Request proper oil type for 1994 Volvo 850, 140k

[Mike850]

I have a 1994 Volvo 850 with appx. 140,000 miles. The owner's manual recommends Castrol 10W-30 every 5000 miles. I change oil/filter at about 3000 mile intervals.

I want to know the best choice for oil. At 140,000 miles should I:

1) continue with what I'm using (Castrol 10W-30)
2) start using a synthetic blend
3) switch to full synthetic
4) none of the above

And...what viscosity?

I have heard switching to full synthetic causes some Volvos to leak. I live in the Midwest and it gets HOT in the Summer. Winters are usually mild. Thank you.

P.S. I bought the car used a year ago from Florida. It was serviced at the dealer, probably using regular Castrol. The oil filler cap says to use Castrol.

 

[Volvohead]

You need to ID the BIG FACTOR first: turbo or NA?

 

[Rocket3004]

Volvohead: Judging by your name, maybe you can recommend something for a 2001 Volvo S40 1.9T?

It's had whatever the dealer puts in for 60K now. I assume it's synthetic, but who knows! (not my car, a family members who isn't near me so I can't take care of it).

 

[Goober Hoedecker]

Volvo 1992 240 DL non turbo, 2.3 liter red block, 169M miles, uses Amsoil 10w-30 ATM in Houston,10M OCI w/Mann filters & analysis by Blackstone

 

[Pablo]

The Castrol labeling is high (low?) bidder noise..... there is nothing magical about Castrol in your 850. Nothing against Castrol and if it works for you stick with it.

I have a 1996 855 (850 wagon) – and I have used a variety of synthetic Amsoil motor oils over the years. From 5W-30 to 15W-40. One run with ASL 5W-30 was 20K miles and the UOA was darn good. Now it’s my commuter car when I’m not driving the granny Avalon. I have about 10K and 14 months (1 year max!) on the current batch of ACD 10W-30. The car has never leaked a drop of oil.

Anyway some of these engines run a bit dirty, some have consumption issues (at a decent 1 qt per 2000 miles or so!) Does yours use any oil? Sometimes this consumption is easily fixed with AutoRx.

Some make some ticking noises when cold, some are fairly loud when warm. (others have loud fuel injectors!). A good oil filter usually quiets down the ticking.

Don’t worry about the heat. You can choose a 30 or 40 depending on consumption and noise. And choose a base oil on OCI.

 

[Mike850]

This Volvo 850 has a 2.4 litre Non-Turbo engine. It does use a bit of oil--not "excessive" or "burning oil"--but uses the normal amount that most Volvo's experience. So when I changed the oil and filter last weekend I went ahead and substituted a quart of LUCAS OIL STABILIZER. It is very thick and resembles "honey". It is supposed to help seal around your rings and increase compression by reducing piston ring blow-by.

The engine requires 5.6 quarts. So I added 5 quarts of oil plus 1 quart of LUCAS for a total of 6 quarts. I realize it is overfilled by .4 quarts, but knowing that it does burn some oil, it will soon be down to the right level

.

 

[Volvohead]

With the NA, your oil options are very expansive. Any quality conventional will run fine in it. We primarily run Schaeffers 7000 in our '97 NA and couldn't be happier with it.

Either a 30 or 40 weight will be fine. The GC talked about here is nearly a 40 weight oil.

The capacity on the NA is 6.1 quarts.

Try ARX to clean up the crankcase. While the pre '99 white blocks can exhibit some consumption, cleaning out the ring packs is never a bad thing. And at your mileage, you want to clean the seals before moving over to any full synthetic.

I'm not a big fan of the Lucas additive, but I'm sure it has its devotees.

Be sure to clean or remove the flame trap or it can clog and blow out your RMS.