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help with motor oil...[ALL/1988] posted by han 850T5 on
Friday, 23 January 1998, at 7:37 p.m.
i'm in southern california(not too cold) and drive a 97 850 T5 wagon. i want to do my own oil changes and common maintenance. i wonder if oil grade will influence on car performance. and can someone recommend approriate oil grades for my car? i know that for brakes, i won't mess with(yet!) since draining and other things are required. i have info on ATF's thanks to Terrence and Paul.
also, i have 30k miles mostly of freeway (70/30 frwy/street) and seems like my rotors are very worn(irregularly). is this normal for the 850's? i know i should ask my dealer or shop, but haven't found a top notch service dealer yet.
oh, all you people with post-93 850's wanting to get their hands on some bilsteins...
I FOUND THEM!!!!!!!
i got them at APS (805)388-7171 part numbers AK2301(FRONT)/B361640(REAR).
they had to special order the front ones, but yes they are readily available. i should get them in a couple of weeks.
thanks for all the help.
han
Re: help with motor oil...[ALL/1988] posted by Andy on
Saturday, 24 January 1998, at 3:02 a.m.
We have a 1994 850 normally-aspirated, and I have been changing my own oil for 75,000 miles, since new. I go three times in 10,000 miles (makes mental calculation easier) and use 1.5 quarts of Castrol Syntec mixed with 4 qts of their GTX 10w-40, and Fram filters.
Drained oil is coffee-colored, and the internal view (through the oil fill hole) is as clean as new. The car uses about a quart every oil change, which means that I end up draining about 4.5 quarts.
I, too, live in SoCal, and enjoy not having to cope with sub-freezing weather. I suppose that 5w-30 could be used, but why chance it?
Also, I just flushed and replaced the coolant, using Texaco's new orange-colored Dex-Cool coolant, along with a bottle of RedLine's Water Wetter. I note that the temperature guage, which had registered horizontal since new now reads about 5-10 degrees below horizontal with the new fluid.
The old coolant had turned from green to a sort of muddy yellow color.
Hope this helps. Good Volvo-ing.
Re: help with brake rotors...[ALL/1988] posted by Andy on
Saturday, 24 January 1998, at 3:14 a.m.
I had the same wear problem, and based on the success of this treatment on my Lincoln Mk VII, had a new (factory) set of rotors coated using plasma-jet technology. Several hundred bucks later, I now have rotors with a surface hardness of Rockwell 90 (on a scale of 100). Normal use with Volvo brand pads results in a highly polished and FLAT rotor surface. Pad wear seems to have improved, as well.
If you are interested, I can look up and refer you to the outfit that coats rotors. They also do flywheels and pressure plates.
In addition, I installed the braided stainless brake lines from IPD in Portland, OR. Pedal feel is excellent; all sponginess is gone. The only down side is you need to clean off al the factory undercoating goop. Also, the single rear line is way up under/over the axle, and I got to say a lot of "naughty" words during the removal/installation process. But the results!
Hope this helps, as well.
Re: help with motor oil...[ALL/1988] posted by Paul Elliott on
Saturday, 24 January 1998, at 5:09 p.m.
I've done my own oil changes from 10k miles on, and brake services...First the oil: I changed from conventional to synthetic at 10,000 miles...I asked the dealer to do the job, and since they only use Quaker State product, he installed Synquest 5W-50, which, because it is delivered by the barrel, is the only wt synthetic they use...Since Volvo does NOT recommend this wt specifically, I had the oil analyzed at my 15k mile change which I did myself. My suspicions were set aside, as the analysis showed excellent condition..Nevertheless, at 15k miles, I changed to Mobil1 5W-30, and at my impending 20k mile change, I will install Mobil1's new 0W-30, which Mobil says can be used anywhere 5W or 10W - 30 is recommended. The advantage is that it will get to all the engine parts quicker. Living in Cal, you should feel safe using 0W, 5W, or 10W - 30 Mobil1 fully synthetic. For more info, check out the Mobil web site, and follow signs for Mobil 1.
Re the rotors, I swapped out my stock Volvo pads at 12k miles because of the prodigious amount of dust they put out, in favor of the low dust Repco/Axxis/PBR Deluxe pads. Still, at that time, the rotors where very smooth, yet polished or glazed looking. The softer Deluxe pads are unlikely to mark them, and so far, this has been the case...So, I dont know why your are wearing so differently than mine did.
Lastly, re the Bilsteins: Bilstein confirmed via phone that they do now have this model which is a slight modification of the model they sell for the 91-93 850s. I've read that they list for over $300 ea, so I'm curious what you paid for yours...Thanks.
Re: help with motor oil...[ALL/1988] posted by han 850T5 on
Monday, 26 January 1998, at 7:11 p.m.
last time a read a post i think it was Terence and i think he had noises coming from brakes after he upgraded his rotor and pads from IPD. are you having the same problem. i'm thinking in the near future when (if the dealer will cover my rotor service in the warranty) i have to get new rotors and get the IPD rotors and pads.
thanks for the info on the oil and yes i'll try the mobil page(why didn't i think of that? everything nowadays is on the net anyways).
about the shocks: are you ready? ...................................................
FRONT STRUTS $129.35/each and REAR SHOCKS $77.35/each.
WAS THAT A GOOD DEAL OR WHAT !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
THANKS
HAN
97 850 T5 still waiting for the bilsteins......
Re: help with motor oil/rotors/question about cd changer[ALL/1988] posted by Nick Gidkaos on
Saturday, 24 January 1998, at 6:21 p.m.
Hi there,
I had all 4 rotors replaced on my 95 GLT Wagon. they were covered under factory warranty. That was at 22K now I have 39K and the rotors feel like silk, breaking is very smooth. I do not know if they fixed them but I still have one more yaer and 11K under warranty if something goes wrong. Hopefully nothing. I did not have to do anything since then.
Regarding oil I switched to full synthetic at 3K and never looked back. I use syntec 5W-50 and Mann filters from IPD. Or Volvo filters at $10 each they are expensive. I have been doing my own changes since then. Evry time I too it for serveice I told them NOT to cahnge the oil/filter because it was done. They followed my instructions to the letter.
Now I have the SC-811 head unit and I would like to add a cd changer. I heard
horror stories about changers that do not work or they stop working after a week or two. What is the concensus, what cd changer and model should I go for?
Thanks for the info
Nick
Re: help with motor oil/rotors/question about cd changer[ALL/1988] posted by Sean Kilduff on
Saturday, 24 January 1998, at 8:01 p.m.
Nick, I have the volvo CD changer w/the sc-811 unit. My dealer told me that it was a Sony unit, however the connector leads were'swapped' so the consumer would be forced to buy the unit from volvo. I should add that it wasn't the salesman who told me this, so it could be accurate. Good Luck!!
Sean
Re: help with motor oil/rotors/question about cd changer[ALL/1988] posted by G.Fragante on
Thursday, 29 January 1998, at 7:00 p.m.
All stereo head units in the 850 and x70 series are made by Alpine, not Sony. To add a CD-changer to your SC-811, you can either by the Volvo-branded changer made by Alpine and spend the extra money....
Or you buy an Alpine CD-changer model CHM-S601 for about U$300 and get the Stinger CD-changer adaptor (about U$100) to bridge the SC-811 head unit to the Alpine CD-changer. Go to www.stinger-aamp.com under the Peripheral Electronics section and look-up the CD-changer interface adapters for the Volvo. Send an email to Gordie Kay, he is very helpful in these regard.
I did this and it's way cheaper and better than getting the Volvo-branded changer because the Alpine CHM-S601 is small enough to mount inside the glove box. Works fine! If you hear horror stories from other owners, it's probably caused by another adapter called PIE. They were initially very unreliable but have now fixed the bugs in their latest adapter. I would still go for the Stinger brand.
Re: cd changer adapters[ALL/1988] posted by pat on
Thursday, 29 January 1998, at 9:46 p.m.
>>All stereo head units in the 850 and x70 series are made by Alpine,
Or you buy an Alpine CD-changer model CHM-S601 for about U$300 and get the Stinger CD-changer adaptor (about U$100) <<
I have a V70 with an SC816 and both the stinger and PIE adapters were junk for me. In the end I found a BlitzSafe adapter ($90) that works 100% perfectly. It supports the following models (sorry no 811) -
SC700,SC710,SC810,,SC816 to alpine S600,S601,,S604 changers.
Re: help with motor oil/rotors/question about cd changer[ALL/1988] posted by Paul Elliott on
Sunday, 25 January 1998, at 4:09 p.m.
Nick, I too used to use 5W-50. Mine was Synqest by Quaker State. Nevertheless, when I had the oil analyzed after 5000 miles with this viscosity, while the analysis showed everything was in good shape, it also showed that the viscosity had slipped to just below a 40W. Which is what oil professionals have been saying all along: that a very wide viscosity like a 5W-50 has so much viscosity enhancers, that the oil is bound to brake down, even with a synthetic.....After that, I went to Mobil1 5W-30, and now, 0W-30, which is supposed to circulate faster on startup with no deterioration at the top end. In addition, Volvo does NOT recommend a viscosity this wide, and certainly not a 50W. Youd be better off swtching to 0W or 5W-30.
Re: help with motor oil/rotors/question about cd changer[ALL/1988] posted by han 850T5 on
Monday, 26 January 1998, at 7:01 p.m.
So Nick,
what was wrong with your rotors that they were under warranty? were they worn uneven?
i'll try the synthetic mobil 1 oil next time and see what happens.
about the cd changer, i'm also debating what to do. i have the in-dash cd-player and regardless of all the problems i've been reading about on the past posts, i guess it works pretty well(may be half a dozen times the cd got stuck half way out, i think it was the weather). let me know on what you decide about the cd changer. i'm planning to take a trip to the local stereo shop i know and see what the guy recommends.
thanks for the info.
ciao.
97 850 T5 still waiting for the bilsteins...
Re: help with motor oil/rotors/question about cd changer[ALL/1988] posted by Nick Gidakos on
Monday, 26 January 1998, at 9:30 p.m.
Well you got a point with the wide viscocity weights. Anyway I do not keep it any longer in the car. I get rid of it every 3-4K miles. The truth is it is not the oil I do not trust but the filter. I used Fram for a while, now I either call IPD and get a Mann one or I go to the Volvo Dealer. I noticed that
theb Volvo oil filter was heavier and looked more rugged. The Mann one lokked just like the Volvo one. Anyway I switched to Mobil one about 10K ago I use Mobil one 10W30. I usually find it at a decent price at the Local Wall Mart.
Now Cd-changer. i have not decided anything yet. Yes you are right in
dash is pretty convenient, but do't you have to juggle between cd at the stop light once in a while. I once had a V70 GLT (loaner) nad I was not too crazy with it. Well I liked it since I do not have anything in the car and
300 CDs at home -:) Any input will be appreciated from your stereo guy.
Rotors now. They were warped heavily. When I would touch the brake pedal
they would make a low frequency vibrating sound. I took it in and the dealer
changed all 4 rotors and brakes. I have not had a problem since.(18K miles later). You do not have to worry about it I also had to clutches replaced within a month(I like the 5 speed). I could not take of without a noise
and vibrasion. I took it in and they kept for 10 days. I got the car back and 10 days later it was doing it again. They kept the car for 2 weeks and now also 18K miles later I have no problem. To tell you the truth I nailed Volvo in the quality surveys. Excellent dealer service but reliability down the drain. I love the car they way it feels but I do not really thing I would buy another one. -:(
Again i am looking forward to hear from your stereo guy. Oh by the way IPD used to make an adaptor but I hava not seen it in their catalogs lately.
Nick