wendybradley Posted April 28, 2005 Share Posted April 28, 2005 Hi everybody, I'm brand new here. I have an '01 Outback 4 cyl auto w/56K (and an '84 Brat 4 spd w/148K). I have a question about my Outback, (which I love!!) Ever since I bought this car 2 yrs ago w/36K on it, I have noticed that it "pings" a lot under load, for example going up hill or on acceleration from a stop. Even tho I switched to premium gas it still does it, although not near as bad as with regular gas. I asked my dealer service dept. about it and the manager said that the Outbacks' timing is set at the factory and is not adjustable so there's really nothing they can do and what I am hearing is "the sound of fuel economy," in other words they're designed to run lean so as to get good mileage. That's all well and fine but I am worried about the long term damage that all this pinging will do to the engine. I intend to keep this car for years and years and am worried that over time all this pinging will do damage. Does anybody else know anything about this? Is it normal? Is my dealer jerking me around? With the outrageous gas prices I have a hard time continuing to buy premium, but I don't want to damage my Outback's engine either. Any advice? Thanks! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SuBrat84 Posted April 28, 2005 Share Posted April 28, 2005 Hey. We have a 98 legacy... the pinging noise shouldnt be serious.. (i cant hear it on your car though) They all do that.. it's the horizontally opposed design and our valve lifters get sticky. Frequent oil changes to prevent gummy build up will help. It's also good to change the oil hot if you can, or if a shop does it, let them know. I don't know what oil you're using... but 10w30 seems to help keep the noise down a little. Good Luck, and again, welcome! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
brus brother Posted April 28, 2005 Share Posted April 28, 2005 Had same problem from day 1 on my 00 Legacy GT. Supposed to run on 87 octane but gradually ran higher and higher grade to reduce ping. In my case, the pinging was under light load or uphill. Change your spark plugs if you haven't done so recently. That helped a little for me but after continued complaint to dealer (extended warranty) they pulled the timing cover at 76K miles and found that the timing was off by one tooth. The pinging is reduced but not completely absent. The dealer now suggests fuel induction cleaning. I have been using gas line cleaners regularly so I don't think this will help much. They could just as well suggest new tires! Let's see if this thread has any life or if it is just you and I who have been so "blessed". Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wendybradley Posted April 29, 2005 Author Share Posted April 29, 2005 Hey. We have a 98 legacy... the pinging noise shouldnt be serious.. (i cant hear it on your car though) They all do that.. it's the horizontally opposed design and our valve lifters get sticky. Frequent oil changes to prevent gummy build up will help. It's also good to change the oil hot if you can, or if a shop does it, let them know. I don't know what oil you're using... but 10w30 seems to help keep the noise down a little. Good Luck, and again, welcome! Thanks for the reply! I wouldn't say the pinging is really "serious," it doesn't do it all the time and probably no one would notice but me, but I am very anal about my cars and have always had old cars before so I am very conscious of any little noise. The oil I am currently using is 5w30, I am in a climate (central Wa state) where we have very cold winters and very hot summers. The dealer does all my oil changes so we'll see what they put in next time, lol. Also I think I read somewhere that there's a lot of crap added to our gasoline to prevent smog etc etc, I'm sure that doesn't help the problem any Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wendybradley Posted April 29, 2005 Author Share Posted April 29, 2005 Thanks for your reply, man that sucks! Sounds like as I suspected, maybe its' something I just have to live with. It's not horribly loud but because I've always had older tempermental cars I am always very aware of any noise, smell, smoke, etc that they may make, lol. So I'm always paranoid of any weird thing about my car. And of course I worry that the pinging will cause damage. I mean how could it not over time? But it sounds like there's not a whole lot I can do. I did have the plugs changed not too long ago and it didn't make any difference. Oh well....... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gnuman Posted April 29, 2005 Share Posted April 29, 2005 Hi everybody, I'm brand new here. I have an '01 Outback 4 cyl auto w/56K (and an '84 Brat 4 spd w/148K). I have a question about my Outback, (which I love!!) Ever since I bought this car 2 yrs ago w/36K on it, I have noticed that it "pings" a lot under load, for example going up hill or on acceleration from a stop. Even tho I switched to premium gas it still does it, although not near as bad as with regular gas. I asked my dealer service dept. about it and the manager said that the Outbacks' timing is set at the factory and is not adjustable so there's really nothing they can do and what I am hearing is "the sound of fuel economy," in other words they're designed to run lean so as to get good mileage. That's all well and fine but I am worried about the long term damage that all this pinging will do to the engine. I intend to keep this car for years and years and am worried that over time all this pinging will do damage. Does anybody else know anything about this? Is it normal? Is my dealer jerking me around? With the outrageous gas prices I have a hard time continuing to buy premium, but I don't want to damage my Outback's engine either. Any advice? Thanks! Despite the evidence of others having similar problems, I think the dealer is jerking you around. In the older (90-97 at least) the timing is controlled by the ECU, as is the spark itself, and the fuel mixture and injector operation. Have them check out the knock sensor, and perhaps get them tp reflash the ECU as it may have become corrupted. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GTgal Posted April 29, 2005 Share Posted April 29, 2005 Had the same problem with my 2000 GT. Premium gas only helped for awhile. Got the same response from the dealer that my fuel injectors were clogged. Try adding Seafoam ( you can get at Napa ) to your gas tank with some premium or better yet, use down the throttle body as posted on this site. It worked for me! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
brus brother Posted April 29, 2005 Share Posted April 29, 2005 Hey CTgal, Now that you did the Seafoam treatment, what octane are you using without getting ping? Had the same problem with my 2000 GT. Premium gas only helped for awhile. Got the same response from the dealer that my fuel injectors were clogged. Try adding Seafoam ( you can get at Napa ) to your gas tank with some premium or better yet, use down the throttle body as posted on this site. It worked for me! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Setright Posted May 1, 2005 Share Posted May 1, 2005 On the oil change: Tell the dealer to fill the new oil filter before installing it. Shortens the time that the engine is without oil pressure. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GTgal Posted May 7, 2005 Share Posted May 7, 2005 Hey CTgal,Now that you did the Seafoam treatment, what octane are you using without getting ping? I started with a tank of premium ( 92 octane, I believe ) when I added the Seafoam, but switched back to regular the next tank. The pinging was gone. I sometimes add another can 5000 miles later. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GTgal Posted May 7, 2005 Share Posted May 7, 2005 Oh, btw. Long before I used the Seafoam, I bought ( out of my own pocket )and had by boyfriend replace the knock sensor, since I asked the dealer to and they would not. Waste of money - it didn't stop the pinging. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
brus brother Posted May 7, 2005 Share Posted May 7, 2005 Hey CTGal, Did you simply add it to the gas or did you actually introduce it to the throttle body? Had the same problem with my 2000 GT. Premium gas only helped for awhile. Got the same response from the dealer that my fuel injectors were clogged. Try adding Seafoam ( you can get at Napa ) to your gas tank with some premium or better yet, use down the throttle body as posted on this site. It worked for me! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
unverviking Posted May 12, 2005 Share Posted May 12, 2005 They all do that.. it's the horizontally opposed design and our valve lifters get sticky. Frequent oil changes to prevent gummy build up will help. How about Rislone ??? Isn't that supposed to help the valve lifers, etc ?? Haven't used it in awhile, but have the "ping" and have thought about using it again. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
~01~Outback Posted May 12, 2005 Share Posted May 12, 2005 My Outback does the same/similar thing - sounds like timing lag to me, particularly as is only comes in with load - so ive been easy on it! Ill be getting the ECU and timing diagnosed soon! I could be wrong but i dont feel its a fuel issue! I will however by using high octaine for the next few tanks to see if this has an effect! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
brus brother Posted May 12, 2005 Share Posted May 12, 2005 I had success using 91 octane but it gets pricey. After years of complaining the dealer changed the knock sensor (no effect) and then checked the timing and the belt was off one tooth from the factory so at 70K I got a free timing belt change (I bought the belt) as they were in there anyway under warranty. Never threw an engine code. The problem was slightly improved but I still get the ping under light load. I have run various fuel line cleaners without success but now SOA suggests GM Upper Engine Cleaner through the throttle body. It seems unlikely that it is caused by a carbon buildup since the problem was present when the car was brandy new. The tech says he may swap in a 'puter to see if that helps. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
swc7916 Posted May 12, 2005 Share Posted May 12, 2005 Wow, I didn't know that this is such a common problem. I have had 6 Subarus with the 2.5 liter engine (1996 Outback, 2000 Outback, 2002 Outback, 2003 Baja, 2004 Outback and 2005 Impreza Outback Sport) and none of them ping under load. I regularly accelerate hard going uphill and while I don't get blazing performance, there is no pinging. I have experienced piston slap when the engine is cold, but it stops after a mile or so of driving. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
brus brother Posted May 12, 2005 Share Posted May 12, 2005 What octane rating are you using? Have you ever used injector or throtle body cleaners? Wow, I didn't know that this is such a common problem. I have had 6 Subarus with the 2.5 liter engine (1996 Outback, 2000 Outback, 2002 Outback, 2003 Baja, 2004 Outback and 2005 Impreza Outback Sport) and none of them ping under load. I regularly accelerate hard going uphill and while I don't get blazing performance, there is no pinging. I have experienced piston slap when the engine is cold, but it stops after a mile or so of driving. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
blitz Posted May 12, 2005 Share Posted May 12, 2005 Wow, I didn't know that this is such a common problem. I have had 6 Subarus with the 2.5 liter engine (1996 Outback, 2000 Outback, 2002 Outback, 2003 Baja, 2004 Outback and 2005 Impreza Outback Sport) and none of them ping under load. I regularly accelerate hard going uphill and while I don't get blazing performance, there is no pinging. I have experienced piston slap when the engine is cold, but it stops after a mile or so of driving. I had some pinging issues with my 2.5, but it was more of a hot weather, high gear, part-throttle between 2,500-3,000 RPM type thing. I'd typically notice it when trying to pick up 5 MPH on the freeway, or with the cruise control trying to maintain 65 MPH on a moderate uphill grade. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
swc7916 Posted May 12, 2005 Share Posted May 12, 2005 What octane rating are you using? Have you ever used injector or throtle body cleaners? I occasionally add a fuel injector cleaner to the gas, but otherwise I use regular unleaded gasoline. BTW I use Chevron exclusively. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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