2 Questions: Tie Rod and Engine Flush

Hi all,

I have a specific question and a general question regarding my 83 240
Turbo:

1. Specific: I need to replace my RH inner tie rod (6 months ago it
was diagnosed as "Dangerous" on an unrelated work invoice and now the
steering's getting kind of squirrely). My question is, how hard is
this to do? I ask because my brother-in-law just opened a shop and
needs business and has a partner who did mechanic training but never
saw it through to certification. Their shop is next door to an
alignment place so they would take care of the "precision work". As I
understand it, if you have the right parts and a hoist and tools, it's
a pretty straight-forward mechanical job...any volvo-specific pitfalls
I should warn them to look out for?

2. General: My engine is sludgy. Within a few KMs of an oil change the
oil on the dipstick is black. I saw a promotional video at Costco for
some engine treatment called Renew in which they flush the engine with
some hot solvent and show a resulting bucket of extracted sludge and a
clean dipstick. My concern with this stuff is what it might do to old
seals and gaskets and if it might open new leaks. (I was warned
against using all-synthetic oils for this reason). Anyone know about
this or other procedures and whether they'll improve performance at
the cost of longevity? Anyone actually do something like this to their
car, rather than just fuel tank additives?

Thanks to all,
blurp

 

Can't help you with #1, but regarding #2, remove your dino oil and use
Mobil 1 synthetic. That will remove all the sludge. If you do, you
should change the oil after ~ 1,000 miles, then after ~ 2,500 miles
and then on your third oil change, everything should be back to
normal. I change my oil twice a year. 5W30 in autumn/winter and
10W30 in spring/summer. If your seals are pretty much finished, they
may leak. Mines didn't, except the oil cap needed a new seal ($2).

 

I'm not so sure; this is a 21-year-old-car we're talking about--even if
it is a Volvo.

More likely than your 'everything should be back to normal' I think
would be 'get ready to put in a new set of rings'.

cheers,

Henry

 

The tie rod is a straight foward job. It unscrews from the rack. If the
outer rod is good, loosen the nut and unscrew the rod from it. Install the
new one, don't forget the lock ring and bend the tabs over, get an alignment
and Happy Motoring.
Stay away from synthetics. Run Castrol 20w-50 for moderate climates or go
to 20w-30 for severe weather.

 

What is the reason for staying away from synthetic? Is it because his
seals may/will leak?

After using dino for 11 years in my 240, I switched to synthetic and
everything is fine. Easier on the engine after a cold night and oil
change only needed twice a year instead of four times a year.

 

Thanks for the advice. I pulled the tie-rod replacement procedure out
of Haynes and it's largely as you described with a few additional
details like the correct torqu for the bolts upon completion etc.. I
hope they're not offended if I bring them the Haynes to help them
along. I believe it's not too hard but they're not exactly coming off
a run of 20 tie-rod replacements!

Thanks again,
blurp

 

Is 20w50/20w30 correct? I thought 240 needs much thinner oil.

 

They're not really picky about the viscosity, IIRC the manual specifies
10w30 for a mild climate, 20w50 should work fine.

 

Here's what my owner's manual says:

"Do not use oils with other viscosity ratings. The use of incorrect
viscosity oil can shorten engine life.

For winter, SAE 5W/30 for temp below -22F(-30C) and up to 68F(20C) and
SAE 10W/30 for temp between -4F(-20C) and up to 104F(40C).

"SAE15W/40 is recommended for use in driving conditions that raise oil
temperature and increase oil consumption (i.e. mountain driving,
trailer towing).

"SAE15W40 must not be used at low ambient temperature; see viscosity
chart

SAE15W/40 for temp from 0F(-15C) up to greater tan 104F(40C)

 

Thanks very much, that really is terrific information. I appreciate
all the responses and, as always, trust what I read here more than
what I hear in a garage. Rod, thanks esp. for the detail and the
heads up about cleaning under the valve cover...my gasket is leaking
there and it's due to come off anyway so I'll clean what I find under
it! I am only filling with the top octane gas I can find but that's
usually 92 (occasionally 94 at Sunoco). I will ask the fellows to
check the mixture on friday when the tie-rod gets replaced.

Thanks again for your opinions!
blurp

 

Well, I see I've been using the right oil all along. Still, the car is
old and the engine sludge is undoubtedly present. To revisit my
original post, has anyone got experience with engine treatments
administered by a mechanic/service shop? I know one shop I used to go
to (South Scarborough Auto) offered some kind of "De-Carbonizer"
treatment and I saw the Engine Renew at Costco. A Google search for
"engine renew" turned up NO INFORMATION on the product/service which
is a big red flag. I don't know the proper name of the other treatment
so I can't do any other research on it.

I just know that my oil goes black right after an oil change and it
seems likely that my engine is full of crud. My conclusion is that it
would benefit from the removal of said crud (I might be wrong?). Is
there more that I can do than a straight oil-based engine flush? I am
highly skeptical about the effectiveness of gas-tank additives.

I wonder if that will solve the interminable DETONATING that comes
whenever the Turbo boosts into the yellow.

I also hope an engine swap isn't the only solution.

Thanks again,
blurp

 

About the Costco "treatment", I know it is not needed. When I
switched my 93 240 from dino to synthetic, after using dino for 11
years, the first oil was black (the one removed after the initial
1,000miles. Even the second oil, after 2,500 miles, was still kind of
dark. Only the next oil change (it happened after 3,000 miles in my
case but you can easily go up to 5,000++ miles) was the oil kind of
normal color. All the oil changes following that were normal.

Since synthetic is strong in detergent, I know it should remove all
your sludge. The problem is that the same sludge might be the only
thing preventing you from having leaking seals. If it is removed, be
it by Costco or by synthetic oil, you could end up with an expensive
maintenance bill. And there won't be any going back possible.

The choice is yours. IMO, Costco treatment isn't necessary, synthetic
oil will do the job. But you might regret it deeply if a major seal
ends up leaking.

I was hesitating before switching, but because synthetic is more fluid
than dino in low temp (easier on the engine in cold start), and
because I would need only two oil changes a year instead of four, I
decided to take my chance. No regret.

Your mileage may vary.

 

If yours is detonating something is very wrong, you are running at least mid
grade fuel I presume? Cheap stuff will ping, also the mixture could be off
or there may be a ton of carbon buildup on the pistons and head, detonation
will destroy the engine quickly.

 

Ok guys. Here's the real skinny. In the 80's there was a court case against
Castrol because their synthetic turned to crap in a Corvette and caused the
engine to seize up.Synthetic is not compatible with regular oil.
Sammy is correct in saying that it can be done, but dont't go to your're
typical $19.95 oil change place where the guy looks like he just stepped
out of the Deliverance movie {Burt Reynolds for you younger fellows) and
expect him to do it correctly. The engine MUST be at operating temp (did
they let it set there for 2 hours befofe they did it). Then let it drain for
30 minutes before capping the drain plug (use a new brass washer, not
plastic), and espically if you have a turbo, pull the coil wire and crank
the engine over until you have good oil pressure. Fill the filter before
installing it, make sure the O-ring from the old filter doesn't stick to the
filter houing which will surely cause a leak, oil the O-ring on the new
filter, and only tighten it hand tight. DO NOT use a filter wrench on it.
On the viscosity issue, at the dealership in Florida where I worked, we used
20/w50 year round. I used the same in Atlanta where it would be 0 to 10
above for days at a time. In New Hampshire I still ran the same, but used a
dip stick heater so the engine would start. Once the engine is running, it
will sitll reach the same operating temp and if you have a thinner oil just
so it will start, it is to thin.
On the turbo detination problem, the turbos have a lower compression ratio
than the normally aspirated engines. Carbon build up will cause detionation.
Exxon gas has Tychron in it, which will help clean the corbon build up on
the cylinder heads. Fill the tank with 93 octane Exxon, add a can of Tychron
and see if the problem doesn't go away. Then every forth or fitih tank, do
the 93 octain again.
About the oil getting dirty quickly, cheap oil hardens on the head. It will
cause a build up that you can chip away. That,s why the oil gets dirty right
after you change it. Remove the valve cover which is an easy job on a B21,
B23,B230, or a B230F. Just clean all the junk out that has accumlatted.Run
the car a thousand miles then change the oil again. Some of that build up
will go down the oil passages and contaminate the oil again.
BTW, I noticed that my e-mail address was incorrect. If anyone tried to
reach me and I didn't reply, my apoligies. I have changed it.

 

Try using decent fuel shell optimax bp ultimate or mobil 8000 and see if its
better .If you have turned up the turbo if may detonate as well a visit to
a decent Volvo guy might help and save your engine .

 

Thanks for the detonation advice. I think the whole thing traces back
to a slight error in the timing when the new timing belt was
installed. It was detonating right after that and I had someone else
look at it and make a timing adjustment a couple of months later (once
it was determined that it was detonating) that solved the problem for
about 3 weeks then the detonating came back.

I have only ever run the car with Shell Optimax (or better) and have
found that fresh oil + 0.5L of Lucas oil stabilizer almost completely
eliminates the detonating. I figure the engine is now toast (or at
least the rings are shot).

Any other suggestions of what I might look at?

Thanks,
blurp
ps. the tie-rod job was smooth and trouble-free once they got the
part. I have to say, a garage that's open on Saturdays (as Pipes is)
is a godsend for working folks! They're thinking of opening on Sundays
too!