Hello
I have a 850 GLT Wagon (non turbo) with 64,000 miles, and i seem to need to add oil (1 or 1/2 qt) every 2000/2500 miles.

I use the Mobil 1 synthetic oil which allows me to go 5000 miles between oil changes but i always add oil in between. The first time i noticed this as a serious problem was right after i purchased the car and a few days later when idling i heard really LOUD ticking noise, and upon further investigation i found the car to have HARDLY any oil. I thought the mechanics at the Mitsubishi dealer where i bought the car from at 56,000 miles, did not realize that the 850 takes 7 qts of oil and maybe only added 4 qts when they changed the oil!!

I took it into the Volvo dealership who checked the car out gave and found NO leaks. Since then i have been very regular in checking the oil. The car is a non turbo and does not leak ANY oil (i have triple checked) but i still have to add 1 to 1/2 qt. WHY???

I spoke to the service rep who told me that adding a quart now and then is common in higher mileage Volvos but my has only 64,000. But he did not have any answers to my questions.

Any suggestions or ideas as to why this maybe happening?
Ali

1/2-1 quart per 2000-2500 miles is not excessive consumption. (especially if you just changed over to synthetic oil) I doubt your engine is shot at 64,000 miles because of this low level consumption. Whoever said that.....

As far as the 4 qts vs. 7 from a Mitsu dealer, that scares the crap out of me. I would have at minimum documented the hell out of that incident.


Yes the white engines have slow oil drain back, so wait awhile and be consistent.
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www.fidalgo.net/~brook4

I have a 96 855 GLT N/A and my manual says it takes 5.6 qts with the filter changed, but an asteriks says certain models take 6.1 qts. I have added at least 6.1 qts and it still reads low, so does mine take more like 7 qts? Also, I don't think I have an oil cooler, do I? How can you tell, or is that on turbos only?

Whatever, that's hardly drinking THAT much oil for an 850. And other cars suck more than that down, so I wouldn't be too worried. That's just how 850s are in my experience. The hydraulic lifters can be noisier on some cars than on others. Two identical year, identical mileage engines can sound much different.

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Volvo shop tech (who quit for the summer)
1992 940 wagon, 72k; among others.
make people envious; smile often.

your engine is fried? And the dealer sold you a lemon? Hate to say this, but a lasy came onto car talk and had taakend excellent care of her car and it was shot at the same mileage. She had bought the car new too.

So, there may be a few engine bombs out there.

We have an 850 and S70 and both consume about a quart between
oil changes (3 to 4K miles). I'd say your car is normal (for
Volvo).

A quart every 2000 miles is pretty decent oil consumption.

Most articles that I have read state that various manufacturers do not consider oil consumption high unless it exceeds a quart in 1000 to 1500 miles.

We have two Volvos with over 225,000 miles, one uses a quart in about 1500 miles, and the other seems to use no oil, go figure. This car seems to have cleaner oil at change time than our others.

Policy in our family is to check fluids and tires weekly, I would do this even if I ever buy a new car.

I have owned several old bombs that would "create" oil between changes during the winter, and yeild slightly higher readings as time went by. Of course, when I drained the oil, it looked more like gasoline than oil!
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2 8s & 2 7s 600,000 miles total

Adding a quart every 2,000 miles is completely normal.

Why does it happen? Because your engine is not perfect

So it is burning a little bit of oil. EVERY car burns oil. Out of a thousand cars your car's age, your going to get some that burn a quart every 10,000 miles, some that burn a quart every 5,000 miles, some that burn a quart every 2,000 miles and many many cars will burn more than a quart every 2,000 miles. In fact, most cars with 70,000 miles on them will burn at least a quart every 2,000 miles.

A car is not an "oil burner" until it burns more than a quart every 750 miles.

My 96 850 with 70,000 miles burns about a quart every 1,000, and I've babied it since birth.

Thats just the way it is.

750 miles? I'de call that serious consumption. We've never had cars that burned more than a qrt every 3500 miles., most far less. Dada always said it as actually good if the car burned a wee bit.

But when we get more than that, you can usually see it on the low compression

Although 1 qt in 750 miles is more than usual, at that consumption rate you still might not see it smoking from the tailpipe and if it might still have normal compression if the oil control rings or valve guide seals are the culprit.
If it's an older, high mileage car one's still better off just checking/adding a qt now and then because the alternative usually requires an engine overhaul or replacement which is costlier than what what the car's worth by then in most cases.

Did you recently change over to Mobil 1?

When I first changed over I noticed that I was using a quart or two between changes (had to do them every 3,000 miles due to very dirty engine). After 10,000 miles it seems to have evened off and stopped using it. From what I've heard and read it is normal for your vehicle to use oil when first changing over to synthetic while it cleans out the dino stuff from the rings.

As for you wondering about the very low oil... I have noticed this as well. When you first start up and shut down after an oil change sometimes it will show no oil on the stick and a few minutes later it will show full. I guess it's just one of those strange little things. I corrected mine by keeping it just a little over-filled? It's a little over-filled in the AM before starting but shows in the safe lines when checked after shut down at a gas station. (I believe it's over by half a quart... not enough to damage anything just to give me peace of mind)
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'94 855 5spd 'Drew' 204,500 Miles *** Never assume that your factory timing marks are correct UNLESS you know for a fact WHO has been in there and WHAT they have done!! ASK ME HOW I KNOW!!! ***

I've a '95 850 turbo which when I drive it nicely uses about 1/2 quart of mobil one or penz syth in about 3K

but if I'm late to work and drive it HARD going from about 100 ft above sea level to about 5500 ft above at about 75 mph, it'll burn a quart in 1500

but i figure all that time uphill over 4K makes a difference

I check the oil every time I buy gas