89 Wagon GL Leak/Tick/Knock

[Urabus1989]

Good Evening,

 

I bought a relativly low mileage (98k) 1989 Subaru Wagon GL. It was cheap and very clean and straight, all original, a little old lady owned it and only drove it to .... (you know the story). I had the timing belt changed and all that goes along with this scheduled maintenance at 100k miles. Contracted an oil leak, told it was lube from the transmission, had an "O" ring replaced somewhere. Next, strange ticks and a possible knock. I have been reading threads about the TOD and hope this is what I am experiencing. I took it back to my mechanic he says "rebuild" to include the lower part of the engine, BIG $! or replace.

 

I am inclined to drive the car and enjoy its last days, months, years until something flies apart. How do I distinguish the "Tick of Death" from the Knock of Rod of Death?

 

In closing I really love the little car and want to keep it original if possible. Thanks in advance for the advice, warnings, questions, sarcasm ...

 

I am new to the forum, be gentle :-) 

 

Simon

[DaveT]

Tod lifter tick is a thin light sounding metallic tick. Rod knock has a much deeper note to it.

 

It's due for a reseal just by years. That's headgaskets up. IncLuding the shaft seal on the oil pump. This usually fixes or dramatically reduces the oIL leaks. The shaft seal usually fixes the lifter tick.

[88SubieSnack]

May I ask you something? Is your mechanic familiar with the engine? And was any noise noted prior to the service you had? 

[Urabus1989]

DaveT, thanks for the reply, great information. This automobile had set for a long time prior to my purchase (~3years). Could be that seals have dried up?

 

88SubieSnack, Thanks for the reply,

The mechanic is my brother in law, he manages a a pool of mechanics and I am told they are well versed Subaru engines. I can't really place when certain noises began, it seems somewhat erratic, but over time getting louder, more pronounced.

 

I will do some careful listening and report my findings.

 

Thanks so much!

Simon

[DaveT]

I've had these ea82 wagons since 1988. Some I got middle aged, one I got when it was 2yrs old. One I got quite old, but we'll cared for low miles. I bought that 87 one because it had no rust, and the beater I was driving was very rusty. The 87 sat in my garage for a few years, until I added 4w, and the beater was too far gone.

 

They all got leaky and needed a reseal around the same time and or miles, whichever came first. The 87 was leaky when I got it, it got worse when I started running it. The newest ea82 out there was made in 94, well over the time for a reseal, regardless of miles or sitting, going by my experience with several of them.

 

Lifter tick tends to be random and vary.

[BEECHBM69]

These are horrible, worthless little cars and you need to sell it to me ASAP to relieve yourself of any further pain, anguish, and financial burden................

 

All kidding aside, the sitting can be problematic in the short term, in that 3 years of maladies that would have been resolved as they came up, are stacked to be resolved as soon as you start driving it again. In my limited experience over the years, rod knock has never been an issue unless the engine has been abused in some fashion, which can happen if you've got a leaker and don't stay on top of the oil. TOD is a much more prevalent malady, possibly exacerbated by a long period of dormancy.

 

Good luck with it!

 

Dan 

[idosubaru]

TOD is so common - it's hard to not think that's what it is.  

If it's a rock knocking that's not going to ever go away.  If the noise ever subsides, it's not rod knock. 

 

If you don't like ignoring it, repair is generally really simple: 
1.  reseal the oil pump

2.  replace the oil pump

3.  Some people say the cam carrier orings sometimes need replaced - but I've had 100% success rate with the two steps I just outlined and many others have had excellent success as well doing the same.  

 

Here's a write up intended to be clear cut mechanically driven and not guessing, changing oil weights, and otherwise wandering around what if's, maybes, outliers, and band aids:

http://www.ultimatesubaru.org/forum/topic/136547-ea82-er27-ticking-tod-hydraulic-valve-lash-hla-noise-diagnose-and-repair/