lostalfos Posted October 29, 2015 Share Posted October 29, 2015 (edited) Guys! there's so much info on here about this notorious tod. but i guess i'm curious because the videos i've seen to listen to the sound are all very persistent with a steady tick. i'm reading up on it because... well, i have it. i've had it for a few k's now. it is getting louder. it stops abruptly, then fades in. and sometimes, it doesn't happen at all, but does usually more and more so now. doesn't tick on the highway. the idle jumps up from 700 to 1200 and back down to 700 over and over. not always. it used to always, but i found a small hose disconnected from the charcoal filter with a mosquito clogging the end of it. removed the mosquito, replugged the hose, and the idle returned to normal. that was about 9k ago. now, it's doing it again, but the hose is still connected. i'm a little baffled. do these sound like TOD symptoms? i've read it might be a small exhaust leak?oh yes, also, it makes a delicate rattling sound from under the hood whenever i'm using lots of gas. for example: climbing a hill at a low rpm. as an after thought, my mechanic told me that this particular tick might not be the tick of death and could be something internal with the engine, in which case, paying to fix the TOD would render futile. although, he did not hear the tick, it's only been described to him as i have to you.i recently replaced the oil i use synthetic 10w-30 and used a little seafoam to see if it might help clean things up. but to no avail. anyways, i'd really appreciate some advice before i fork over the $500 to get the oil pump replaced. thanks dudes! Edited October 29, 2015 by lostalfos Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
idosubaru Posted October 29, 2015 Share Posted October 29, 2015 hmmmm.....the efficacy of diagnosing a noise we can't hear? your description looks like TOD - comes and goes, varies wildly. that's standard TOD. lower end knocking won't go away like that. ah the rattling - the marbles in a can while you're driving up a hill? that's common and largely benign - downshift if you're lugging the engine too much. that's not TOD though, you can have the rattling and no TOD. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
idosubaru Posted October 29, 2015 Share Posted October 29, 2015 (edited) Woah - $500? That seems high but I guess $150 part and 3 hours at $100/hour? I'd install a new timing belt kit while you got the thing apart replacing the oil pump. Only $70 or less for both belts and all the pulleys. The belts have to be removed to replace the oil pump anyway - so it's zero labor. Water pump maybe as well, those EA/ER pumps aren't the most reliable pumps ever made. Edited October 29, 2015 by grossgary Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DaveT Posted October 29, 2015 Share Posted October 29, 2015 TOD comes and goes, until the cause gets bad. 10 w 30 is thin and doesnt help for an ea82 unless you are in very cold climate. How many miles and years are on the oil pump and it's seal? These engines are made to spin fast, not lug. If I'm near wide open throttle at 3000rpm, I often downshift. Most of the stones in a can rattles I've had were loose beat shields on the exhaust. A small exhaust leak can sound similar to TOD, but will dissappear instantly any time you let go of the gas pedal, TOD won't. I've never had one come and go, just slowly get louder over time. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lostalfos Posted October 29, 2015 Author Share Posted October 29, 2015 hmmmm.....the efficacy of diagnosing a noise we can't hear? your description looks like TOD - comes and goes, varies wildly. that's standard TOD. lower end knocking won't go away like that. ah the rattling - the marbles in a can while you're driving up a hill? that's common and largely benign - downshift if you're lugging the engine too much. that's not TOD though, you can have the rattling and no TOD. thanks! yeah, $500 sounds about right.. i replaced the timing belt and water pump around 10,000 ago. so i don't think i need those again. any else you can think of that would be good to replace in that area? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rust Posted October 29, 2015 Share Posted October 29, 2015 Should rename it TOA (Tick of Annoyance). I have never had an EA82 motor die from the tick. My best results have come from flushing the motor with a cocktail of Seafoam, ATF, and Risoline. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lostalfos Posted October 29, 2015 Author Share Posted October 29, 2015 TOD comes and goes, until the cause gets bad. 10 w 30 is thin and doesnt help for an ea82 unless you are in very cold climate. How many miles and years are on the oil pump and it's seal? These engines are made to spin fast, not lug. If I'm near wide open throttle at 3000rpm, I often downshift. Most of the stones in a can rattles I've had were loose beat shields on the exhaust. A small exhaust leak can sound similar to TOD, but will dissappear instantly any time you let go of the gas pedal, TOD won't. I've never had one come and go, just slowly get louder over time. i think it's safe to assume the oil pump and seal have never been changed. it's a '92 with 190k on it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lostalfos Posted October 29, 2015 Author Share Posted October 29, 2015 Should rename it TOA (Tick of Annoyance). I have never had an EA82 motor die from the tick. My best results have come from flushing the motor with a cocktail of Seafoam, ATF, and Risoline. cool thanks for the tip! i'll try that first since it's the least expense. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
idosubaru Posted October 29, 2015 Share Posted October 29, 2015 I'd replace the timing pulleys - they're old and devoid of grease by now. If you're replacing the timing pulleys might as well replace the belts too and get the kits since they're cheap and labor is nearly free. Pulley failure is as common as, or more than, belt failure. Replacing the belt alone is low grade maintenance. Crank seal, cam seal, cam cap orings and water pump all require the same labor - so each of those is another $300+ for labor to install a $3 seal. It makes sense to replace all of them while the timing belt is off, but I understand the desire not to pay more than you need to. You'll have to make that call how much risk aversion is worth to you. The seals and orings are cheap and easier to replace than the water pump (no scraping the mating surface) - and you'd be mitigating 5 failure points by addressing all of those, so maybe do all the seals and leave the water pump if you're trying to save a buck. If you do replace the water pump - get a Subaru water pump gaskets, some of the aftemarket gaskets are paper thin craptastic prone to leaking. I'd get Subaru seals on that engine too. Typically the ticking is approached like this: 1. reseal the oil pump - this occasionally solves the issue, but often does not. 2. replace the oil pump Since #1 is labor intensive, if you're paying labor you might as well just install a new pump rather than guess and have to pay labor twice since frequently a reseal doesn't fix it. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DaveT Posted October 29, 2015 Share Posted October 29, 2015 Safe to say with that many miles and years on the pump, the seal is shot. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rdweninger Posted October 30, 2015 Share Posted October 30, 2015 if you buy a new oil pump, I would like your old pump. Could you bag it and mail it to me? I would like to try a rebuild on it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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