So the motor went in on Saturday and fired up ...yay!! I didn't have exhaust gaskets (dealer was out) so I used Ultra-Copper. It immediately blew out a tiny hole on the passenger side port. It was making a ticking sound that was consistent with spits of exhaust coming out between the flange and the head. Well, I pulled the Y-pipe, resealed it and let the gasket maker cure for a day.

 

This morning was the first real fire-up and drive. On cold start it piston-slapped really bad. It went away after a second. The motor sounds awesome, but the ticking I heard is clearly valve train tick - the exhaust is sealed perfect. Its pretty loud.

 

I didn't think the EJ-22's had piston slap problems? This is initial knock is almost as bad as the EJ25 I took out. The difference is that this one sounds tight after a second. As for the valve tick ...its pretty bad. What are the easiest things I can do do cure this w/o pulling this $&@&@! motor out again and yanking the head off to do a valve job?

probably just a flat hla might fix it self. Did you put new oil ?

probably just a flat hla might fix it self. Did you put new oil ?

 

Yeah, I used castrol 10-40 with a qt of tranny fluid added in. Using a factory Subie filter too.

i let mine idle for a long time. the engine had been sitting for over a year and i was afraid it was not a good engine, i had never heard it run. but it was in and i had nothing to lose so i let it idle, 30 - 40 minutes a day for several days. it finally quieted down and has run great for over a year / 15k now.

 

don't panic, give it time.

i let mine idle for a long time. the engine had been sitting for over a year and i was afraid it was not a good engine, i had never heard it run. but it was in and i had nothing to lose so i let it idle, 30 - 40 minutes a day for several days. it finally quieted down and has run great for over a year / 15k now.

 

don't panic, give it time.

 

thanks John - is the oil set up I'm using OK?

yeah weight/brand oil and filter aren't going to cause problems.

i'd give it time too.

 

did you tighten the backing plate screws of the oil pump and reseal the oil pump?

yeah weight/brand oil and filter aren't going to cause problems.

i'd give it time too.

 

did you tighten the backing plate screws of the oil pump and reseal the oil pump?

 

I'm hoping this doesn't bite me in the arse, but no.

The oil pump was one of the only things not leaking and I didn't have the o-ring to go back in if I had yanked it. I decided to leave it alone. Was that a bad call?

 

If its any consolation, I left the t-belt covers off and everything is very easy access in case it needs to be done.

I don't think you need to worry about it. I don't know what loose backing plate screws can cause, I've never heard of them even causing problems but they're almost always loose so it's obviously not that big of a deal.

Valve train noise in these motors can be easily eliminated.

 

Remvoe the valve covers.

 

Remove the rocker assembly.

 

ONe at a time, pull the adjuster fromt he arm tips.

 

Place it in a shallow pan of clean oil (cut off bottom of a Quart oil bottle)

 

Hold it upsidedown against the bottom of the pan, and use a pin to poke the relief valve ball, while compressing the whole thing.

 

It can take a bit of compressing and refilling before they prime up.

 

You want to get them to where they compress and expand fully when the pin is depressed, but pumped up solid with oil after primed.

 

Occasionally you will find one that is totally stuck compressed. In that case they are cheap from subaru or if you have any extra heads around just scavenge one.