Amazing D5 Oil Deal

[cheshired5]

Originally Posted by constantin0

You're probably right...for cars like ours (> 10 years old) maybe it's not worth spending over £100/year on expensive oil and genuine filter(s). I suppose I'm just trying to avoid trouble. It's been smoking quite badly due to a bad intercooler (now replaced) and the whole experience made me a bit over-cautious

I agree on the oil but filter-wise, a genuine Volvo one cost me £12 compared to £8 for generic.
It also had about an inch longer filtration element whereas the cheapo made up its length with useless plastic end caps so it's worth it to me.

[skyship007]

Originally Posted by constantin0

Thank you for the suggestions, but is 5w40 not going to cause damage to the engine, as the manufacturer indication is to use 0w30? or it doesn't even matter, as long as it meets the A/B spec?
(my car doesn't have a DPF, so I've been careful not to buy the C spec)

Most Volvo engine have both x/30 and x/40 oils approved. The OEM oil will always be on the thin side because it effects fuel economy and new engines will tollerate thinner oils far better than older worn engines.

No one in any oil lab study has shown that a change of one whole grade makes much difference to a normal diesel. What matters far more is keeping the block clean so the oil flows around the top and and turbo bearings in particular, in combination with the anti wear, extreme pressue and friction modifying additives included in a good oil.

Your handbook should show a range of different oil grades for different operating temperatures. 0/30 is often the best range for use in severe winters below minus 25C. 15/40 is often listed as the best for hot desert conditions.

Keeping a block in good condition not only extends it's life but it increases the fuel economy and reduces oil consumption.

In economic terms it's not worth spending money on top of the advertising range oils like Castrol Edge or Mobil 1, because some of the good oils like Shell Ultra produce just as good results, even Castrol GTX is good if not used for too long, although it will not clean up a block effectively. I've looked at VOA results for both Magnetec and Edge and I was surprised how similar they are.

The trouble starts when you use supermarket or El cheapo Fleabay oils that don't meet required spec (The label will) and do not have a good mix of additives. Most are OK if you do what many Americans still do and change the oil every 3K miles, but that does not make economic sense.
About half of all engine wear occurs during the initial start when even an 0W is too thick for full protection and this is when the quality of the additives does matter, as they prevent metal to metal contacts.

Lots of folks tend to think of engine life in distance terms, when in reality it is often better judged in hours and the number of stop start cycles. Modern oil life monitors that tell you when to change the oil take both factors into account.

Running out of oil is a very common cause of main block failures in Germany. mostly because of long high speed autobahn trips, so oil consumption is important and movingup a grade to X/40 is normal for older diesels.

[skyship007]

Originally Posted by Rossi-fan

Why is so called 'decent' or 'quality' oil so expensive in the UK? Engine oil and gear oil is so cheap in the US, it really p!sses me off this country.

I work in the US part of the year, so I know what you mean, as M1 0/40, Penn Ultra (Part of the Shell group) and Edge are all far cheaper. Part of the reason is that many fuel stations are independetly owned, so they can stock any oil they like and just look for the best deals. In the EU many fuel stations are owned directly by an oil company and only sell their products.

The big factor that almost controls the car fluids price game in the US, is supermarkets, because out of town land is cheap, so their costs are lower and that factor combined with competition drives the price down. It's cheaper to buy oil from US supermarkets and most stock all the different brands. Most owners use an Iffy lube, but many sensible ones bring their own oil and filter!

The other crazy thing in the US is that their oil change intervals are shorter than ours, even for the same engine. Part of the reason is that Iffy lube places keep saying come back every 3K miles, but also they use thinner oils for some cars, often 5/20 for new petrol cars. Those thin oils do need changing more often. The reason they do that is the CAFE (Corp Average Fuel Economy) regs that result in fines for manufacturers that don't improve their MPG figures. Every percent counts, so they try to use thin oils but reduce wear by changing the oil more often before it shears to an even lower figure. Many OEM light oils contain more anti wear additives, BUT less detergents and so need to be changed more often to keep a block clean.
They are OK in a new engine, but bad news in an old engine that needs more detergents in the oil and thicker oil to prevent hot rattles or high oil consumption.

If you have a DPF using thin oils can be real bad news. An x/40 will be thinned down to an x/30 fairly quickly if contaminated by diesel fuel (About 5% is one grade down and you can just about start to smell diesel in the used oil if your nose is fully calibrated above that figure).

[constantin0]

Originally Posted by skyship007

moving up a grade to X/40 is normal for older diesels.

On this basis, I think I'm going to use the 5l can of Helix Ultra 5w40 I had in the garage for a few months. Would that be ok?
http://www.eurocarparts.com/ecp/p/ca...2211&0&cc5_248
Got it on offer for about 15 quid last year...hope it's still ok.

[constantin0]

Originally Posted by cheshired5

a genuine Volvo one cost me £12

Where do you get genuine for £12? Seen some on ebay but not sure if they can be trusted.

[cheshired5]

Originally Posted by constantin0

On this basis, I think I'm going to use the 5l can of Helix Ultra 5w40 I had in the garage for a few months. Would that be ok?
http://www.eurocarparts.com/ecp/p/ca...2211&0&cc5_248
Got it on offer for about 15 quid last year...hope it's still ok.

Check the label and providing the spec matches or exceeds A3 B4 (I'm certain it will) that viscosity will be fine.

ADDITIONAL INFO.....
You'll need more than 5 litres though. It's 6.5 if you're doing filter too.
When you refill after draining, only put in just under 6 litres, run the engine for 5 mins whilst you check for leaks, then switch off, get the car on the ground and let everything settle for about 20 mins before you add about 200 ml more.
Run the car for a couple of days and top up if required.
I reckon I only needed 6.3 litres in reality.
Whatever you do, don't just pour in 6.5 in one go.

[cheshired5]

Originally Posted by constantin0

Where do you get genuine for £12? Seen some on ebay but not sure if they can be trusted.

My local Volvo main dealer. I've found them to be surprisingly competitive.
I got all my aux belt parts from them, my new number plates were cheaper than halfords (and keep the original look).
Ask for discount too. I always get 10% but have to ask every time.

[skyship007]

Originally Posted by constantin0

On this basis, I think I'm going to use the 5l can of Helix Ultra 5w40 I had in the garage for a few months. Would that be ok?
http://www.eurocarparts.com/ecp/p/ca...2211&0&cc5_248
Got it on offer for about 15 quid last year...hope it's still ok.

Yep that's real good stuff. The shelf life of good quality engine oils is listed as 3 to 5 years, but in reality is far longer. They don't even go off if opened, although if you do need to store an opened can for a long time it's good to bind the cap tight with duct tape. If you use a dinosaur conventional base oil, it's sometimes necessary to shake the can before using if old, but that does not apply to modern major brand full synthetics.

Oddly enough Ultra 5/40 (A3/B4) only contains about 10% more Zinc based anti wear additive than Castrol Turbo Edge 5/40 (C3/DPF rated). It also contains Moly which Edge TD does not, so if I had a DPF fitted I would still use it, as it's only slightly outside the limits in ash terms (Depends mostly on the amount of Zinc). It's traditional heavy duty engine oils (HDEO's) designed for trucks that have a lot more ash forming Zinc.

Most cans now have a date stamp on the bottom.

[Rossi-fan]

Originally Posted by cheshired5

Check the label and providing the spec matches or exceeds A3 B4 (I'm certain it will) that viscosity will be fine.

ADDITIONAL INFO.....
You'll need more than 5 litres though. It's 6.5 if you're doing filter too.
When you refill after draining, only put in just under 6 litres, run the engine for 5 mins whilst you check for leaks, then switch off, get the car on the ground and let everything settle for about 20 mins before you add about 200 ml more.
Run the car for a couple of days and top up if required.
I reckon I only needed 6.3 litres in reality.
Whatever you do, don't just pour in 6.5 in one go.

There must be something wrong with my (D5) engine, it fills to 'Max' with 6 litres.

[Bernard333]

Rossi, the oil cooler burst on my D5 letting oil get into the coolant. I put the car on ramps and drained the sump through the normal plug hole and left it drain overnight thinking I would get it all out as it will drip for hours. When I unbolted the oil cooler the dripping had stopped but a lot more came out from the cooler and from the two pipe holes from the sump. In the past when I thought I was getting all the old oil out in reality there was probably anything up to a pint left inside, very frustrating as I always thought I was doing a thorough job.