T.o.d is back

[CrownLoyale93]

My 93 Loyale SPFI "had" the TOD when I would start it up in the morning. After about 5 min. of idle it would go away. I ran some Seafoam in the oil for about a week and the tick went away. Then had a Subaru dealer change the oil (I am not lazy, my wife works there so it is free:banana:). However, the next morning the T.O.D. was back and more prominent than ever. I understand that Seafoam will thin out your oil when added. Could the new oil be to thick ?

[GeneralDisorder]

You likely need a new oil pump, and the cam carrier o-rings replaced at a minimum to knock out the TOD for good. It might also require new/reman lifters as well as the pressure relief springs in the cam spray bar banjo fittings.

 

It is very seldom that a repair in a bottle will fix TOD for any decent length of time. Usually it comes back very shortly.

 

GD

[CrownLoyale93]

I would agree that the oil pump, oil gasket, and cam seals all need to be replaced soon. Do you think that I need to repace lifters as well as the pressure relief springs in the cam spray bar banjo fittings even if the tick is only an issue after sitting for prolonged periods of time?

 

I understand that a repair in a bottle is not a solution for the long run, but I was curious if the thining of the oil in conjunction with a weak oil pump could have possibly resuled in "better" performance from a old pump.

 

My train of thought is: If the tick was gone when I thinned out the oil with the Seafoam, and there is no tick when the oil has warmed and has become less viscous, then I should try to using a oil with a lower initial (cold) viscosity.

 

Any thoughts?

[Tycho]

Just ripping the lifters apart and solvent soaking the pieces would be fine. Just as good as a rebuilt lifter. If it's sticking, you just need to get the grit out of the oil inside the lifter (which can only escape through a very small gap ... so if the grit is too big it never gets out).

 

Once the lifters are out, it takes about 15 minutes to pop all the lifters apart, soak the parts, and put them back together. You don't need to re-crimp the retainer cap that holds the lifter "guts" in. Just use light assembly grease (like Mag 1) and it will stay together while you assemble (after which point the cams and rockers hold it all together).

 

Thinner oil often works better than thicker on the top end as you have less hydraulic friction loss on the oil being pushed through all those passages ... so you have more pressure at the heads. If your pump is worn out tho, you will see significantly lower gauge pressure (at the pump) with thin oil.

[idosubaru]

overkill. i've fixed every single TOD except for one or two (see below) by resealing the oil pump. reseal it.

 

the other one or two where that didn't work were solved completely by replacing the oil pump. they aren't the expensive so just get a new oil pump and replace it and reseal it.

 

there's a thread on subaruxt.com where the admin had this same problem just a year or two ago, multiple reseals did not get rid of TOD - i sent him a new pump and wham - it no longer has TOD.

 

i did have one that needed the HLA's replaced because they were seized. but that car was driven thousands of miles with leaking headgaskets and had all sorts of other issues so i hardly count that abuse as normal. other than that anomaly i've never had to replace HLA's.