October 31, 201213 yr Author Paranoid about these hydro lifters and a bit of a tick Ive been hearing, I went through and double checked my clearances. I tightened each one by another 1/4 turn. Im probably just nuts..... but does is anyone bothered by this tick at idle? Edited November 1, 201213 yr by Idasho
November 1, 201213 yr Author Its officially a 4x4 again Got the shortened driveline in, and was able to take her for a spin. Had it up to 70mph and no noticeable vibrations. Certainly a newer noise from the tunnel, but that is to be expected. Lots more driveline moving in there now. Was also able to check the 4wd and the new lower low range. One of my primary reasons for the 5-speed swap was the lower low range. And it is nice.
November 2, 201213 yr Author BIG THANKS to Andy from Spokane. He sold me this sweet rear air foil. Its in awesome shape! Im trying to decide whether or not to keep it raw aluminum and polish it, or powdercoat it (black) Either way, it installed easy enough. Had to talk to myself a bit to drill holes in this car
November 2, 201213 yr Author Ive been on the lookout for one of these since I picked this car up.... Its brushed aluminum. It is going to get painted black though. Raw alum for now, getting too cold for paint.
November 4, 201213 yr There is a whole link(I guess thats the word") that talks about "The Tick". Pages of why and what folks have done to fix it.I think the best was just turn up your tunes..haha It works...
November 13, 201213 yr Author Well, my tick went away. Seems it was a lazy lifter, or it simply had to work itself clean and free. The new motor has roughly 500 miles on it now. And feels REAL good. The high compression is really starting to impress me. The low end torque is fantastic, being able to pull hills in 5th at speed that before (with the 4-speed) I had to downshift into 3rd and pray it was enough. Yesterday we did a bit of light snow wheeling, to get us to a trailhead to do some hiking with the dog. The new low range is nice I also got the rear air foil painted satin black. It looks great. Ill get some new pictures up sooner or later. Having put 500 miles on it now trouble free, the car is being handed off to the wife for her winter rig. The snow is here! Also, Im in need of a new 4wd and low range switch. I managed to break the small switch that tells the cluster when the 4wd shifter is in 4wd and low range. It mounts inside the center console. Please let me know if you have a good used one, 'cause you have a buyer
November 21, 201213 yr Going to use this thread as the bible as I put the Brat back together and upgrading to a 5spd. Awesome job.
December 8, 201213 yr Author 1k miles on it now. Pulled it in this evening for a compression check. I was hoping to swap over to synthetic, but it isnt quite ready yet. 140PSI on all 4 cylinders. Rings still have some work to do to seat all the way. Running great though Last tank I averaged 23MPG. Not bad for a motor still trying to break in. Left front e-brake cable is a bit sticky too.... The trans is getting an oil change too. Picked up 4 jugs of fully synthetic for it. Should help the cold shifting a bit.
December 8, 201213 yr Actually Full Synth might make the shifts even worse, you could try Red-Line NS or even Subaru Extra-S. As far as the engine goes I am not sure. I have pretty good luck with regular Dino oil in the older Subs and mixed results with full synth. Good Luck! 1k miles on it now. Pulled it in this evening for a compression check. I was hoping to swap over to synthetic, but it isnt quite ready yet. 140PSI on all 4 cylinders. Rings still have some work to do to seat all the way. Running great though Last tank I averaged 23MPG. Not bad for a motor still trying to break in. Left front e-brake cable is a bit sticky too.... The trans is getting an oil change too. Picked up 4 jugs of fully synthetic for it. Should help the cold shifting a bit.
December 8, 201213 yr Author Currently the thing shifts great when warm. Its the first 10 minutes in sub-freezing temps thats tough.
December 8, 201213 yr Currently the thing shifts great when warm. Its the first 10 minutes in sub-freezing temps thats tough. I've never had a subaru that likes to shift before the transmission warms up. Shifting is always a bit sluggish, then as it warms up the shifting improves. Good dino gear oil does help, though.
December 8, 201213 yr Author Well crap... maybe Ill return the synthetic. Still havnt dumped it in. Stuff isnt cheap! Thanks
December 8, 201213 yr I've never tried synthetic, so I can't comment if that's better or not for shifting. As you said, it's expensive... The best gear oil for a subaru is the extra-s. But that's expensive, too.
December 8, 201213 yr Best stuff I've ever used was Valvoline Syntec gear oil. It's synthetic and it works GREAT. I'm currently running Lucas though and it's good too. But I've had many a trans that was crunchy and clingy, the valvoline syntec cleared that right up.
December 8, 201213 yr Author Thats the stuff I got, the Valvoline Ah hell, this trans is getting synthetic
December 16, 201213 yr Author Just an update... A bit more than 200 miles on it since the change to synthetic, and I can honestly say that is made a HUGE instant improvement. In town MPG is up by more than 2mpg. And you can feel the car roll easier out of the garage in the morning. With the dino oil, as I backed out of the garage into the street in the morning, I barely had to use the brakes to stop the roll, before shifting into 1st to drive off. Now it feels like it is free-wheeling with no resistance, I really have to use the brakes to stop the roll before driving off. 2nd gear shift when cold issue is 90% gone. I think the remaining issue may just be a syncro issue, or possibly linkage. Shifting fantastic though.
December 16, 201213 yr Author Thanks dude BTW, we FINALLY got some snow last night!! We are taking the Subaru up to the local mtns for some a snow-shoe hike. Pictures to follow
December 16, 201213 yr This is a great ride!! i love the detailed photos. the subaru air cleaner on the weber is fantastic. and the wagon with the mountains in the background is quit a sight!! I officially like the second generation now
December 31, 201213 yr Author I like 'em too Got her cleaned up this weekend, only to get things dirty again.... Winter is awesome here in north Idaho, but gets cars all nasty. Luckily the worst we get on the roads is de-icer. Normally just gravel, but never salt
December 31, 201213 yr De-icer as in calcium chloride? If so, that's MUCH worse than salt. That's what they use here on the major roads and it's like liquid salt and eats away everything. Gets into every nook and cranny of a car. That's why when my "new" car comes, it won't see the winter roads.
December 31, 201213 yr Author Stuff they use here is magnesium chloride, slightly better. But still bad. And it is used sparingly. Normally just on the major passes.
January 1, 201313 yr Author Speaking of trying to keep the crap off the car.... SuperBrat came through and found me a set of front mud flaps!! So I tossed them on. next spring they will be removed and restored, along with the rear flaps. The text paint needs touched up. but they look great! Dont mind the nasty road grime... and I just realized that I never posted a finished pic of the rear deflector... here it is.... just painted for now. Im sure once it starts flaking Ill rip it off and have it powdercoated. But I can already tell it is doing its job. The rear window stays much cleaner.
Please sign in to comment
You will be able to leave a comment after signing in
Sign In Now