Long life

[Splodger]

My engine has done nearly 150k, it's got a good service history and no apparent problems. I intend to keep the car for many years and I'm thinking of what things can be done to ensure the engine doesn't wear unduly.

Are coolant and engine flushes worth while or are there any other things I should consider for the long term?

Cheers
Splodger

[poiuytre111]

You could change the coolant for new and use a good engine oil flush before the next oil change. Another thing to consider would be running a litre of Liqui Moly diesel engine purge to flush through the injection system to clean that out. If the car's life has been mostly about short runs you might consider cleaning the induction system (inlet manifold, EGR, whatever) this either means taking it apart or something like Terraclean at a specialist garage. I presume your cambelt and water pump have both been replaced within the last 4 years and the serpentine belts ?

Or, you could just keep changing the oil with good stuff and filters/belts as required but trust to luck and only carry out the other stuff if performance or economy degrades - this would be my approach.

[Splodger]

Yes all the belts have been done, I'll have to double check if the water pump was done. Is that part of the service schedule or a best to do?

When it had the auxiliary belts done it had a Volvo recall upgrade done on it ....whatever that is? Thanks

[poiuytre111]

Back in the day we never used to change water pumps then VW introduced plastic blade pumps that failed prematurely.

The Volvo pump is all metal I believe so no special reason to change however it represents one of the bearings that the cam belt runs around. The reason we change the cam belt is really to change the bearings since it is one of these failing that usually kills the belt so arguably it is a good idea to change the water pump too - but it costs quite a lot at about £70 plus you have to drain the coolant so.....

[Quacker]

Change coolant for the proper coolant, possibly a modified acid type, every five years or so. Change the oil and filters for quality new ones at the specified interval or every two years maximum. Make sure that the air filter is changed every other oil change and that the fuel filter is changed as specified in the book.

Don't misfuel. Don't let water hoses or the rad perish and either cook the engine or contaminate the oil. Keep a regular eye on the dipstick and liquid levels, the tightness and condition of fasteners and hoses and so on.

Don't waste your money on lubricating oil flushes and such snake oil, unless you have suffered an oil cooler or head gasket failure that has significantly contaminated the oil.

Do add a professional fuel conditioner on an as-needed basis, if the engine becomes smokey with either excess soot or white smoke. Only needed once a year or so normally and only on older engines.

Use the vehicle regularly for a reasonable annual milage. The more you use it, the longer it will run in milage terms. Nothing kills a car like being idle for long periods.

Be lucky.

[skyship007]

Originally Posted by Splodger

My engine has done nearly 150k, it's got a good service history and no apparent problems. I intend to keep the car for many years and I'm thinking of what things can be done to ensure the engine doesn't wear unduly.

Are coolant and engine flushes worth while or are there any other things I should consider for the long term?

Cheers
Splodger

I would not bother about coolant flushes, just change the coolant as per the Volvo service limits, or every time the cam belt & pump job is done.

Engine flushes are good, BUT don't use drive around flush additives, just a pre oil & filter change one that is only for use at idle for 10 or 15 minutes.
They can make existing oil leaks worse due to the false oil seal effect that sludge and varnish have.

Change the oil twice as often as the max recommended limit AND use a major brand full synthetic 0 or 5w40 with the correct Acea specs.

Never start with your foot on the go pedal and wait 30 secs when cold. Keep the revs low until normal temps.

Many engines fail from top end issues, so use a direct feed injection cleaner (Like LM Diesel Purge) every fuel filter change AND at least one hour of motorway WOT (4th gear in the UK) on a Sunday morning every month.

High mileage is not such a good way to guess at block wear, total engine on hours, block age and the number of cold starts are more important.

Watch out for signs of HG failure like coolant loss and oil contamination, as HG failure can be a real block killer if not dealt with ASAP. The main problem is running out of oil or coolant in combination with contaminated oil.

Use real Volvo or German OEM certified air filters, ultra fine sand crystals get past cheap air filters and rings, the oil filter will not catch them, so they can cause serious wear if the oil is not changed more often.
In a hot desert change the oil & filter every 3000 miles max if driving off road.

Shell Ultra 0 or 5w40 is the dogs small round things and the cheapest major brand full synthetic.