powderhound Posted March 22, 2014 Share Posted March 22, 2014 95 legacy 203k. Recently replaced the headgaskets and put in new lifters. The little sewing machine tick now sounds like a hammer. The heads had the oil passages blown out and were resurfaced. Oil pump was resealed with a skim coat of subaru sealant. We are going to put a new set of lifters in guessing that we got a defective lifter. Is there an oil passage that may have been missed? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Fairtax4me Posted March 22, 2014 Share Posted March 22, 2014 (edited) Yes. You need to remove the rocker shaft assembly from the head and disassemble it to thoroughly clean the oil feed passage for the rockers. Also remove the lifters from the rockers and clean out the feed holes in the rocker arms. I should also add that the rockers will be Very LOUD for about 15-30 minutes after initial startup until they have pumped up completely. Edited March 22, 2014 by Fairtax4me Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NickNakorn Posted March 22, 2014 Share Posted March 22, 2014 I think 15 or 30 seconds rather than minutes to pump up the lifters but I agree about the careful cleaning and assembly of all the valve gear. Making sure all parts are really clean is essential - http://www.nagara.co.uk/Enginefit3.htm Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
powderhound Posted March 22, 2014 Author Share Posted March 22, 2014 Ok. I'll have to check if the rocker assembly was gone over...had a friend do most of the work. Assuming it wasn't, why would the new lifters be louder than the old lifters? Also would this clogged assembly cause just one lifter to not pump up? It sounds like it's just one. Thanks for the help. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Fairtax4me Posted March 23, 2014 Share Posted March 23, 2014 New lifters are often louder until they get pumped up all the way. If its just one lifter making noise, drive the car for 20 minutes or so and it should pump up and stop making noise. If not, the feed hole in that one rocker arm could be clogged. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jarl Posted March 23, 2014 Share Posted March 23, 2014 Yep. The hidraulic lifters in these cars seem to take forever to stop making noise. Did you prime the lifters before installing them? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tbolt1003 Posted March 23, 2014 Share Posted March 23, 2014 What Fairtax said. I had the same issue with my '95 Impreza 2.2 and his diagnosis was dead-on accurate for me when I asked here in the forums for help. I completely disassembled the rocker arm assembly and found a small piece of RTV silicone blocking the oil feed hole to the rocker shaft. After removing that blockage, repriming the HLAs, and reassembling the engine, my engine has been noise-free and purrs like a kitten...super quiet. I'd be wiling to bet you have a blockage, as well. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
powderhound Posted April 7, 2014 Author Share Posted April 7, 2014 We have replaced all lifters and the engine is quiet now. Blew out all the passages but saw no debris present. The removed lifters are being sent back to the manf for inspection. No RTV was used...we used Subaru 3 bond. Apparently it was a defective lifter. Thanks for all the help guys. The car still has some other minor issues but I'll start another thread to address those if need be. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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