"Paint can of ball bearings" sound while under load at part throttle?

pddenhar · Post by **pddenhar** » 07 Aug 2016, 22:10

I took a trip out west this month with my 1999 S80 2.9L and noticed that while driving up mountain passes there were certain points where the engine would suddenly make a sound like ball bearings bouncing around a paint can. It was always at part throttle in second or third gear and increasing or decreasing the throttle would make it go away. Has anyone else ever fixed this problem? It sounds a lot like what this guy had in his 850: https://www.matthewsvolvosite.com/forums ... 3&start=10

My first thought is detonation? I was using 87 octane, but was also at 8000 feet above sea level, which should reduce the risk of detonation. The car randomly throws a P0300 code (random misfire) about every 20th time I drive it, so that might be related. I found a bad coil and replaced it, but no luck there, the code comes back about once a week and has ever since I bought the car.

I also don't know what a failing ETM sounds like, but could it be causing the clicking sound in a single part of the throttle range?

Post by **precopster** » 08 Aug 2016, 01:25

If it makes no sense when it happens and can't really be duplicated I can bet the CVVT is beginning to fail. They get increasingly sludged up and don't allow the cam timing to match what is expected by the ECM.

The solenoid can be the culprit (I assume yours is possibly on the intake side being a non turbo) so replacement of the solenoid or cleaning is the first step. It's located just next to coil pack number 1 on the passenger side of the motor on a LHD car. You'll need a new gasket which is a couple of dollars and a 10mm socket to remove the solenoid's four bolts.

My "paint can with steel balls noise" went away as soon as I replaced my solenoid with a good used one from a wrecking yard on my 2000 V70

Post by **oragex** » 08 Aug 2016, 03:22

Hopefully it didn't last longer post#3 http://www.miataturbo.net/engine-perfor ... ted-42973/
To see if it's there while city driving, I drive near a house/road concrete wall.

pddenhar · Post by **pddenhar** » 08 Aug 2016, 09:25

oragex wrote:Hopefully it didn't last longer

Yikes! I'll look into the CVVT solenoid, this is the first time I've heard of it.

I wonder if there's anything I could see with my boroscope camera to check whether damage has been done. I suspect not; a compression test is probably the way to go.

pddenhar · Post by **pddenhar** » 11 Aug 2016, 17:19

Update on the sound: Changed the intake VVT solenoid to a different tested one from a much younger Volvo and ... no change at all. The sound still happens while under load and sweeping through the RPM range, like a really fast volley -- T-T-T-T-T-TICK.

Kind of at a loss again.

Post by **oragex** » 13 Aug 2016, 10:17

This is another topic on the subject, might provide additional clues.. http://www.volvoforums.org.uk/showthread.php?t=254468

pddenhar · Post by **pddenhar** » 18 Aug 2016, 17:52

Just for anyone who stumbles across this topic searching for info on the P0300 Random Misfire code on a Volvo S80 (or any other P2 platform car), replacing the VVT solenoid seems to have fixed the intermittent code that I've had for months.

The noise is still present, but I've driven the car about 100 miles since I replaced the intake VVT solenoid and it has not thrown P0300 since then.

I searched for info on P0300 for quite a while, so I hope this info helps someone in the future.

Pico de gallo · Post by **Pico de gallo** » 18 Aug 2016, 19:16

Detonation may still be a factor here, especially given higher summer temperatures and the higher load presentation. I'll suggest increasing the octane of the fuel used (temporarily at least), and see if the symptoms dissipate.

Post by **June** » 18 Aug 2016, 20:48

I had a similar problem with a fuel injection four cylinder when the lock up feature would engage at like 50mph. The clatter sounds stayed constantly unless the accelerator was pushed or released. Carbon buildup was suspected and Volvo had a de-carboning process using ground nutshell which was performed. It didn't fix it, and finally worn-out fuel injectors caused the problem. I had all the injectors replaced and the car ran like new again. The car was about 5 years old but had 180k at the time. They removed them and tested each one and told me the spray pattern was bad due to a pinpoint that causes the spray rounds over time causing the engine to lean causing the noise. That was a good 20 years ago and a 740. Oh no engine light ever came on. You might check the injectors.