noisy lifters

[ausmhow]

I've got an 87 gl 4wd wagon that I just finished replacing the head gaskets on- I started the motor and let it warm up to operating temp- nice and quiet (except for the exhaust man. gaskets that needed replaced). No problems- no leaks, nothing - shut it down in anticipation of replacing the exhaust gaskets the next day. Next day- new exhaust gaskets installed- let her warm up at idle- no issues or noise untill after running for about 20 minutes it develops some lifter noise from the pass. side cyl. bank. I drove it today for about 40 miles hoping that it was an issue of letting the lifters build up pressure- still ticking. I'm about to go add some MMO to the crank case and see if that has any effect.

any ideas?

thanks

[86subaru]

i have used 20w-50 weight oil, and it worked , i know some guys using 15-40 also

[BoostedBalls]

Don't be scared to use W40 or even W50 oil if the engine has high miles on it. Worn engine clearances can be "tightened" using a thicker oil. You'll likely have less oil consumption and leaks as well.

 

I have used Seafoam to fix this issue on the ej engines with good results. Haven't needed to on my EA engines yet.

 

The noise might not actually be the lifters (HLS's); maybe it's the Mickey Mouse oil pump gasket. The thicker oil should help both anyway.

[torxxx]

If the engine has more than 150,000 miles on it, buy a new oil pump. You wont have to worry about TOD for the rest of the life of the engine

[beataru]

i think its just your subie telling you that it loves you!!!! and that its in its prime!!!

[GeneralDisorder]

Don't use thicker oil. That's just asking for problems. These engine have VERY close tollerances from the factory, and chances are they are not all that worn.

 

I don't like additives either. Replace the oil pump (or at least the seals), and you did use the new cam tower o-rings with metal reinforcement inside right?

 

And you put the lifters and rockers back where they came from yes?

 

It comes down to oil pressure. The fix is correctly sealed oil delivery systems. You do not need thicker oil, and you do not need additives. You need to eliminate the problem.

 

My 86 sedan has 228,000 on it, just had new head gaskets two weeks ago, and hasn't ticked ever.

 

GD

[idosubaru]

double post woo hoo!

[idosubaru]

+1 for GD's comments.

 

thicker oil, different brands, additives and such can change the TOD but it's usually only temporary and very temporary at that.

 

like GD said, did you replace the cam tower o-ring with a brand new metal reinforced o-ring and not a generic rubber o-ring?

 

how long did you drive this car with a leaking headgasket? were you adding coolant for a long time and driving it?

 

the solution most of the time is resealing the oil pump. a few of the XT6 guys (the XT6 oil pump is very very similar to the EA82), have had problems with the gaskets leaking soon after being resealed. i haven't had this problem but my guess is that the oil pump either gets warn...i don't think so because i've never had the problem on any of my many XT6's and haven't seen it here either. but i'm wondering if the plate of the oil pump that gasket sets in gets warped over time (particularly on an engine that ran a little hot...yours needed new headgaskets right??). this aluminum is very thin and seems like even a little warping would cause the new gasket to easily get pulled inside the suction port of the oil gasket.

 

another cause of TOD is a faulty HLA. if they are frozen in the wrong position they will cause noise or if they are sticking. change your oil often, you don't want the HLA's getting dirty. adding MMO and ATF to your oil isn't probably the ideal solution but it can help free up sticky HLA's.

 

the two bad, frozen, HLA's i've found were both out of an engine that had bad headgaskets. this engine was driven for quite some time with bad headgaskets and i'm assuming the coolant/water mixture in the oil and resulting condensation may have gotten into the HLA's and caused them to corroded/stick internally. i spent 3 days trying to get them to move a millimeter with tools, heating in an oven and soaking in solvent and they never moved. both were #3 cylinder on the passengers side.