Best oil for 1995 Volvo 940 2.3 LPT (in the UK)

What is the best oil that is available in the UK, for a 1995 Volvo 940 2.3
LPT with 93000 miles on the clock.

I want an oil that will help the engine and turbo last as long as possible.
I am not bothered about the cost of it.

Our local Volvo garage recommended Castrol GTX Magnatec 10-40. Is this
really the best?

Thanks, Matthew

 

fresh and clean beats expensive and overdue any time
--

 

Synthetic oil real synthetic oil like Mobil one of BP 5000 .Even if castrol
modifies conventional oil its still not synthetic and magnatec is castrol
the cheapest oil the garage can buy .Synthetic oil does NOT glug up the
turbo and runs cooler .It also flows faster when cold and wear rates are way
down .Sure its more expensive BUT so is a new turbo .Just look in side the
oil cap of a car thats running on synthetic its like a sewing machine where
as conventional oil goes thick and greasy .I use synthetic oil on my wifes
sewing machine for that reason .

 

as conventional oil goes thick and greasy .I use synthetic oil on my wifes

Your wife has a turbo charged sewing machine?

Awesome!

 

I think every sewing machine I've tried to use was turbocharged. I press the
pedal with my right foot and WHOAA! ;-)

Mike

 

Any name brand synthetic is going to do you just fine. Some people get
all caught up in Group III vs. Group IV vs. Group V base oil arguments,
but in practice they all work extremely well as long as you stay within
the specified oil change interval.

Check your owner's manual for weight recommendation. On my '96 Volvo
10W-40 was not one of the recommended choices.

John

 

I've read that converting to synthetic on an older engine invites oil
leaks. I don't know whether this is true or not, but there was a thread
on volvospeed.com on which many complained of oil leaks on previously
leak-free engines after switching to synthetics.

Rick

 

Thanks for your reply John.

I would be interested to know what the recommended choices are for your
Volvo. And is yours a 940 2.3 Low Pressure Turbo?

The owners manual for mine does recommend 10-40 for petrol engines - see the
table in http://homepage.ntlworld.com/charles.jenkins/940Oil.jpg

I guess its different depending on where you live. We almost never get
temperatures below -10C or above +35C in southern England.

- Matthew

 

Mine is a non-turbo 850, an entirely different motor from the 940. The
owners manual calls for 5W-30, 5W-40, 10W-30 or 15W-40 depending on
ambient temperature range.

John

 

I took a deep breath and changed to synthetic on our '85 765T with 220K+
miles a couple years ago. When that worked, I did the same to my daughter's
'93 Honda with about 200K miles. No leaks... but YMMV.

Mike

 

I have the same car, and I've tried the Magnatec.
No more.... in my engine.
Some kind of charcoal-like substance nearly choked the oil return pipe from
the turbo.
And it was a smell of burned oil from the exhaust when the car was left for
a few minutes with the engine running ....

Magnatec is not synthetic. It's only a modified mineral oil.
The main problem in turbos is the temperature.
Synthetic oil can stand a much higher temeperature.
And the turbo becomes really hot under load.
So....
Rule no. 1 for Turbocharged cars: Use synthetic oil.

I'm currently running my engine on Statoil LazerWay 5w40, and have used it
for the last 3 years.
No problems so far....
The oil return pipe is clean and the engine does not burn oil any more.

 

I've read that converting to synthetic on an older engine invites oil

Well I think you'll find that it doesn't cause the leaks as such but
rather in an older engine, the seals have hardened somewhat and oil
residue has built up which helps plug the now harder oil seal.

Synthetic is a much better cleaner and as I have heard, will eventually
dissolve the older oil residues which now leaves the hardened oil seal
with a much harder time.

So it's not the synthetic oil which causes a leak, just old oil seals
that are already past their use by date being helped out by gunky
deposits.

 

I see Mobil
(http://www.mobiloil.com/USA-English/MotorOil/Car_Care/Vehicle_Chooser/Vehic
leChooser.aspx?option=2) reccomend Mobil 1 10W-30. Unfortunately so far as I
can tell, this is not available in the UK and it seems the fully synthetic
oils sold by the main brand suppliers in the UK (Mobil, BP, Castrol) are all
0W-n, where n can be 30, 40, other. The Castrol web site recommends 0W-30
for this car.

I am not that keen on putting a 0 rated oil in a car that is getting on of
for 100,000 miles - especially as Volvo reccomend 10W-30 or 10W-40. My
feeling is that using an oil that is too thin when cold might lead to
insufficient oil pressure in places where it is needed. Is this right?

There are a number of other suppliers in the UK (e.g. Millers, Comma) that
do fully synthetic 5W-30 or 5W-40, I might opt for one of these.

Does anyone know of a fully synthetic 10W-30 or 10W-40 oil available in the
UK?
Or, is there anyone in the UK who has got one of these cars to do a huge
mileage without turbo problems, and if so what oil did they use?

Thanks, Matthew

 

You do not need 10W30 or 10W40 oils as the rating for fully synthetic is not
the same as for mineral oils. I have Mobil 1 5W-30 Diesel in my Diesel Volvo
945 and the mileage is over 167,000.

All the best, Peter.

700/900/90 Register Keeper,
Volvo Owners Club (UK).

 

My understanding is that oil pressure isn't the central issue, since the
film strength is what prevents the parts from touching. Oil pressure is just
the only indication we have that the oil is being pumped to where it is
needed.

The big problem with low viscosity engine oils is the increased consumption.

Mike

 

B y the way in checking recommendations for 740 turbos I notice that
synthetic is now recommended .Until recently dino oil was suggested .So the
experts have finally caught on synthetic oil is better ,but also remember a
good filter is needed with any oil as well....I got mobil 1 for $AU49.95 at
super cheap here in Melbourne Australia its normally $AU 65.95 .