Hey All,

Got a big question here. My '99 S70 runs great except when it idles for about three/four minutes at which point it starts making this loud ticking noise that you can hear inside the house. When I get back going again after about a mile of driving down the road the ticking will stop. Anyone have any idea? Oil level is fine, no oil usage. I was thinkin lifters or something but have no idea.

Thanks,
John

95 850
99 S70

I have found the engine significantly quieter by using full Synthetic oil. Using 10/30 or 10/40 weight may also improve oil pump sealing enough to bring up the system pressure.

Hydraulic lifters need oil and pressure to operate normally. Many engines have a clicking when they are stone cold in the morning. That usually goes away when the oil pressure/flow increases enough to enter the lifter.
What should not happen is the lifter loosing oil while the engine is running. This is not normal. How many miles on your engine? What kind of oil do you use? Is it a turbo? How often do you really change your oil? Do you normally make short runs with the car, like less than 15/20 minutes?
I ask because sludge buildup will cause oil passages to clog. A mechanic will charge a fortune to clean up a lifter, but you can do it with new oil, filter, and a few high speed runs in second gear. The clicking noise is not fatal, just keep the revs down until it goes away.

Klaus
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(V♂LV♂s 1975 164, 1995 854T, 1998 V70R)

Klaus,

Do you know if M1 synthetic comes in 10W-40? I'd like to use thicker oil in my 850. I currently have M1 synthetic 5W-30. I also thought that there was another good brand (AMSoil or something?) but I've never seen it at a local auto parts store.

Thanks,
Dave

Quaker State makes a 5W40 synthetic that I use, gets a little cold up here in the winter. During the summer months, when it is 95F, I think the 5W part evaporates or just disappears!
Using a heavier weight 10W40 might help a little bit, but follow rule308s advice. Sounds like you are losing oil pressure at idle.

Klaus
--
(V♂LV♂s 1975 164, 1995 854T, 1998 V70R)

Lifters..Totally normal. My family of 850s and S70s all do it, one with over 220K. No problem, not to worry.

You may want to consider dropping the oil pan and resealing the oil pump pick up tube on it. There is a bulletin on it, I do them frequently. I do find that if the problem is ignored long enough that simply resealing the oil pick system will not take care of the problem and that a new set of lifters is what it will take to quiet it back down.

Mark

Hi Mark,

Do you know if it is difficult to reseal the pickup tube? Any info on how it is done?

Thanks,
Dave