posted by
someone claiming to be volvoandvw
on
Sat Aug 31 05:02 CST 2002 [ RELATED]
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So we know that most wear on an engine occurs on startup, which probably means the way you warm up your car is crucial for its longevity. I'm just curious as to how those of you who have over 100k on your volvos warm up your cars? Do you let it idle for a while or do you just start it up and drive away easy for a while?
I ask this because many VW owners I know claim that you should NEVER warm up a car by letting it idle. Others say, you should never drive it until its warmed up. Who is right? Well, I don't want theories. I want to hear from the high mileage Volvo drivers because the proof is in the pudding.
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12500 miles on the meter. I heat the engine with an electric engine heater available from Volvo. The engine starts noislessly (no lifter rattle) every time. have a nice day.. Chris
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Hey
I use mobi-1 synthetic and change my oil on the dime at 5k miles. My car now has 120K miles on it. I bought it with 72K miles on it. For warming the car up, I never let it go for many than a couple of minutes unless its winter and I am letting the heat kick it. I have a remote start on my car. I usually remote start my car when I come down in the morning, as I making my hot tea and walking out the door. So all in all, the car maybe idles like 3-5 minutes max. As soon as I get in the car, I am gone. But I do have about 10 minutes of local driving before I hit the highway so i can baby the car for a little bit also.
Sadude
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Hi ya,
I agree with most of the comments here. I have 182k miles on mine. I change my Mobil 1 often and also the plugs every 10k no matter what any body says.
If i can i normally let her idle for a while as i have the noisey tappets syndrome but if i can;'t i keep it under the 3k mark until at least 20 minites and i have had a 3 o'clokc on the temp gauge for a while.
Mark in leeds/uk.
94 850glt 2L 20v,k+n,T5R bumper,Volvo Brace,Slots,182k miles.
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Just like my airplane. Start it, taxi, and don't stuff it until the gauges are off the peg. Even the Mercedes and BMW manuals stated Not To Let It Warm Up at An Idle.
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posted by
someone claiming to be Ron
on
Sat Aug 31 10:42 CST 2002 [ RELATED]
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There's no need to ever idle an engine until warmed up but one should drive it a bit nicer than normal, especially in extremely cold weather (sub zero) as the engines oil is thicker than normal (unless you're using a good synthetic) and thick oil doesn't flow well when it's extremely cold.
Frequent oil changes and good maintenance are far more important than the idea of warming up an engine as if you properly maintain the car, the original engine usually outlasts the rest of the car.
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posted by
someone claiming to be volvoandvw
on
Sat Aug 31 14:29 CST 2002 [ RELATED]
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Thanks for all your replies. I've been debating how to treat our volvo right so that it will last another 100k (90 plus now).
Ron,
I agree with you about maintenance. It is probably the most important factor. We take care of our car well so what I am really asking is *given* that we maintain our car well, which warm-up method will help the engine last longest? We just recently switched to Mobil 1 0w-40 and will change the oil every 4-5k even though it is synthetic.
BTW, I was on an oil analysis board recently and there are quite a few car gurus on there (you gotta be to hang out on an oil board). One guy even stated that he is willing to bet that anybody that lets their engine idle extensively on startup regularly will not see that motor lasting more than 100k. That was his conjecture.
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posted by
someone claiming to be Ron
on
Sun Sep 1 04:31 CST 2002 [ RELATED]
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I now use Amsoil myself but that's because it's a new engine (25K miles on it now), it's got a turbo and I'm babying the car as it's an '86 that I plan to keep at least 10 more years as my daily driver. Its original engine still ran but had the notorious piston knock that the older turbo 4 cyls get and it being my daily driver, I didn't want to take any chances on long trips, etc. The cars original owner didn't maintain the car well (did 5K or so oil changes), didn't even bother to check/add oil in between oil changes (saw the car 4 qts down once with oil light flashing, wasn't even in for that at the time), the radiator once blew apart on me one 100F degree day on the freeway (AC on) at high speed so when I saw the guage, it was buried in the red. Engine was also running a 15 PSI boost (double spec) for years. That engine STILL lasted to almost 200K miles before I decided that I'd prefer a new one instead and that engine used petroleum oil (no synthetics). I've had other cars that used petroleum oils with close to 200K miles as well (like yet another old 744 that I have) and even old GM cars too.
With proper maintenance, I'd say that most "well built" engines are capable of going 200K miles. I never warm up an engine prior to driving UNLESS it's winter, very cold outside and I want to get into a warm car rather than freeze for 10 minutes, especially if the wife's with me. I then don't warm the car up for the engines sake, but for comfort only.
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jap manufacturer manuals tell to idle/2000 rpm to warm up car...euro makes tend to tell u to drive lightly 2000 rpm to warm up car (slight uphill works best)
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This is the mileage of my cars:
1980 244 220,000
1982 245 204,000
1987 744 141,000
1991 245 146,000
1996 855 98,000
2001 V70 28,000
In my 240's and 740... when I drive them, I usually let them idle a little bit until I see the temp gauge slightly moving up. I wait until the things starts moving up onto the scale. I then drive is easy until the car has fully warmed up... then procced to do neutral drops to get the transmission to full operating temperature. Works very well and gets those tires warmed up good :)
Do all of that EXCEPT THE NEUTRAL DROPS!!!!!!!
I have never had to replace major components in any of those cars, like transmissions, starters, etc... only things like clutches.. on my 80, 82, 87... the 80 went when trying to impress someone on how I could peel out so far, but ended up killing the clutch at 196k. So bad the teeth were ripped off the pressure plate, and the thing for going at an angle to the flywheel.
DON'T MISTREAT YOUR CAR!!! It love you if you treat it good.
kevin
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1980 244DL, 1982 245GL, 1987 744GLE, 1991 245SE, 1996 855GLT, 2001 V70
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posted by
someone claiming to be bill
on
Sat Aug 31 06:17 CST 2002 [ RELATED]
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3 Volvos, aprox 800k total. Drive off after idle has stabilised, except in winter. When ice covered, I let them idle as I scrape the windows, then drive easy till the guage starts climbing.
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I don't have a high mileage Volvo yet (63k), but I did have a high mileage Mazda (175,000 miles) that ran very well. I run all my cars the same way. I start the car and wait until the idle smooths out (in winter this may take a minute or two)--it also gives the oil a chance to circulate-- and then drive the car easy until it completely warms up. My wife used to start her car and immediately drive off. I got her out of that habit.
JMO
Rick 97 850R and 87 Chevy Corsica 106,000 miles and going strong. :-)
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posted by
someone claiming to be Punxsutawney Phil
on
Sat Aug 31 05:49 CST 2002 [ RELATED]
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I drive it.
I give it a couple of minutes of gentle driving, ie. until the temp gauge starts to move before I mash it and let all the horses out to play.
But, no, unless the car's covered with ice and I'm outside hacking away at the ice with the defrosters on, I never let it warm up. I've done this for at least 20 years through about 1/2 million miles on 2 Saabs and a Porsche and none of my cars has ever been an oil burner. I do use Mobil-1 synthetic oil.
-Punxsutawney Phil
'98 V70T5m, 99.5k
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