stevemeeters Posted February 6, 2005 Share Posted February 6, 2005 Hello, we're looking at used Outbacks and drove a couple yesterday. One was a 2001 with the 6 cyl engine in it. It sounded great and ran great. The other was a 2001 with a 2.5L 4 cyl engine. As soon as I started it it went tick, tick, tick ... for about 5 minutes, then sounded fine after that. From what I've read this didn't sound like the "slap" but I'm not sure, it sounded more like a lifter. What I'd like to know is if Subaru fixed the slap problem in the 6 cyl engines and what does piston slap actually sound like? Thanks, Steve Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sea#3 Posted February 7, 2005 Share Posted February 7, 2005 You probably have heard "piston slap" with the H4 , but piston slap isn't an issue for the H6 . They have a different bore and stroke configuration ,which is why they don't tend to do the piston slap noise SEA#3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Setright Posted February 7, 2005 Share Posted February 7, 2005 Piston slap sounds like a Diesel engine. Clack-clack-clack. I get it every morning.... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Scoobaroo Posted February 7, 2005 Share Posted February 7, 2005 6's don't have the slap. (longer piston skirts, smaller bore, etc.) A 2.5 4 cyl. will almost always have the slap with 20k+ miles. Don't worry about it as long as it goes away within a few minutes. Engine noises are fatal in a Ford or a Chevy. Japaneese engines just seem to make noises happily for hundreds of thousands of miles. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
stevemeeters Posted February 10, 2005 Author Share Posted February 10, 2005 Just a quick followup - The dealer's top Subaru tech turned out to be a good friend of a long time neighbor. He listened to the engine and said yes the car has a slight case of the slap, but he thought everything else sounded normal (01, with 31K). He then started up a '97 so I could hear what slapping really sounds like. It fit Setright's description of sounding like a diesel. I took it to the shop who works on my other cars and they confirmed what the dealer's tech said. Anyway's we ended up buying the car the other night. I now realize this is the 4th Subaru we've owned - '78, '80 (new), '86 and now '01. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ron917 Posted February 10, 2005 Share Posted February 10, 2005 Just to put your mind at ease, I've got an old Volvo that's had piston slap for the past 210,000 miles. It sounds like an old school bus on a cold morning, but it runs just fine. It's not something to worry about unless you can't stand the noise. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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