SEAFOAM BEWARE...

[renns]

I should add that I used the method shown by Ozark Lee above, dipping the hose in repeatedly. The official SeaFoam instruction video on Youtube describes adding enough SeaFoam to stall the engine at idle, which is why I stuck the vacuum hose into the can and waited for the engine to stall...

Curtis,

I'll try adding some extra oil to see if that helps. I sure hope it's a top end rather than bottom end problem!

[Japedo]

Ya, I hope it is to. I had noisy lifters once on my 850 when it sat for a bit, but one little drive and it went away.
If the oil sump o rings are bad, it will reduce oil pressure to the head. Causing noisy lifters.
I just did oil sump o rings on my wifes xc, but my 850 hasn't had them done ever and is high millage 491000 kms.
Hope your symptoms just dissappear and you can carry on with racking the kms up.
Good luck
Curtis

[bright]

For what it's worth I had a somewhat similar problem where I flooded the hell out of the engine (wrong timing harness positions) and ended up unwittingly with a good amount of gas in the oil. I started it up and there was a fair amount of tapping and one rod sounded like it was beating away.

After changing the oil the next day everything really started to quite down. Eventually the lifters settled. I did take a look at my cam lobe that is viewable looking down into the oil filler hole. It had a very small imperfection on it, but who knows when that happened.

At this point all I can say is good luck. Chance was on my side that evening.

[renns]

Thanks for the replies, folks. So far, no improvement. Here's a link to another guy that had the same problem after SeaFoaming - so that's three of us with the same symptoms. I wish I knew if it was rod/bearing related, or something in the valvetrain. That would help determine repair strategies. At this point, I'd avoid that Seafoam stuff like the plague...

Here's the link to the third guy's story.

http://volvospeed.com/vs_forum/index.ph ... alve-tick/

[FCPEURO]

You may want to change the oil again if you have not already, that much SeaFoam would have gotten into the oil and is probably still in the head. I would change it out for something like 15w-50 diesel oil just for a little while to help clean out all the seafoam and also help with that lifter issue.

[renns]

For the last several days I've been running some Wynn's Engine Treatment oil additive, which is supposed to free stuck rings and lifters. No change... The noise is the same as it was after my first long drive after Seafoam. I wish I knew if it was some type of bottom end damage - possibly due to hydraulic lock, or if somehow a lifter is now not functioning properly. I just don't see how the SeaFoam in the intake could cause the latter, but the noise certainly does sound like top-end clicking, as it's high-pitched, and seems to be coming from up top.

The oil has been changed out to 5w50 synthetic oil, to see if that helps at all. I just need to finish taping up the cracking intake air duct, and I'll go for a test drive. To top it all off, a sway bar link that looked perfect a couple weeks back when I was doing brake work has now popped apart. I do like my Volvo, I do like my Volvo, I do like my Volvo...

[renns]

The noise is still there with the 5w50 synthetic oil. I've ordered the sump o-rings and sealant from FCP, and will give that a go when the parts arrive. That should at least remove another potential cause.

[renns]

I replaced the pan and oil pick-up o-rings last weekend. The oil pickup screen was free of debris, but the o-rings were aged and brittle. The oil pickup tube was much tighter with the new ring seal in place. Unfortunately, I've now driven about 600 km, and there is no change in the noise level. Does anyone have a feel for the impact of driving long-term with a stuck lifter? At this point I plan to just drive it as it is through the winter months. When the workshop gets cold, only emergency repairs seem to get done!

[jamfu]

My impression is the seafoam did exactly what it was supposed to do. Clean your valves and injector. However, you have to think about what is really happening when you clean the excess carbon off the valves/seats. Material will wear down over time . Especially at the valve seat. Allowing for the valve to seat a little further into the head over time. By cleaning the carbon out, you essentially allow the valve to seat even further into the head. So, that makes the connection from the rockers to the cam much tighter. Especially if the valve was made at the upper end of its length tolerance. My best guess is that the rocker is what is making the noise. not a lifter. If you think about it, the rocker has only so much travel. And removing the carbon plus the normal wear will force that rocker to travel further. So, I would say the rocker is bottoming out every stroke against the head when the valve seats in the head. If you were so inclined, take a look at the cam. I would bet that there will be more wear on some of the lobs related to the cylinder with the tick. And unfortunately there is nothing you can do without having the valve seats reworked, or having the valve ground down a little. You could confirm by removing the valve cover, and inspecting the rockers. But you may have to take the rockers off to get a clear picture. Also, check the valve clearances to see if they are in tolerance to OEM. Your tick will most likely be in the valve that is basically o.oooo" clearance at TDC on the compression stroke. It could also be the lifter bottoming out due to the valve clearance.

[renns]

jamfu,

Thanks for the thoughts. My lifter noise sounds identical to what I occasionally hear on a cold start after the car has sat a few days. This leads me to beleive it's excessive clearance, due to one of the lifters not pumping up properly. An overly tight valve would burn in no time, due to not closing fully. Who knows, but my feeling is this is not the case.