Folks,

I have a 1995 850 Turbo wagon with 200K miles. When I start the car cold, I get quite a loud tappet / lifter clicking noise for about 1-2 seconds until the oil starts circulating. This has been going on for quite some time but now that the cold weather is here I am a bit more concerned since the oil will not flow as freely initially.

Is this just typical at 200K or is there something that I should have checked out ?

Thanks.

 

Are you using Volvo oil filters?

 

I changed mechanics about a year ago. So I would say that I did for a few years but probably not now. I would not say that over the life of the car that Volvo filters have been used for the most part, as I have had 3-4 different mechanics.

How does the oil filter make a difference ?

 

The Volvo/ SOme of the Mann/Mahle filter have check valves built into them.When you turn the car off the check valve closes and holds the oil pressure steady so on the next start up the oil pressure is there. The will make the lifter noise possibly stop or last even shorter than it is now.

I like them so much I use them on my Mustang as well to help keep the motor lasting longer.

 

Does it sound like this?

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XO-BpkSc6ig

I switched to mann filters and the noise is less but still there. Im told that fixing the oil sump o-rings will help. One thing I do notice is once I drive home and turn off the car, then look under the oil cap there is oil sitting under the cams, I didnt notice that before.

 

Hey Guys
I have exactly the same tapping noise on my 850 turbo. The only difference is that after cold start it takesat least 2-3 minutes for it to completely go away. Is it the filter? What should i do about it? Thank you.

 

Sounds like itech recommends the volvo filter to remedy this problem. On most motors I would say, Put about a half a quart of ATF in it, start it, let it idle till it is hot. Drain it, put in a new filter, put some 0W-40 European formula Mobil 1. that will do a couple good things for your motor. #1 it will clean all the oil galleys without being hard on your seals #2 it will make the oil easier to flow to all the critical engine components easily when it is cold. So your oil pressure will rise right away... You may want to add a volvo filter...sounds like it keeps oil pressure so that would be a good thing...

 

If the filter and good clean oil doesn't fix it the oil pan or pickup tube o-rings might be bad as well.

 

I believe the owner's manual states that it is normal.

Follow Tech's advice, and try using full synthetic 5W-30 in cold weather. Switch back to heavier oil in summer (10W-30, etc...).


JPN

 

People,

I would like to clear something up. After some research and things done on my car to find the reason for my lifter/tappet noise i finally learned what really is the reason there is a tick. Symptoms were with cold start: hard tapping, went away after 2 secs and thens most of the time stayed moderately silent (still tickin a bit)

I started with new o-rings in the sump ( all of em ) ickup, block to sump . New oil pump gasket and 0-rings( removed pump for that) etc. Didn't change anything.It is not untill i removed the valve cover and saw how the system works i realised it is a Tappet!! that causes the tick. All of em , exept on stayed firm and pumped up while one of them seemed collapsed. If anyone would understand how they work ( i do) one would know that the tappet empties too quickly and drains itself of oil ( when the cam presses it down) . The oil pressure is not able to fill that missing oil up( once cam force is off) so the lifter will stay moderately noisy. On cold start it has drained al oil from plunger and housing so that's why the tick is louder ( needs more! oil)

Really guys, o- rings could help in getting the oil to the tappets more efficiently but if your lifter is gone bad it won't be enough.

You can do everything yourself, just make sure you make your own tools like i did. Remove all tappets and test them. You'll find there is one or more simply not feeling like the other firm ones. Really this is the reason the tick.

Feel free to e-mail me for more info,

Frank

 

Check your tappets, they cause the tick. It cured mine totally.

 

What was the procedure in removing the tappets, did you have to take the cams out? Are you referring to lifters?

 

It's the tappets, i think many times referred to as lifters. Anyway they probably cause the ticking. You have to remove the valve cover, timing belt and yes cams. then you will see cilinder like things. The should feel "firm" when you press them. If one doesn't replace it!! you can take em out very easy. Just pull. If you have the cover removed make sure you clean and check all oil lines for sludge etc.

Getting the cover off takes this:

remove timing belt
remove all bolts from valve cover ( engine mount as well, sensor too)
remove the cover by gently ticking with a hammer on the spots that stick out on both sides, especially the ones where you see a pin like thing connecting head and cover.

It will pop off once you've ticked long enough. Be careful with everything and remove all liquid gasket stuff and oil.

Putting it back involves a special tool, you can make it yourself.

You have to put the cams back the way they came out( put everything on 0, cams as well) and then you will have to, in a way, press the cover back on. I made a tool that is made up like this:

A pair of old bougies, remove porcelain
Weld a long thread on top of it it, stick it through the bougie hole of the cover and use a peace of wood in combination with a metal plate that screws down and presses the cover back. Gently tapping the described spots helps whilst screwing the wood/metal plate down.

Btw Check oil camshaft oil seals and bougiehole o-rings, i'd replace em all. They are cheap.

For the camshaft seals you need to get the sprocket off, simly mark the sprocket and cam and screw it off. Make sure you get IN and OUT right. Haynes describes all of this quite good too. Downloadable on btjunkie etc. ..

For more info you can mail me

Greetings

 

couple of things I'm curious about...

did you change ALL of the lifters or just the one?

anyone want to chime in on standard operating procedure on that - me personally, if i were neck deep in t-belts, cams removed - etc..etc - i'd be replacing ALL of them...

..and how much did the lifter run ya?

 

I replaced only the bad one's, in my case i was putting a new head in so had many tappets to choose from( both heads still had all tappets). I did my best to pick the best one's.

I know everyone says: renewing tappets? renew cams too! But i think that is not needed at all. It would be best i agree, if you have the money, to renew all tappets since the seem to go bad. I remember when i picked up the "new head". This guy had another volvo head removed. He told me that it was no good since it ticked quite severely even when warm. The head was removed so i got a chance to feel the tappets. Almost every tappet felt collapsed.. It had been sitting for a while but a lifter just isn't supposed to drain oil. Not in a day, nor in a week. A little bit at most. My tappet renewal completely cured the cold start hard tapping as wel.

I think the most important reason they go bad is high milage and not changing oil often enough.

Gr

 

Mines funny- I did the o-ring cure and multiple flushes etc... stil noisy.
BUT- mine is dead quiet when cold and the warmer it gets the louder it gets.
Strange...................

 

Here are some detailed instructions that I put together:

Lifter Replacement, Volvo 850 / S70 Turbo

 

some smart write up brother. you rock

 

Agreed...great writeup. Wish this had been around when I changed out my cams...

Thanks for devoting the time to that writeup and thanks for sharing it.

 

Thanks. Just thought I'd share the link. I was trolling the net last night and seen the threads that people might find.