Jes1991 Posted April 20, 2010 Share Posted April 20, 2010 OK. I have owned my 1998 Subaru DL (non turbo) for about 3 years. when i got it it was running fine just leaking a little bit of oil and the check engine light was always on. the second summer driving it developed a loud tick under the hood. the sound is coming from the back of the engine near the PCV valve. people have told me various things like it was low on oil, the lifters were bent, oil pump going bad, and other things. well it wasn't low oil. it wasn't causing a problem except being loud. then my grand dad asked me if i have ever replaced my PCV valve. i told him no and so off to the auto parts store i went. i replaced the valve and a few hoses that connected to it and i drove it down the road and noticed something different, the sound was gone and the check engine light was off! it stayed that way for about a week. then i was going down the interstate and for reasons I'm not going to say i went 100 miles per hour for a few minutes. the check engine light came back on and the loud clicking started again. so i replaced the PCV valve again but the sound and light continues. Does any one have any ideas as to what it going on? please help. thank you. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GeneralDisorder Posted April 20, 2010 Share Posted April 20, 2010 The ticking is your lifters. What you need to do is change your oil more often for a while and add a quart of Rislone engine treatment in place of one of the four quarts of oil. Do this every 1000 miles about 3 times then go back to 3000 mile oil changes and continue using the Rislone. If that doesn't fix the problem then it's going to take more invasive work to solve it and depending on how much you love the car and/or want that noise to stop it may or may not be worth the time and expense to solve it. As long as you keep it filled with oil and it has good oil pressure (which I would definitely check with a mechanical gauge as the stock gauges are notoriously poor indicators of actual pressure) then the ticking will not actually harm anything. You should run an oil pressure test just for peice of mind - it should be no lower than 15 to 20 psi at idle after the engine reaches operating temp, and it should rise to 40 or 50 psi at about 3000 RPM. If it does not you may need to replace or reseal the oil pump and at that time it would likely be a good idea to replace the cam tower o-rings as well. GD Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jes1991 Posted June 5, 2010 Author Share Posted June 5, 2010 well i couldn't find Rislone engine treatment. but a i asked a friend and he said try Restore engine treatment. iv ran it for a week and it made it quieter. then i had to put it in 4wd to get up a steep hill at work and parked it for 5 hours. when i started it back up it idled really rough and the noise was still there. i drove it about 15 min and when i got home the loud clicking has stopped! but its only silent when I'm in neutral and sitting still. when i accelerate the clicking starts but i think its just because of an exhaust leak. thanks for the advice and as soon as i get a little bit of money I'm going to take it to a mechanic and get the oil pressure checked. thanks again! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
idosubaru Posted June 5, 2010 Share Posted June 5, 2010 the engine restore stuff is a waste, i wouldn't add anything to your oil again unless you check here first. you meant to say 1988 right, not 1998? lots of ticking information on here, it's very common and we're very familiar with it. don't bother checking oil pressure, that's not likely to be your issue. it's one of two things causing it probably. either the oil pump needs resealed to prevent air bubbles getting into the oil supply (the suction side of the oil pump block gasket gets sucked in), or the actual HLA's are dirty and sticking. the risolone/atf adding only works if it's the HLA's being dirty. though in some cases the oil pump can't properly seal even with a new gasket and the oil pump itself just needs replaced so the gaskets will seal properly. change your oil often on these things, the HLA's can not tolerate dirty oil well. the good thing is there's no valves to adjust, the bad is they can't tolerate poor oil change maintenance. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jes1991 Posted June 9, 2010 Author Share Posted June 9, 2010 Actuality i meant 1989. my finger just slipped. and iv been told by others that it could be the oil pump. but I'm out of money and cant afford to put another one in till about mid summer. and i change the oil every 3000 miles or sooner. this car is my first car iv bought on my own and its my baby. lol. thanks for the tips. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
idosubaru Posted June 9, 2010 Share Posted June 9, 2010 these engines are notorious for loud HLA's - like so loud even mechanics will swear that something is wrong with your engine. but it's actually not a big deal, it just sounds bad...or horrible. but it doesn't signal any catastrophe or problems down the road. just live with it until you can repair it. i'd just plan on a thorough timing belt job in the future in which case most of us would just reseal the oil pump while the belts are off anyway. get the ebay timing kits for $60 or less, reseal the oil pump and seals and you're good for 50,000 miles. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kerandt Posted June 9, 2010 Share Posted June 9, 2010 Good advice here. You might also try using a thicker oil too, that helped quiet mine quite a bit. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tomo Posted June 9, 2010 Share Posted June 9, 2010 mines been ticking for 40,000km now - it has good days or weeks, then not so good ones. Have not noticed any damage to engine or performance. Regular servicing does help. Tom. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Suba9792 Posted June 23, 2010 Share Posted June 23, 2010 some times....try replacing the plugs and plug wires...sounds crazy but it has worked on many soobies for me. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jes1991 Posted June 23, 2010 Author Share Posted June 23, 2010 Awesome. thanks you all. as soon as i get some money ill try all of that. and if it dont work then ill live with it. thanks again everybody! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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