Hello, long time forum creeper here, first time posting. Sorry for the lengthy post here.
I recently bought a new (to me) 1998 Volvo S70 T5 (high pressure 2.3L inline5 cyl turbo) in January with 129,000km (80,000 miles). Seemed to be pretty neglected in terms of maintenance. When I brought it home I discovered the oil was last changed 2 years ago with dino, but only driven about 2000km, having a stockpile of Castrol GTX 10w30, and Castrol GTX HM 10w30 at home I changed the oil immediately. Car needed a lot of work - clogged PCV/flametrap system, timing belt never done, leaking oil cooler lines, and much more.. these were all dealt with within the first week of my ownership. 2500km after the PCV systems was replaced I blew a rear cam seal (caught it immediately and fixed it day of).
So, now she doesn't leak any oil (consumes a bit like all of these older T5 engines, and also has an oily smell after I run it and shut it off like most turbo cars), I'm now at 143,000km (89k miles) having changed the oil every 2500-3000km (less than2k miles) with hopes to clear up a lot of the sludgy and varnish buildup. Oil comes out dark and dirty even at these short OCIs. I always use a quality Mann filter each change. I also usually dump about 300ml of fresh oil with the drain plug/filter removed until it drips out clean. I know there's lots of AutoRX hype and other flush type products to help clean the engine, but I've never liked the idea of additives.
After using all but the last jug of regular GTX I'm now on my second change with the HM GTX. Oil capacity is about 6.1 quarts, I fill exactly 5.7 - 5.8 Liters - so I've been adding the .7 or .8L with the last jug of regular GTX to the 5 liters of HM GTX. My goal is to continue with the quick interval changes until I "feel" confident enough to switch to a good quality synthetic oil.
So, I have 1 more jug of high mileage GTX.. should I jump to synthetic or run more high mileage oil until the engine is cleaner? I recently bought 6 liters of of Castrol Edge Syntec 10w30 with titanium. I've always had good results with Castrol in the past with similar engines, but am I no means a die hard castrol fan.
Mobile1 HM? Do they offer this in Canada in a 10w40, or 0w40?
Penzoil Platinum Ultra for it's cleaning abilities?
a 0w40 synthetic?
thoughts on a blend? Seems easy to do given the odd oil capacity.
any other thoughts or suggestions would be appreciated
- I live in a mild climate area (Vancouver, British Columbia), seldom gets below 14 degrees F, or warmer than 86 F.
- Half of the time I drive like I stole it, half of the time I'm in [censored] traffic.
- I drive about 50-70 miles per day
much appreciated
I recently bought a new (to me) 1998 Volvo S70 T5 (high pressure 2.3L inline5 cyl turbo) in January with 129,000km (80,000 miles). Seemed to be pretty neglected in terms of maintenance. When I brought it home I discovered the oil was last changed 2 years ago with dino, but only driven about 2000km, having a stockpile of Castrol GTX 10w30, and Castrol GTX HM 10w30 at home I changed the oil immediately. Car needed a lot of work - clogged PCV/flametrap system, timing belt never done, leaking oil cooler lines, and much more.. these were all dealt with within the first week of my ownership. 2500km after the PCV systems was replaced I blew a rear cam seal (caught it immediately and fixed it day of).
So, now she doesn't leak any oil (consumes a bit like all of these older T5 engines, and also has an oily smell after I run it and shut it off like most turbo cars), I'm now at 143,000km (89k miles) having changed the oil every 2500-3000km (less than2k miles) with hopes to clear up a lot of the sludgy and varnish buildup. Oil comes out dark and dirty even at these short OCIs. I always use a quality Mann filter each change. I also usually dump about 300ml of fresh oil with the drain plug/filter removed until it drips out clean. I know there's lots of AutoRX hype and other flush type products to help clean the engine, but I've never liked the idea of additives.
After using all but the last jug of regular GTX I'm now on my second change with the HM GTX. Oil capacity is about 6.1 quarts, I fill exactly 5.7 - 5.8 Liters - so I've been adding the .7 or .8L with the last jug of regular GTX to the 5 liters of HM GTX. My goal is to continue with the quick interval changes until I "feel" confident enough to switch to a good quality synthetic oil.
So, I have 1 more jug of high mileage GTX.. should I jump to synthetic or run more high mileage oil until the engine is cleaner? I recently bought 6 liters of of Castrol Edge Syntec 10w30 with titanium. I've always had good results with Castrol in the past with similar engines, but am I no means a die hard castrol fan.
Mobile1 HM? Do they offer this in Canada in a 10w40, or 0w40?
Penzoil Platinum Ultra for it's cleaning abilities?
a 0w40 synthetic?
thoughts on a blend? Seems easy to do given the odd oil capacity.
any other thoughts or suggestions would be appreciated
- I live in a mild climate area (Vancouver, British Columbia), seldom gets below 14 degrees F, or warmer than 86 F.
- Half of the time I drive like I stole it, half of the time I'm in [censored] traffic.
- I drive about 50-70 miles per day
much appreciated
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