91soob Posted November 9, 2009 Share Posted November 9, 2009 I have a 91 loyale that has about 150,000 miles on it, I have about 25-30 on gauge in morning, then when it warms up i have close to nothing sometimes, i was told by local subaru mechanic that they will be fine with hardly any oil pressure(it does run fine and never gets hot) i was wondering what i should do, I just replaced both head gaskets and water pump and just got it all back together and really dont want to tear it all down again, but if i have to i will.Thanks for any advice Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dirk Posted November 9, 2009 Share Posted November 9, 2009 I wonder if it is worth checking the engine oil specs? Ihave lots of other ideas and suggestions but I don't feel qualified enough to voice them publicly. There is a thread here some where that suggests you can raise the presure of a tired oil pump by adding a small washer behind the pressure release spring. You can find this spring by removing the 18mm bolt at the opposite end of the pump facing away from the filter. I found that a 10 gauge screw head works well as a spacer. I just cut most of the thread off the screw. No Doubt another member will be able to tell you whether this is a good idea or not but it doesn't seem to have hurt my engine in any way. I would however be interested to know what the consequences of too much oil pressure are. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
91soob Posted November 9, 2009 Author Share Posted November 9, 2009 what would i have to to remove to just replace the whole pump? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dirk Posted November 9, 2009 Share Posted November 9, 2009 On my EA71 its just a case of removing four 10mm bolts and gently twisting and pulling the pump out of its socket. Leaving the oil filter on gives you something to hold on to when doing this. No idea if you have the same pump style. Mine is mounted on the lower front of the engine and is driven by the cam shaft. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
markjw Posted November 9, 2009 Share Posted November 9, 2009 Get an Oil Pump Reseal kit at the parts store ($20) and reseal the pump. Beyond that,I wouldn't do anything. Did you install new OEM Cam tower O-Rings when you did the HG's? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GeneralDisorder Posted November 9, 2009 Share Posted November 9, 2009 Before you do ANYTHING, you need to test the oil pressure with an accurate gauge. The dash gauge is a useless device - and the owners manual even states that at a warm idle it is normal for them to read zero or very near it. The reality is that they just aren't accurate enough to base tearing the front of the engine apart on. Especially if it runs fine, doesn't leak, and the lash adjusters aren't ticking like mad. Test twice, wrench once. Dirk: Your EA81 is very little similar to the EA82 being discussed here with regards to the oil pump and lubrication system. Try to stick to what you have worked on when giving advice. GD Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
91soob Posted November 9, 2009 Author Share Posted November 9, 2009 I had a bad tick yesterday so i put some seafoam in the crankcase and drove it about 5 miles and tick went away, could this have anything to do with the oil pressure?(i heard it was normal for these cars to tick) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GeneralDisorder Posted November 9, 2009 Share Posted November 9, 2009 It's "normal" because there's so few people that can or will fix them so they don't tick. They tick because the lifters are not inflated. Don't add stuff to your oil - if it needed to be there, the oil refiner's would have put it there - trust me. The ticking can have a multitude of causes - do a search here on the board for "TOD" or "tick of death". It's been covered every week for years. GD Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
idosubaru Posted November 9, 2009 Share Posted November 9, 2009 Slow down, you likely don't have any issues. Get an owners manual - it will tell you that what you're experiencing is NORMAL. That's from Subaru. Oil pressure near zero at operating temperature, it's in the owners manual of all XT's and XT6's, I presume it's there for the rest. An accurate gauge is nice, but in the end Subaru says near zero pressure isn't alarming. It's still getting the volume you need. As for ticking, it's benign except for the annoyance, so give it time. Change your oil frequently. Add a bottle of sea foam to the oil. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GeneralDisorder Posted November 9, 2009 Share Posted November 9, 2009 (edited) My experience has been that even when the dash gauges read "zero", if you install an accurate gauge you will get around 10 to 20 psi at a hot idle. It's just the resolution of the gauge and sending unit used by Subaru - it sucks. The oil pressure isn't actually "zero", but so long as the gauge rises to show a reading at cruise and when cold you can be pretty sure you have oil pressure. The ticking means you need to address the lube system. At the very least get an accurate reading on the oil pressure, and then go from there. It may be that you just need to run some engine flush or some ATF through the engine for a short time to clean out the lifters. Or it may be that the oil pump needs seals..... or it may need a new pump, new seals, new cam tower o-rings, new lash asjuster's, and a host of other seals that go along with doing that much dissasembly..... but it doesn't sound likely that you need to go that far. Cut it off at the pass - no amount of ticking is tollerable to me. I will go to ANY length to stop it. This mentality might seem crazy to some, but I'll be the one laughing as I drive by them on the side of the road. "ANY length" does not preclude using any and all EA82's that come under my purview as boat anchors - which is all they are good for IMO. GD Edited November 10, 2009 by GeneralDisorder Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
91soob Posted November 10, 2009 Author Share Posted November 10, 2009 I will go pick up a different gauge and let u know what happens Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
robm Posted November 10, 2009 Share Posted November 10, 2009 Not much of a boat anchor - too light, and the wrong shape! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
idosubaru Posted November 10, 2009 Share Posted November 10, 2009 I will go pick up a different gauge and let u know what happensgauge isn't likely to give you much more in the terms of warm fuzzies - this is the way these things work - the system is getting the volume it needs. most...if not every one on the road...does exactly what you're describing. so what exactly are you looking for? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
akc Posted November 10, 2009 Share Posted November 10, 2009 You can pick up the kind that screw into the oil pump to give you a accurite reading. (test gage) The first time my car did what yours did it was the pump the second time it was the wiring to the gage. If it started ticking after the lower pressure I would think pump but.......I am not a mechanic. Anyhow I would tell you to listen to GD he is usually right. If you have the EA82 engine I think you have to mess with the timing belts to put in a new pump. It was not too bad on my car it was easier then changing the head gaskets. The hardest part was getting it timed right afterwords but we had that issue when we replaced the HG too. You could very easily do it in a evening after work. THere is a very good diagram for the timing belts. http://offroadingsubarus.com/timingbelt_ea82.html Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
markjw Posted November 10, 2009 Share Posted November 10, 2009 If you do decide to reseal the oil pump,you might consider leaving off the timing belt covers. In fact,take the time to remove the cam sprockets and get the backs off too. It absolutly changes a guys whole attitude about maintaining the front components of your ea82 engine. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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