Noisy Lifters - Replacing Oil Pan O-rings

[Mike H. II]

I’ve had a light clacking from my lifters for a while now and occasionally it would get loud, primarily from the cylinder 4 and 5 end of the engine so I felt it was likely the o-ring problem I’ve heard about. I decided to replace the o-rings in the pan and now that it’s done I wanted to write up some of my own notes since most of this info has been lost here since the server failure. This was mostly info I had learned about online from Rich K. and others but I put it all together with some of my own opinion.

The job went well with no leaks or other problems and the lifters have been silent since the work. I had checked the amount of oil splashing around the cam when looking in the oil fill before and after the job. It seems like a noticeable difference. Now when my car is warmed up there is so much oil splashing around at idle that drops are splashing out and I hear “glooping” sounds (w/Mobil 1 10W-30). Before, there was some splashing, but not nearly so much.

I’d put the difficulty level a little higher than the timing belt mainly because you’ll be under the car working overhead for at least three hours with the oiling system open. The stress level of being sure you got the parts in correctly to avoid trashing the engine is about the same. Also, the sealed pack of o-rings from my local dealer was short one of the black pan-to-block o-rings I needed. I had to wait until they reopened on Monday for a replacement. Check your pack for 2 thin black o-rings (a large and a medium), and 6 thick green o-rings (only the largest and smallest one is needed).

Here was my parts list:

8648358-3 oil pan o-ring kit $16.52 includes 2 pan-to-block o-rings, the pickup tube o-ring, and the dipstick tube o-ring, plus extras not needed.

1366791-0 rectangular o-ring for pan cap w/o oil cooler $5.10.

949658-9 oil level sensor o-ring $3.71 ’93 models only.

1161059-9 liquid gasket material $21.42

Small roller to apply gasket material

Permatex spray gasket remover to remove old gasket

Cable tie to hold power steering line to dipstick tube.

Oil and filter

Brake parts cleaner

New razor blade

Loctite threadlocker - blue

1. I have a ’93 850 so it’s a non-turbo and has an oil level sensor in the front of the pan so many people will skip the oil sensor step and add steps to disconnect the oil cooler lines. Since I didn’t have the oil cooler, I figured there was no need to remove the passenger side wheel so I put the car on ramps for the work. I was successful but it may be best to use jack stands. With an oil cooler, the jack stands will be mandatory since you will need to disconnect the lines through the passenger side wheel well.

2. I drove the car home from work, put it up on the ramps, drained the oil and removed the filter. It drained and cooled overnight to make things easier.

3. Underneath, the pan can fit through the subframe but it’s a tight fit. The passenger side overlaps the subframe about an inch and the driver side has the power steering lines running underneath. The only way out will be to tip the pan on the driver side below the transaxle to slide it out from above the subframe on the passenger side. Here are two of the uncomfortable aspects of the job – a) The large tab of metal sticking out from the passenger side of subframe toward the pan will need to be bent downward at about 30-45 degrees. It’s a soft metal and wont crack but it feels like a hack job and I didn’t like to do it. The power steering lines will need to be bent over far enough that the pan can drop straight down on the driver side. Taking a prybar to rigid metal lines also was not fun for me – but it worked. The alternative is jacking the engine and removing the subframe.

4. I’m going to note right now that if I had put the car on jack stands, so I could pull the passenger front wheel, so I could take the cap off the passenger end of the oil pan, it just might have given me enough room to avoid having to bend the metal tab on the subframe. Maybe or maybe not.

5. The oil level sensor is disconnected by squeezing the wire on top of the connector and pulling the connector straight off the sensor. Removing the two 10mm screws allows the sensor to pop straight out of the pan including about 5 inches of float and switch.

6. The oil dipstick tube is removed from underneath by a 12mm socket on many extensions. Cut the tie wrap and pull the tube out the top.

7. Remove all the brackets that hold the power steering lines using a Torx T-25 and 12mm sockets. The difficult one to reach at the very front should be last so you can pull the lines down to unscrew the clamp. Remember to re-install this one first.

8. Use a short bungie cord looped around the driver side frame and hook both ends on the power steering lines. Pry the lines toward the transaxle so the pan has enough room to drop straight down. There are brake lines back there so watch where your pry bar rests.

9. Remove the thirty or so bolts that hold on the pan. I went around and broke them all free and then removed them all but 4 until I was ready to catch the pan. I noticed there were different lengths so I laid out each bolt into roughly the pattern on the pan to keep them straight. What I found is that the lengths are obvious and not easily mixed up. Along the front and back are all short, the driver side is the longest, the passenger side is medium. Note one bolt near the oil filter mount – it was sealed with some RTV. On reassembly this bolt should be sealed again.

10. Remove the last 4 bolts and hit the drain plug with a soft hammer to break the pan free. You’ve now crossed the point of no return. At this point I found that the power steering lines needed to be moved over even more and the subframe tab needed to be bent to get the pan out.

11. With the pan out you’ll see the 2 o-rings on the block on the passenger side. Mine were probably original and green colored – the replacements were black. Two 10mm bolts hold the pickup tube to the block. Have the oil catch pan ready for a couple ounces of oil when you break the seal. My dipstick tube and pickup tube original o-rings were red – the replacements were green.

12. Before you reinstall the pickup tube, clean the block mating surface, with the spray gasket remover. I used a piece of cardboard to minimize overspray around the engine. Wait a few minutes and gently, without scratching, just use the razor blade to gather up the dissolved gasket.

13. Clean the oil pan gasket surface with the same spray and gather technique. One interesting note is how much oil was left after allowing it to drain overnight. You’ll see the pan is filled with many horizontal and vertical baffles so you should be aware of particles dropping down into the pan where you can’t see them. I ended up washing out the pan with brake parts cleaner and leaving it tipped on end to dry out.

14. Remove and replace the end cap with a new o-ring on the passenger side of the oil pan. Mine had loctite on the 10mm bolts when I removed it so it got new loctite when I reinstalled.

15. Reattach the pickup tube – rub some clean oil on the o-ring before insertion.

16. Practice installing the pan. Find a couple of the right screws, and how you will hold them. Be sure there is enough room to leave the layer of sealant undisturbed. If the rigid plastic vacuum line on the passenger side is in the way, it can be disconnected at the rubber coupling back where the floorpan of the car begins.

17. On the block, the two thin black o-rings can be held in place with little dabs of the liquid gasket (bright neon pink – not what I expected). Be sure the mating surface is clean and dry with no dirt or dried gasket. I found the walls inside the block for cylinder 4 and 5 kept dribbling oil onto the mating face. I had to wipe up into the block cavity to give myself 10 clean minutes. Paint the pan mating surface with the liquid gasket – just a thin even coat.

18. I installed a couple bolts finger tight on opposite corners to hold the pan and then went around and installed them all finger tight. Then I tightened the 2 big 14mm pan-to-trans bolts to be sure the pan was all the way over, and loosened them again. I went around the pan lightly snugging the bolts from the center outward and then final tightening them again in the same order. I tightened the big 14mm bolts and then just checked around the pan in order to verify the 10mm bolts were still all tight. Maybe I’m nuts but I don’t want to do this again for a leak. Last, the bolt near the oil filter mount that had RTV, I removed it dipped on some liquid gasket and reinstalled it.

19. Install the oil dipstick tube with a new oiled o-ring. The power steering hoses up top pass between the intake and the dipstick tube.

20. Install the oil level sensor with a new oiled o-ring. It’s a tight fit at an awkward angle so you can use the 2 bolts to press it in but be sure you tighten each side a little at a time to press it in evenly. I used loctite on the bolts since they originally had some. The connector just presses on.

21. Remove the bungie cord and reinstall the power steering lines in their brackets. Install the difficult to reach one up front first. Note that the screw can be started a few turns into the nut and the bracket can still be slid onto the metal lines. That will save you trying to fish the nut around back and start the thread. Bend the lines back and tweak them to get all the brackets to bolt up again.

22. Bend the subframe tab back. Watch where you swing that hammer.

23. Put a cable tie around the dipstick tube and power steering rubber line.

24. Tighten the pan drain bolt, install the oil filter, and fill with oil.

25. The car can be started right away since the sealant dries in a few minutes when the parts are put together and no oxygen can reach the sealant.

[lax01]

excellent write-up...do you have any pictures of your process? I had the noise but it went away after I did an oil change and used some Lucas Sythnetic Oil Treatment...if it comes back, this is the thread I'm looking to for advice...

[freeskier8585]

nice write up, can we get this pinned, or maybe put in the maint section off the forums.. nice work man, nice work

[drPheta]

Though I'l probably never do this by myself, this is an excellent write up. Definitely belongs in the Maintenance section. Actually, a lot of the write ups should be put there to avoid being lost in another possible crash.

[DEWFPO]

Thanks for documenting thsi so well. It really sucks that we lost so much great documented information on this site recently.

DEWFPO

[Mike H. II]

Sorry, no pictures. I'm without a digital camera. I can only tell you that where the o-rings go and how things fit together will probably be obvious when you get there.

I should dig up my old write ups about replacing the lights in the factory radio and all the little switches around the cabin. A few winters ago I was driving to and from work in the dark and having half the lights out bugged me. 3 years later and they're all still lit.

[lax01]

please do, a few of my bulbs are out...the most annoying is my shifter lights...

[Mike H. II]

Actually the shifter light is a bulb with a socket that you can get at the dealer. The Bay 13 procedure for the shifter microswitch shows you how to get into the center console area.

The little switch lights on the early models are soldered in and the only official fix is to replace the whole switch. Most people have so many burned out that they don't realize every switch that has the little window above it showing the function should be lit.

[lax01]

ahh ok cool...thanks...I'll check into that

[laird]

I have had the pan off two or three times and your write up is accurate. I hacked, no actually I used a jig saw to simply remove the useles tabs you refer to. The only thing I did'nt get was how you fixed your noisy lifters through the oil pan (your not a dentist are you?) :o

[icefalls]

The problem with the lifters is that often insufficient oil is being delivered to the upper head. Some members have tried using different weight oils, with varying levels of success. Another possible cause is that the o-rings on the oil pump wear out, which is what has been fixed here.

[lax01]

the reason being that the o-rings need to be replaced is because oil pressure drops and thus can't get to the upper head...

[laird]

I get it now, I was thinking about the o rings in the cam cover. I had screwed up the install once and crushed said pan o ring ( which I didn't notice till I was completely done of course) It leaked like a sieve out the side of the pan. It seems to me if those seals go bad, you will get a visible leak.

[Bay13]

How can I reset the ABS light?

What happens with a correct install is the "O" rings suck in on themself, the seal is there so it doesn't leak, it's like an internal leak, or sucking air, so the pressure drops, not enough to make the light come on, just enough to effect the oil delivery to the upper rear part of the head.

[beachnut]

Hey guys ... thought I would bump up this old thread since I'm in the middle of this job right now on my V70. When I'm finished I'll add some pics and some of my own comments. At the moment I have the oil pan down but I'm waiting for the square sealing ring where the oil lines enter the pan ... they're not included with the oil pan o-ring kit, so I had to order it seperately. For now, here's a few screen shots with Volvo part numbers of what you'll need:

O-RING KIT:

SEALING RING:

PINK LIQUID CHEMICAL GASKET