Okay, so I went to look at a car with my boyfriends mom today. It is a 95 volvo [the station wagon kind]. I started checking oil and tranny fluid. Tranny fluid is good. Oil is black and needs to be changed. Here are some things that threw me off a bit. The guy said it is a 5 cylinder. True or false? Then, we started it up and it made a ticking sound and I immediately shook my head. It then stopped. The guy said that it is in the owners manual that every volvo ticks like that. I asked him if he had it, he said no. My mom owned a volvo when I was little and I never remember it ticking EVER! My boyfriends dad said it might be from a cold start [no oil in the system] but, if that was the case, the only real reason that there should not be oil in the system is if they just did an oil change, which they didn't, unless they put ****ty oil back in it. Any input is appreciated.

 

Yes 5 cylinder.

Yes they do tick sometimes until the valves adjust themselves. Especially if the car has not been driven much lately. No, not EVERY car ticks, but it is normal.

Your mom's old Volvo was likely the 4 cylinder model that had an entirely different motor. No ticking allowed.

You can see the owners manual here: https://www.customers.volvocars.com/...0/95850_1.html

Ticking noise info (4 lines from the bottom of this page): https://www.customers.volvocars.com/...4_1.html#pg4.4

You can find a buyer's guide in our sticky section:
https://volvoforums.com/m_72405/tm.htm

My buyer's tips is post 9: https://volvoforums.com/forum/showpo...25&postcount=9

 

↑+1.

Most likely the ticking is normal. My 850 did that too, especially on cold days until the engine oil had warmed up. It comes from the hydraulic valve adjuster and as already noted by rspi, it is explained in the owner's manual.

I would also give it a good visual inspection or better yet, have another shop do a pre-purchase inspection (preferably at an independent shop specialising in Euro makes/Volvo dealer). You may have to spend as much as $50 for this, but it is a money worthy of spending. Check to see if the car has service record.

Should you decide to buy the car, I would immediately check the timing belt, which must be replaced at every 70,000 miles/5 years.

Here's a good place to start in case if you buy the car:

https://volvoforums.com/forum/volvo-850-16/new-volvo-850-owners-read-important-thread-also-applies-s-v70s-9266/

Good luck,


JPN

 

Yes, ticking at startup is normal, but if you really wanted to, ticking can be eliminated with pre-lube http://www.autoenginelube.com/howitworks.html or http://www.pre-luber.com/index.htm

 

You could also replace the lifters. There was a TSB on this for certain model year 850s. Ticking shouldn't happen.

 

Lots of cars have lifters that click and I wouldn't worry about that. What concerns me is that the car has dirty oil (which would be unrelated). If the oil has not been changed regularly that could point to decreased longivity - and that car isn't exactly fresh off the assembly line!
Get a detailed, proffesional evaluation.

 

My lifetrs tick every time i start the car. Depending on how cold it is, or how long the car has been sitting, it may only happen for 15 seconds. Or, it may happen for 2 minutes. the point being, it goes away eventually.

 

I had an NA for awhile and it had a pretty good tick that was an injector. In this case its not that because it stopped. I agree 100% with the lifter votes.

 

Oh, and to clarify, I do NOT think the owners manual mentions anything about lifter tick on startup. That being said, it IS a well known volvo thing. I wouldnt worry about it at ALL if I were you.

 

It may be a well known issue, but I'm sorry to inform you that it should not be happening. Anyone who knows Volvos well, which I'm sure many of you do, knows that the thing they need the most is a strict oil change regimen. I own 2 NAs, have worked on literally thousands of them, and the only ones that tap are the ones that need lifters because they were poorly maintained. I wouldn't buy a car that had a lifter tap, and I work on them for a living.

 

One of mine ticks like crazy and the other one doesn't. The one that ticks has 222,222 miles on it and is running great. I've had two other ones and one ticked some and the other not at all. If you turn the stereo up, you can't even hear the ticking. haha

I wouldn't buy from a guy that tells me the owner's manual says that ticking is normal, but can not show you where it says that.

 

Yep. Ditto.

 

The original poster and all who read this thread should go to pg1 and read rspi's post. Clearly the 1995 owners manual states "ticking for15 seconds to 15 minutes is normal". Very last paragraph on the page 4 link. My 94 850 na ticks like crazy in cold MI but only for 30 seconds or so.

 

"Ticking at start-up is normal" is black-on-white on the Owner's Manual (Page 57 of my V90) of both my Volvos (both whiteblocks). Are you sure you are talking about 850s and not redblocks?