and filled with Castrol dino oil (it was on sale) until I could figure out what's going on. I soon discovered that the large rigid vacuum line that runs from the intake pipe to the oil separator box for the crankcase vent system, had become fossilized and very brittle! One end broke off in my hand when I removed the intake pipe for inspection. Unfortunately, it's wrapped in an outer sheath so I couldn't visually inspect it over time. Obviously, it needed replacing.
Yesterday, I pulled the intake manifold, and replaced all the vacuum lines, oil sep. box, etc having to do with the crankcase breather system. Nothing was plugged up fortunately as these cars have a reputation for either pushing the oil dipstick out of the tube or worse, blowing the rear-main seal, which is a very expensive fix!
Even the newly changed Castrol was stinking of gas. Before dumping it, I did a compression test to eliminate any ring problems. Measured 175 psi on all 5 cylinders. Remarkably consistent actually . . .
I dumped a can of BG109 into the warm engine, let it circulate for 15 min. then dumped it. Also drained the oil cooler. Added a can of MOA and 1-1/2 qrts of M1 I have left over and filled up the rest with Penzoil Platinum syn (due to the great reports of its cleaning properties I gleaned from here).
When I look inside the oil cap on the valve cover, it's deep amber inside. No black. Frankly, I thought syn oil would prevent this. Guess not. I also thought the 109 would remove some of this, but perhaps it just softens it up for the detergents in the new oil & MOA to work on? Time will tell.
I took a photo down the oil filler neck. Will see if it's lightened up in a couple thousand miles or so.
I have read of ARx. I used BG because of my familiarity with 44K, which I use ~ 30k mi or so. Last summer I used Red Line Si-1 instead. When I pulled the intake manifold, I noticed all the intake valves were very clean.
At this point, I'm not sure if it's possible or even advisible to expect a significant reduction in the varnish I see. Maybe it's not a problem. I don't like the look of it, but maybe it doesn't matter either. The compression test has eased my mind on anything ring-related.
I DO have some clicking/snapping sounds going on in my engine that I thought was lifter related. Always have. I didn't think anything of it until hearing another car of similiar year that was MUCH quieter. THEN I started noticing. It'll be interesting to see if it quiets down with the 109/MOA/Penzoil Plat combination over time.
I haven't dropped the oil pan ever. Heard it's a PITA! Read somewhere about o-rings need replacing in the pan when the lifters are noisy. Maybe someone will chime in on this.
Well, that's my long post. Have already learned quite a bit by doing lots of reading here. Glad to have found this forum!
