I have a 1996 850 GLT wagon that is burning a quart of oil every 1,000 miles. I had a compression test done both wet and dry with the following results....dry 195, 170, 195, 190, 195 and wet 220, 205, 225, 230, 225. My question, is this engine shot? Should I have it overhauled or purchase a rebuilt engine or leave it be?

Thanks in advance.

Thought 170-180 was pretty normal for the Volvo inline 5... maybe #2 is getting a little low. How many miles, etc. on the motor?

Until I started driving European and Japanese cars, I thought this sort of oil consumption was pretty much the norm for all cars. When I bought my first Saab and it didn't use any oil between changes, I was amazed!

So if it were my car and I put my car on a lift and there is no visible sign of a leak, I'd probably just buy a case of oil and keep it in the trunk, and I'd be sure to check the oil every time I filled up the gas tank.

Otherwise I'd start to keep my eyes open for either a new car or a used engine. I probably wouldn't act until oil consumption got to the point where it wasreally annoying to me, or the engine began to emit visible smoke. The choices for a replacement engine are either a factory rebuild (Volvo does the rebuilds in Sweden) which is expensive or a used engine. Since there are large quanties of cheap used Volvo 5 cylinder motors around and your car is at least 7 years old, I'd probably favor a low mileage used engine when the time came, and I'd be sure to replace the main seal and the timing belt and tensioner when doing the transplant.

-Punxsutawney Phil

'98 V70T5M, 120k mi., iPd stabilizer bars, Volvo strut tower brace and skidplate, Valentine-1, Mobil-1 always, e-code headlight lenses

'86 944NA (that OTHER 944) 56k mi., factory HD sway bars and Fuchs forged wheels, Valentine-1. e-code Hellas, Yokohama AVS ES100s

Could be a bad rear seal: they are famous for leaking. Also famous for being expensive to service, since the engine/transmission must be removed from the car.

Or, you could just keep topping off the oil. You can buy about 180 quarts of synthetic oil for Volvo's repair charge to replace the rear seal; over 1000 quarts for Volvo's list price for a remanufactured engine. I know what I'd choose.
--
-- Bruce / '82 244 (315k miles!), '86 745, '87 760Ti, '94 854

Looks like your rings aren't too good.
Here's your choices:
-Keep checking, adding oil when needed,
-pay ALOT to have the pistons re-ringed, cyl walls honed.
-Pay ALOT for a reman engine (will be like-new)
-or look for a used engine, not really ever sure how good that'll be (little to no warranty if any).

Guess it depends how much you like the car and how much longer you plan to keep it. If you really like the car and plan to keep it another 10 year, then I'd opt for a Volvo reman engine. It won't come cheap but it's still alot cheaper than buying a new car in the long run.