Anybody ever bust a B18 oil pump? What kind of noise does it make?
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'61 PV544 - '65 PV544 - '64 Lincoln Continental

Might not make any noise but the oil light comes on.
DON'T drive it that way!
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George Downs Bartlesville, Heart of the USA!

Very true. If that oil pressure idiot light is on, immediately pull over and switch the motor off, and not necessarily in that order either (no power steering or power brakes to de-power on an old Volvo). If there is in fact no oil pressure at all, you are mere seconds from disaster.

Replacing an oil pump involves removing the oil pan, which means either pulling the motor or dropping the crossmember (at least a few inches). Either way, far from a trivial task. I'd try a few things to verify the lack of oil pressure first. On a road side, I'd pull the coil wire and crank the motor over and see if it looks like oil is getting to the rocker shaft through the oil filler cap. If at home I'd probably get a cheap mechanical oil pressure gauge ($20 at Wal mart?) and hook it up.
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'63 PV544 rat rod, '93 Classic 245 + turbo

I am going to pull the engine anyway to put a different cam, lifters and pushrods in it. I just wanted to be able to manuever it around beforwe I pulled the engine. Whatever it is makes a hell of a clatter in the area near where the oil pump sits, could be a rod too I suspect. Well, I bought the car as a project so I guess I got my monies worth!
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'61 PV544 - '65 PV544 - '64 Lincoln Continental

I really wouldn't suspect the oil pump if your symptom is just a really loud noise.

And there's no need at all to pull the motor to replace a cam. Just pull the radiator and grille, the cam can come out with the engine in the car. The head has to come off to replace the lifters, though.

Worst racket I've ever heard coming from a Volvo motor was a failed timing gear. Made a sweet little B18 sound (at idle) like an idling diesel semi engine. HORRIBLE knocking and tapping noises. I thought all the rods and even the mains were shelled and rattling themselves to death.

Is your noise worst at idle and fades as the revs rise? Probably a timing gear issue. Rod knocks are often very quiet at idle, the clatter more at higher rpms, and often times worse on the overrun (when the engine is slowing down) as the piston has more vacuum on the downstroke and more back and forth force. When I spun a rod bearing in the PV's motor a few summers ago, it didn't make *any* noise at idle, unless I pulled the sparkplug on that cylider, at which point it would make a nice quiet syncopated tap noise.
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'63 PV544 rat rod, '93 Classic 245 + turbo

Hey John,
The noise seems to be at the rear of the motor and is worst at idle but also occurs as the RPMs decrease. The oil gauge and "idiot light" indicate no oil pressure. I pulled the engine out of my '64 Lincoln a couple of years back and it had the same timing gear setup with the nylon gear on the metal wheel. The problem, I was told was that the nylon eventually gets brittle, breaks off, gets jammed in the oil pump a messes that all up. I put in an all steel timing gear after that. Taking the engine out of the volvo shouldn't be any more difficult than pulling that big ol' 430 C.I.(7 litre) V-8 out of the lincoln.
I'd like to check the bore, put in new rings, and see what kind of damage I've alredy done to it.

If anybody has any handy hints to pulling the motor, I'd be most grateful to hear them!!
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'61 PV544 - '65 PV544 - '64 Lincoln Continental

Pulling the motor is pretty easy. Take off the hood, radiator. It's pretty easy to pull the motor and trans out in one piece, especially if you raise the front of the car up a little so the trans can tip down some. It's tighter than in all the later Volvo models, though. A load leveler on your hoist is a *great* idea. After removing all the cables/hoses/wires/exhaust/etc (don't forget the ground strap!) the motor needs to come up a few inches until the oil sump can clear the crossmember and allow everything to come forward. Then you can tilt the trans down and pull it up and out. If you angle it too much at first, the back of the head will bump into the firewall and sort of keep you from pregressing much.

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'63 PV544 rat rod, '93 Classic 245 + turbo

Great! Thanks for the advice. I'm in the process now of clearing out enough space in my garage to store the engine and do the work. Thanks for the tip on the groundstrap, probably would have missed that one!
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'61 PV544 - '65 PV544 - '64 Lincoln Continental

Hi,
They get very noisy when they wear out. Time to replace if it is noisy.

I just replaced the one in my 445. It was way bad. Very crunchy when you turned it with your hand.

You might want to remove the belt and turn it while still on the car. If its noisy and moves around when you turn it replace it.

-TedR
'75 144GL B20F '59 PV445 B18