engine oil

[Alex121]

I put castrol magnetic 5w 30 in my T4, 141k, it's what Volvo use on mine

[andy_d]

while your changing the oil,, change the filter for a GEN Volvo one,, it Does make a difference and doesn't cost much from main dealer


and "granny driving" ,, no the oil change interval should still be the 6k as per schedule OR the time limit as per,,, "old" oil & "worn out" oil do the same "bad things" to engines.
granny only drives 3-5 miles to the shops at 25mph, granny never warms the oil up properly and doesn't get rid of the mayo that naturally occurs due to not getting the engine warm enough for long enough - degraded oil change it as per the manf schedule ,Ditto the filter.

[skyship007]

Originally Posted by 960kg

Sorry, but i feel your post wants correcting unless it`s a language barrier!
"Older cars" Volvo never mention this at all, they merely recommend the thinner 5/30 ones and not for any age of car.
The words old and new do not define the condition of a car just it`s year of manufacture as the amount of miles is the correct way of analyzing which oil`s to use.
Because Volvo engineering is top notch the engines usually are not even run in until about 90 / 100,000miles.
5/30 should be ok up to around these miles but then move onto the 10/40`s for added performance.

Castrol is the OEM oil and that is what the dealers use in Germany (I presume they do the same in the UK). If you use the oil finder site for your exact engine it will give you the best answer:
http://www.castrol.com/castrol/secti...tentId=7073092

Most of the V40's are listed for both Edge 5/40 or if you look in the alternative section it also lists Magnetec 10/40. The original OEM oil specs are in the handbook and a wide range of different oils including 5/30 to 15/40's are listed.

The cars in Germany have a much harder life, sometimes max continuous revs on the autobahn and long oil change intervals. Every major oil company site or Iffy lube chain recommends a 40 grade oil (Various 0, 5 or 10W for the lower figure) for the V40's due partly to high temp shearing that causes the oil to thin down to a 30 grade before the next service and oil consumption concerns.

You can only judge run in time from used oil analysis, as it depends on how the car is driven, but I don't think there is anyone currently in that phase unless they have done a re-build. I would be very surprised if a V40 with more than 50K miles on the clock was still showing a decline in wear metals and oil consumption. If I change the rings etc one day I will not use any of the normal oils, but a special break in oil, although it will depend on what gets changed. Edge is approved by some manufacturers for break in use, but DYOR as it's component related.

Just to confuse things some G4 full synthetics are only just inside the top of the 30 grade range in viscosity terms and if you use the better quality ones, they don't shear down as fast as a cheap 10/40, so you will finish up with the same average viscosity.

Oil consumption is the easiest way to figure out the condition of an engine if you don't want to pay for compression checks, but in reality there is no one method that tells the whole story. A car that spends it's time in a big city doing a lot of short hops will wear out way faster than one driven on long motorway trips. Age does matter slightly, as some bearings, rings and injector tips do corrode if a car is not used.

With most oil choices, I err on the heavier than lighter side when the original approval includes a whole range of oils once the engine has been run in, although this is more important in severe service use.

In engine wear terms, if you compare two similar quality oils (Same base stock and additives) then there is almost no difference between an X/30 and an X/40 IF the engine is in good condition, but with older engines that are subject to severe service issues (Higher average oil temps and load in particular) the 40 grade is better.
If you do winter / summer oil changes, then an 0/30 in winter and a 10/40 in summer would work well for most V40's.

PS. I'm a Brit not a German, but there's not much of a car industry left in the UK.

[960kg]

I don`t know why you quoted me as you have completely shot off track as usual and have not attempted a reply if that was intended.

Every time you post it always resembles an encyclopaedia of things you have just read that we all know ,i don`t know why you do it?

I don`t have to read a Castrol or any oil pamphlet as i have been around long enough to have used most modern oils and use what i use through my own experience and pass it on.

[skyship007]

Originally Posted by Alex121

I put castrol magnetic 5w 30 in my T4, 141k, it's what Volvo use on mine

The recommended best Castrol oil for the T4 you have might have changed:

S40, V40 2.0i 16V Turbo, -T Series
PT
1997 - 2000
Engine (PT)
EDGE 0W-40 A3/B4 (a)
4.3

That is a new type of Edge that was only introduced late last year, but the alternate section lists several types of Magnetec, including 5/30:
Alternative recommendations, 2000-02: <-30°C to 30°C, 5W-30; <-30°C to 40°C, 5W-40; -20°C to 40°C, 10W-30/10W-40; -15°C to >40°C, 15W-40; -5°C to >40°C, 20W-40; 0°C to 30°C, 30; 10°C to >40°C, 40

So 5/30 is not recommended for more than 30C, so if the dealer did not give you a written advisory to that effect, then print the Castrol sheet and go ask for a free oil change when it gets hot, as I think he might be outside the terms and conditions for the dealership. The updated Volvo requirements are supposed to agree with the Castrol.co.uk oil finder.
The previous owner of my car got a free oil change because the Ford dealer who serviced the car had a contract with Mobil and they failed to use a listed oil and put a 15/40 Dino oil in for the summer, when it only listed 10/40 in the Mobil oil finder. The major oil companies are more careful about recommendations for best oil, but Castrol are good as they then list the OEM based alternatives, that can change as they change their product line.

PS. I would not use a Castrol box oil as it says "Refer to dealer" for gearbox oil.

[Dog_Book]

And Skyship claims more victims

[Alex121]

Originally Posted by skyship007

The recommended best Castrol oil for the T4 you have might have changed:

S40, V40 2.0i 16V Turbo, -T Series
PT
1997 - 2000
Engine (PT)
EDGE 0W-40 A3/B4 (a)
4.3

That is a new type of Edge that was only introduced late last year, but the alternate section lists several types of Magnetec, including 5/30:
Alternative recommendations, 2000-02: <-30°C to 30°C, 5W-30; <-30°C to 40°C, 5W-40; -20°C to 40°C, 10W-30/10W-40; -15°C to >40°C, 15W-40; -5°C to >40°C, 20W-40; 0°C to 30°C, 30; 10°C to >40°C, 40

So 5/30 is not recommended for more than 30C, so if the dealer did not give you a written advisory to that effect, then print the Castrol sheet and go ask for a free oil change when it gets hot, as I think he might be outside the terms and conditions for the dealership. The updated Volvo requirements are supposed to agree with the Castrol.co.uk oil finder.
The previous owner of my car got a free oil change because the Ford dealer who serviced the car had a contract with Mobil and they failed to use a listed oil and put a 15/40 Dino oil in for the summer, when it only listed 10/40 in the Mobil oil finder. The major oil companies are more careful about recommendations for best oil, but Castrol are good as they then list the OEM based alternatives, that can change as they change their product line.

PS. I would not use a Castrol box oil as it says "Refer to dealer" for gearbox oil.

Maybe so but the guy at the dealer is my uncle who is a master tech for Volvo and has been all his life, it's the only job he's ever had and knows all the Volvo cars inside out, with all due respect, if he says that's the oil for the car, then that's the oil for the car. Nobody knows the cars better.....

My dad has also been using it for as long as I can remember and his is on 200k+ - no engine issues/leak issues/heat issues, still pulls like a train and doesn't get hot. Neither does mine.

Despite what the 'castrol sheets' say, it's irrelevant, 5w 30 even came up on the Volvo system AT the dealer as the right oil for my car....

Not arguing, just saying, 5w 30 is fine

[skyship007]

The difference in wear rates between using a 5/30 or an X/40 engine oil for an older engine is in reality very little, the quality of the oil is more important and Edge is better than Magnetec and will last longer.
I can assure you that Castrol R&D know far more than any tech working for Volvo, as they do the testing. You can send an e mail to Castrol and they will answer with the fact that the new Edge 0/40 would produce slightly better results than their older Magnetec.
It is worth checking the Castrol oil finder for the exact engine type, as I only looked at one T4 and it might list Edge 5/30 as best oil.

In technical terms there is no such thing as a "Best oil", only the best oil for an average engine of that type made by one of the major engine oil companies.

If you want to know the truth about which oil produces the lowest wear rate for your engine, there is only one way to find out and that is to start doing what the big truck and bus companies do, which is (UOA) used oil analysis using a cheap but good lab like Blackstone.

The way to find out the ideal oil AND when to change it is very simple once you start a UOA program, you just select an oil that has all the requirements listed in the Volvo documents and a specific recommendation from the oil finder page (I never touch non major brand oils, due to both quality control concerns and the fact they change the ingredients too often), then you post off a used sample and wait for the e mailed results. It's normally best to start with the Castrol or Volvo recommended best oil first, then try something different, like a cheaper oil or one from Mobil or Shell.

When you have a few results and have gone back to run a control check on the first oil, then you will have some real data to look at, although the lab techs at the oil lab will also inform you what looks like the ideal oil AND when to change it. (Oddly enough more folks change their oil too often than not often enough).

I also look at UOA results from other similar engines and the lab will quote average figures for comparison, then I just make my own decision over what is best for my engine and NEVER pay any attention to advertising or what some other engineer says (Unless he is in an oil analysis or bearing wear analysis lab in Germany) and just look at the actual figures.

Obviously what works for my engine, which suffers a lot of abuse might not work for yours, in the end it's a personal choice. If you are trying to save money long term then it's worth looking at how long the oil change interval should be and that is another area where lab results are the real answer.

The previous owner of my V40 used cheap bulk Mobil 10/40 Dino and went over the Castrol recommended OCI of 15K and used 20 to 25 K km. Luckily he was only driving longish autobahn trips and that long OCI would probably have produced lower wear rates than if he had changed the oil every 10K km, which is what I do, although my actual UOA results indicate 15K km would be the ideal interval (I use 10K to make 100% sure any traces of sludge from the Mobil Dino are removed). Once I get the next UOA result I will post a copy of it, as I'm a fan of real world results.

I'm not new to the oil change game, but the new oils and the use of high tech mass spectrometers have changed to nature of that game since we used a simple local lab (Total Iron, Carbon, viscosity, Ph and very crude particle count) to see what condition the used oil was in and if it needed changing.
For many engines, the ideal OCI determined from actual lab results is a surprise, normally it's much longer than the owner used, BUT it can turn out that traces of anti freeze, fuel or Silicon dust mean it should be much less.

Most of the oil gurus think using the ideal oil, filter and change intervals can add about one third to the life of a main block if you have at least annual UOA data available and it's fun figuring out how to do that. When the main bearings start to fail (Lead in the oil), it can often delay the final death rattle onset by years, just by going outside the recommended oils range to a high mileage 10/60. If the top end starts to fail first (Aluminium or Chromium in the oil), using 10/60 is one bad move, you just switch to an oil with high levels of Zinc, Moly and Boron anti wear additives.
The big trick is to make the change in oil type or change interval BEFORE the wear related problem is obvious, because by the time you notice that the oil consumption is going up, hear the hot or cold rattle start, see some whitish smoke or traces of light brown on the dipstick, it's far too late in many cases and changing oil type is often bolting the garage door after the horse power has left.

[mcouchard]

"So 5/30 is not recommended for more than 30C, so if the dealer did not give you a written advisory to that effect, then print the Castrol sheet and go ask for a free oil change when it gets hot," [/I]- Seriously we don't live in Spain mate it doesn't really ever get past 30C in the UK (except for a freak day or two), so what Alex has should be fine.

The Castrol spec sheets have to take into account Worldwide climate.

http://new.volvocars.com/ownersdocs/...02sv40_08b.htm

[Dog_Book]

Look, ITS JUST ****ING ENGINE OIL why write esays on the bloody subject. The specs can be found anywhere just put the best in you can afford its 30 years on all quality oil is very good... ****s sake