1999 S70 Turbo, Ticking Like a Time Bomb

roadmaster99 · Post by **roadmaster99** » 20 Feb 2013, 19:55

Hello, need some suggestion on what to do about this annoying ticking sound coming from the lifters on my wife's 1999 S70. Just to give you some history of the car. Was purchased from a dealer about 4 years ago and had 102,000 miles on it. The car currently has close to 130,000 miles. It was quiet as can be when we purchased it. Wife does a lot of city driving and it rarely gets on the high way. We change the oil on a regular schedule but not sure if it was done by the previous owner. The engine has not lost any power, it just sound like a time bomb. I tried adding an oil additive and was told to try thicker oil when changing the oil. I also heard that Seafoam may resolve some issues with performance. If it is the lifters, I understand that the replacement can be pretty pricey? I need to know what my options at this point are. Thanks in advance for the response, Roger
Baltimore MD

Post by **jblackburn** » 21 Feb 2013, 08:00

Do they tick at higher RPM or just idle? Under load in drive, or in Park?

There's a good chance that the lifters are being starved of oil by a bad seal on a pickup tube in the oil pan.

You really shouldn't run anything thicker than a 10W-40 in these cars.

Post by **mercuric** » 21 Feb 2013, 09:59

Damn, the 5 bangers have the pickup tube problem like the B6304s? (960 inline 6)

I hope it's easier to remedy on the FWD cars... and less common

Post by **jblackburn** » 21 Feb 2013, 10:22

It is indeed pretty common.

Here's a write-up one of our members did on the repair:
Oil pansump o ring replacement 2000 xc

Post by **mercuric** » 21 Feb 2013, 10:37

jblackburn wrote:It is indeed pretty common.

Here's a write-up one of our members did on the repair:
Oil pansump o ring replacement 2000 xc

Neat, that looks like less trouble than on the 960!

Thanks for the link, and props to the OP of that procedure. Excellent writeup!

Any way to become aware of this problem _before_ you start oil-starving your valvetrain? Or, if this is a common issue, something one should just go ahead and do when they acquire a new FWD brick?

Post by **rspi** » 21 Feb 2013, 15:09

Not that common. I have had 6 of these white blocks and not one of them have had the problem.

Suggestion #1 for the OP. Change the oil filter to an OEM Volvo filter or Mann. Never run other filters that do not have the check valve in them. It causes the oil to drain back down to the pan and starve the head of oil on start up.

Some have used a quart of tranny fluid in the oil to try to free/clean up the lifters. Drain 1 quart of oil, add 1 quart of tranny fluid, start the car and let it idle for 15 to 30 minutes. Chage the oil and filter with 10W-30 and drive it for a week or so to see if it clears up in about a week or 250 miles.

If it doesn't clear up you will likely have to replace the lifters.

As Justin said, you may have an oil supply problem with the pick-up. Usually you will see the low oil pressure like flicker when that's the case.

roadmaster99 · Post by **roadmaster99** » 22 Feb 2013, 17:30

Thank you very much for the helpful feedback. The problem mainly is when the car is at idle but they do tick when under load as well but not as much. I have heard of the suggestion to try transmission fluid in the crack case but I thought that was a myth. I called the dealership and they also suggested putting transmission fluid in the crack case as well. The last place where I had the oil changed, I asked them to run fully synthetic and I know they did not use a Volvo oil filter. Looks like I need to have my car serviced at the dealer for minor maintenance work. I will try your suggestion and let you know how I made out. I realy appreciate your expert advice.

Post by **rspi** » 22 Feb 2013, 19:17

You could give them the filter.

roadmaster99 · Post by **roadmaster99** » 25 Jun 2013, 17:19

Hello all, I just want to thank you for all of your helpful feedback about the possible ticking noise. The issue has been resolved. I took it to the dealer believe it or to have the oil changed with genuine Volvo filter and that resolved the ticking noise. The culprit was a generic oil filter causing the engine to be starved as stated. Thanks again for your help; you saved me a lot of money. The dealer wanted to replace the valve train components with a bill of $6000.

Marcobrick · Post by **Marcobrick** » 25 Jun 2013, 17:26

Aaaah dealers, gotta love 'em. Why try something simple when you can spend thousands on replacing complete systems?