Clicking 850

Gentleman Mac · Post by **Gentleman Mac** » 07 Feb 2012, 05:40

Hey guys; been awhile since posting. My 95 850 has started clicking; sometimes it stops after a bit of driving and sometimes it keeps going until I turn it off. It increases (not in volume but speed) as I accelerate. Listening to it with the hood up, it seems to be coming from either the spark plug or injector area and not the timing belt area. Also, I've noticed that it occassionally will start "rough", meaning it starts right up but seems to rev a bit higher very briefly and then settles back down to normal. I'm not as concerned about that as I am the clicking. Thanks for the help.

1995 850 177k
1998 v70 glt 173k

Post by **jblackburn** » 07 Feb 2012, 06:53

The injectors are noisy, but that noise usually goes away with the hood closed.

Not positive without hearing it, but from what you describe, it sounds like a stuck lifter. And with that goes this question: is this car normally driven around town at low RPM or does it get a good rev past 3500 every now and then?

The starting issue may well be the throttle body or idle control valve in need of a simple cleaning.

Post by **rmmagow** » 07 Feb 2012, 06:57

Italian tune-up might be in order if the cars doesn't get its legs stretched much. Most of my cars react pretty favorably to a good hard run. I drive 100 miles a day split between My V70 and an old diesel Benz. Seems to help keep them both running well.

Gentleman Mac · Post by **Gentleman Mac** » 07 Feb 2012, 08:12

Not much driving it on the weekends, but MWF I have a 90 mile round trip commute which includes a 70mph interstate stretch. Like I said, sometimes it stops after a bit and other times it lasts most of the trip. How do I check the lifter and where is that? Also, on the IAC, those clasp thingys are a pain to get back tight (not the screw kind). Can those be replaced with the screw kind?

Post by **jblackburn** » 07 Feb 2012, 08:20

The lifter is what moves the valves at the top of the engine up and down - I won't go into details on how it all really works. If one sticks, or isn't getting good oil pressure, it can make a bunch of noise since that valve is not closing all the way.

During your commute, do you drive like an old lady, or do you punch it to get on the on-ramps every now and then? If the engine's never really revved above 3000 RPM, the lifters can get stuck from not being excited very much. Above 3300 RPM, the valves start to spin around and keep deposits from forming on them.

A video of the noise, if you can take one, will help us confirm or deny this theory. If you do suspect the noise is coming from the top of the engine, drive it HARD for 5 minutes or so and keep the RPM at or above 4000 (the shifter in L or just being a brute with the gas pedal will do). You may also changing the oil with a good detergent oil (Pennzoil for regular dino oil; Mobil-1 is a good synthetic) to help clean out the oil passages of crud in the top of the engine.

Gentleman Mac · Post by **Gentleman Mac** » 07 Feb 2012, 08:26

Sometimes the price of gas forces me to drive like an old lady, but usually I have to maintain my pride to a certain degree. I may try the shifter in L and see what happens. I will try to get it to make the sound again and record and post. Also, I don't know if the car takes dino oil or synthetic. Can the synthetic be used then on the next change? Embarrassingly, I've never changed the oil. (I guess I am an old lady).

Post by **jblackburn** » 07 Feb 2012, 08:38

Haha, I know the feeling - with a 50-mile round trip, I end up driving like that most days back and forth to work.

If you've never used a synthetic, there's no real point in changing to one at this point in the car's life. Where you have it changed, ask them to use a name-brand oil such as Pennzoil 10W-30 instead of the cheap junk they use at most $20 oil change places. Within 1500-2000 miles, check the oil and see if it's completely black yet. Dirty oil means it's doing its job and cleaning out the insides of the engine.

Post by **jblackburn** » 07 Feb 2012, 08:43

Also, yes, you can use small little screw clamps for the hoses to the IAC valve. The Oetiker clamps are just a pain.

Post by **jblackburn** » 07 Feb 2012, 09:13

There's the video. It sounds like just one lifter to me.

Gentleman Mac · Post by **Gentleman Mac** » 07 Feb 2012, 09:35

Great! So basically I just need to rev it for a bit and get a good oil change, right?