I just bought my first Volvo. Knowing it needed a bit of work, I want to fix whatever is Ticking on start in my 06 XC70. Sounds like hydraulic lifter tick. Someone on FB said start with the sump o-ring. Any ideas of where to start?

 

There's a lot of ground for a newcomer to cover.
Where do you live approximately? Alaska, Texas, Maine etc. Nothing specific needed. Just an idea of climate.

Congrats on joining the "family". Please provide any illustrative facts regarding this car's condition.
How many miles are on this '06 of yours?
You do know these cars are turbocharged?
Was it purchased at a Volvo dealership, common used car dealership or from a neighbor (or stranger)?
Did the car come with any service history?
Do you do any work on cars yourself? This is important to getting things done right and saving money.
Open the oil filler cap and see if there are chunks of black crud under the cap itself and/or as far as you can see inside.
Remember to put the cap back on.

These engines normally make a bit of top end noise. Cheap oil doesn't protect and can allow more "ticking" than better oils.
Cheaper oil can serve to create sludge (the black crud) as they do not stand up to the turbo's heat.
This effect is amplified by Summer heat. Your car may have suffered neglect throughout it's 15 year life. All too many do.
If the oil is dirty change it to Castrol 0W-30 or Mobil1 0W-40.
Both say "European Formula" on the bottle. They are a tad more expensive but are required by your car.

If some louse of a dealer changed the oil before the sale, there's every chance he used cheaper, garbage oil.
Dishonest people will leave the filter unchanged as they cost $2 more than the usual garbage filters they can buy for other cars.
This is where buying your own parts and doing the work yourself really pays off.
If the filter caught any sludge, it's partially clogged.
If these neglectful practices were duplicated by the previous owner returning to a dishonest garage, the results can multiply.

I could ramble on but some direction is needed to focus any advice.
The stuff you need to learn about this vehicle is not complex or excessive.

Hear from you

 

Thank you for your help - I'm very grateful! I'm in Utah. I got this car from an acquaintance. The car has 160k miles with a newly replaced tranny, and new timing belt. I did see that it has a turbo! I try to learn about repairs and attempt to fix what I can with help from others. I initially bought this to repair for my daughter's first car but I really want it now for myself (selfish dad?) and so she may have to buy my little Subaru if she wants to drive. The old owners stopped driving it after hearing a very loud knocking start out of nowhere and I agree it's very abnormally loud on the top end. The oil is cruddy and I have a feeling they didn't keep care of it very well. Does not seem to have compression but starts up and drives.

Here's a video