Some short interval oil/ filter changes is what I would do. I would not add any cleaning agents to the oil unless you want all that crud traveling throughout the engine, possibly blocking an oil passage to a bearing. Seen it happen a few times. The result was not good.
Is this amount of crud in an oil filter normal? What’s in your filter?
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These engines invariably accumulate crud under the oil fill cap.
It's actually funny that dealers don't even clean the caps' undersides as it's an easy-to-remove indication of dirt.
SO, I ask the OP, how does the dark side of the oil fill cap look?
Assuming the engine has lots of crud, how would you clean the internal engine passage from the base of the collection box to the crankcase?
I have large gauge 'pipe cleaner' to shove down the hole when I do my PCV. I'll use solvents to help.
It's actually funny that dealers don't even clean the caps' undersides as it's an easy-to-remove indication of dirt.
SO, I ask the OP, how does the dark side of the oil fill cap look?
Assuming the engine has lots of crud, how would you clean the internal engine passage from the base of the collection box to the crankcase?
I have large gauge 'pipe cleaner' to shove down the hole when I do my PCV. I'll use solvents to help.
I suspect that when you do drop the pan, it’s going to look a lot like this engine. 234,000 miles, run mostly onconventional. Engine doesn’t burn any oil however, look around each one of the bolts, the lighting on this one is bad, but you can see the ton of carbon that was built up.
I cleaned this one up by hand, and stuffed rags in and around the crank so that any stray gunk that I cleaned off would not end up lingering in the engine.
I used Volvo anaerobic sealant, and after resealing it, I filled it with Mobil 1 and ran for a bit. Then flushed it with LiquiMoly engine flush.
Then, naturally, I refilled it with HPL.
I suspect the oil filter will be fairly loaded up when I change it.
The engine still doesn’t use a drop of oil, and it runs great.
I cleaned this one up by hand, and stuffed rags in and around the crank so that any stray gunk that I cleaned off would not end up lingering in the engine.
I used Volvo anaerobic sealant, and after resealing it, I filled it with Mobil 1 and ran for a bit. Then flushed it with LiquiMoly engine flush.
Then, naturally, I refilled it with HPL.
I suspect the oil filter will be fairly loaded up when I change it.
The engine still doesn’t use a drop of oil, and it runs great.
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It looks dark. Very dark.….on the S80. See photo. In terms of cleaning the internal engine passage, i will devise a plan upon inspection of condition. Probably do what i recently did on the V70R (i.e. Go from the baffle box with a bendable metal core brush and get it in there as far as possible). If it is really bad, will remove pan for ultra thorough cleaning.
My V70R cap looks quite nice. (Synthetic 95% of time since new). The oil drain passage was quite clean as of couple weeks ago.
I would have done the same as you. If you want to clean on a budget, I would use MMO. Start slowly, use 0.5 qt. in the last 500 miles before a change. Then, use another 0.5 qt, but for the whole next interval. Then, a full qt. for the next interval. Check filters, it should be getting much better. This gradual cleaning will prevent any filter overloading or anything being "blocked". For cleaning on a budget MMO is very hard to beat.
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VolvoZ: The cap and grate on my current V70 was worse than your top picture when I got it @ 70K. I concluded the car idled a great deal whilst fetching kid(s) at school based on toys found and a melted brake light socket and holder.
I set the cap right-side-up in a shallow dish of Purple Power to soften / remove crud. The grate I cleansed with a lacquer thinner soaked cloth and easy scraping.
I set the cap right-side-up in a shallow dish of Purple Power to soften / remove crud. The grate I cleansed with a lacquer thinner soaked cloth and easy scraping.
Using a gloved hand, the crud is muddy consistency, no large hard chunks from the small samples selected. Anything gritty feeling felt like it was breaking down into finer particles when rubbed between gloved fingers. So no really large hard gritty stuff.
This all makes me more aware that this stuff could get past the bypass valve if that were to open. However, the bottom of the filter canister was actually clean, with very little sediment. 99% was caught/stayed in the filter.
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The crud is a nothingburger. After 20 years and 220k miles there will be deposits left in the engine, the same as scale forms in a kettle. In 99.7% of the cases it’s totally harmless.
Use an engine cleaner (idle 10 mins and drain type of an affair) if you want to scratch an itch. I did, as I’ve shared above, and despite new oil turning pitch black in 10 minutes of idling before it was drained, the engine performance/idling/sound fuel economy were NOT affected by the cleaning.
Or do nothing beyond timely oil swaps per manufacture’s schedule. The cheap filter is likely fine, but, what if its flow rate is not in spec with the factory one?
Positive displacement oil pump ... same flow through the filter if the pump is not in pressure relief. The oiling system is typically 15 times more restrictive than an oil filter. A filter with a few more PSI of dP won't really matter to any engine.
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Are bottom of the barrel, ersatz filters as good as factory grade? Like if the ersatz part is, per its manufacturer, applicable for a particular engine, what is the advantage of a factory grade part? We’re not talking no-name, chinesium off eBay part, but something like OP is using that is sold by FLAPS.
What do you think?
I'd be a bit leery of "bottom of the barrel" brand filters, as I don't take a risk to try and save a few bucks. Never even heard of "ersatz" brand oil filters. I don't buy filters that don't have any ISO 4548-12 efficiency info.
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LoL ... some filters branded as "Ersatz" - ?. Not an oil filter.
You are completely missing his point. He used the word to mean “fake“
Yes, I realize that now. But doing a search actually found filters ... not oil, but filters never the less.
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Thanks! In this context, more precisely would be “an inferior substitute”
Thank you. What did the oil intake screen look like? Please post the (non-ersatz Mahle) filter pics when the time comes. Which Volvo is the 234K motor?
