My 1996 850 (non-turbo) has 132,000 miles. I usually change the oil and filter every 6-7 weeks. Typically at about 3000 mile intervals. Mostly use Castrol 10w-30 and the Fram "Pure One" filter. I always refill with Volvo's recommended 5.6 quarts. *** About 3 months ago (several oil changes), I have ONLY recovered about 3 quarts of old oil per change! I'm 100% positive that there isn't a leak. My garage floor is perfectly clean. I have NOT noticed ANY unusual smoke from the exhaust either! The car runs OK; gas mileage is still about normal. No problems with start-up nor acceleration. The oil pressure gage on the dash is always OK. Any suggestions? I have never used any "restorative" oil additives.
I'm still hoping to get another couple of years out of this 850, it is a much nicer car than my previous one- a 1990 740.

I thank everyone for their responses.
My total oil "drain" does include the filter content. I also realized the mistake refering to the Oil Pressure Gage on the dash.---It is the Coolant Temp Gage next to the Gasoline gage. I have never heard of a "Flame Trap"... is there another name for this. I am planning to replace my Timing and Serpentine belts before 140K (every 70K). I am also planning to change the spark plugs (Bosch Platinums) soon. I last did this at 95K. I have NEVER replaced the 5 spark plug wires however; they are really expensive. Since I drive a lot (upstate NY) I wonder if this would also be a good investment. The advice given to me---"to check my Oil level/consumption at every gas fill-up" makes sense. I will start carrying extra quarts of oil in the trunk. ??? Is is worth it to invest in a Synthetic oil such as MOBIL-1, or should I keep up with the Castrol 10W-30? Again, any suggestions are greatly appreciated.

I would not switch. I'd very definitely stick with the dino juice at this point.

Synthetic has a reputation for squirming past seals if it's used for the first time late in a car's life. Castrol is fine motor oil. Both my Saabs used Castrol GTX exclusively, the first made to to nearly 300,000 miles.

You MIGHT experiment with a slightly heavier weight of Castrol, like the 10W40. Read your owner's manual for the ambienmt temperature recommenations, you may need to switch back to 10W30 for upstate New York winters!

Do use either a trunk mat or a plastic box in your trunk under the oil, some will invariably leak out of the bottles!

Flame trap = Volvo's PCV system. Bay 13 has a nice writeup about it. http://www.volvospeed.com/Repair/ftrap.htm

Good luck! Please keep posting on what happens!

http://www.groundhog.org

THANK YOU!!!!

I found the Flame Trap. When I took looked to see what was connected to it, I noticed a "cracked" (half broken) hose from the Flame Trap housing! There are 2 hoses coming from the Housing where the Flame Trap seats into; One thick one (maybe about inch-and-a quarter diameter)...THIS ONE IS OK. The other one (maybe half inch) diameter is the BROKEN one. Appears that "cruddy" oil has leaked and/or built up within and around the hole. Evidence of oil leakage all around and below engine parts in that area. ***** I bought a HAYNES Directory. But the Haynes book does NOT identify those Hoses. The "broken" hose runs from the Flame Trap housing to the LEFT; Under/within part of the engine that the ?Fuel injectors go into (?Manifold?) and appears to connect into the SIDE of the engine near the TIMING belt "housing". OH BOY, I'm thinking.....I can go to my Local Volvo Dealer and describe the part (hose) but is this something I can change myself? The 2 hoses off the Flame Trap housing are encased in an "insulating" sleeve within the Manifold. ??? Do you think the new hose can be "threaded/pulled" through this insulating sleeve without much problem or damage to the larger hose? I CAN'T see or determine where the Larger Hose connects to. Looks like a real tight area to work in. Any advice? ALL the other info you've given has been very helpful.

I don't think that is an issue at this time. I would, however, change from th Fram filters. They aren't much of a filter, and OEM's are not that expensive and do a far better job. Just a thought.

If your flame trap hasn't been cleaned recently, I'd try that.

You may also want to consider having a cylinder leak down test to check on the condition of the rings.

1000 miles/qt. is considered "normal" by most manufacturers. I would first try to get a handle on exactly how much oil I'm using, I'd check it regularly, like every time I fill up my gas tank, write it down, and keep a couple of spare quarts of oil in the car.

I do mostly highway driving, too, and I still don't notice ANY oil consumption. I have ALWAYS used Mobil-1 10W30 synthetic and either Volvo branded or Mann filters FWIW. Also, I thought my sump capacity was something like 6.2 quarts. Some of these motors seem to be oil burners, and some aren't. Anyway, at 130k I wouldn't get too upset unless the consumption gets much over 1000 miles/qt.

Don't forget there's about 1/2 qt. left in the filter!

-Punxsutawney Phil

'98 V70T5M, 124k mi.

ive heard from a few differnt master techs to go by the dip stick and NOT the 5.6 quarts, and that they allways take a littlemore than 5.6. You state you worry about your car burning oil, with you changing your oil every two months you must be putting pretty decent mileage. Hiway does seem to burn a little with the volvo engines (im talking about like pure highway sustained) i do notice some oil burns away mabye half of a quart, but thats on my trip back to college, 1300 miles, about 12 hours for two days of solid 75 driving, regular use i dont notice any useage. And i only notice useage when im nearer to the 3000 oil interval. People that burn complain of 300 miles a quart thats a oil burning issue.

check your oil daily note your level, record it, when you add oil note that as well, you can make a graph and see if you really are burning.

oil recovery means noting, clearly not every drop of oil comes out, a lot is probably lost in the filter. Are you changing the oil hot? Haynes recommends running the car 10 min and get it up to temp to help get all the oil and dirt out. Do you let the car sit for a while until the oil stops dripping?


if your oil level is low i dont think it would trigger much of anything in terms of warning. You speak of a guage volvo doesnt include a guage are you referring to the ECT (engine collant temp) guage?

if you want your car to last and know you might have a oil issue you should be addressing it weekly not at the oil change point.

if you really are burning oil you can experiment with 20 w30. What state are you in? In nj we have strict emissions run on a dyno with computer analysis up to highway speed, if a car was not performing up to par im sure NJ DMV would let me know :-).