EA82 Engine TAP TAP TAP

[cap86]

What is the current thinking on the Ticking and Tapping? Six years ago I picked up a 87 GL 42wd wagon with 102k/mi. on the clock it had an intermittent ticking. Now it has 185k and it has an intermittent ticking... not significantly worse than when I got it. A while back I replaced the oil pump which did wonders for the oil pressure but no real change to the ticking. Would it help to go to a thicker oil? thinner oil? any other ideas. I figured that the ticking would get worse & force a decision but that dosen't seem to be happening. Will the ticking lead to some kind of catastrophic failure? if so, will there be a warning? (how much?).

 

A long time ago I decided to sidestep the endless cycle of new car payments and overcomplicated cars that can't be repaired. I feel that, for the purpose of good reliable transportation, cars were essentially perfected in the 80's and any improvements since then (aside from airbags) are only complicating things and raising prices to rediculous levels. I zeroed in on the 1986 GL 4wd wagon as the perfect all-around vehicle for many reasons. My wife and I, and two of my sons all drive them and we have a stockpile of cheap parts cars for spare parts. Everything is interchangeable between our cars and everyone knows how to fix them. The fleet averages about ten cents per mile in operating costs (includes COST OF CAR, maintenance, gas & oil). I'm planning on using these cars forever.

 

I drive sensibly on and off roads, keep up the maintenance and have been expecting a major engine meltdown for years but it never happens.... (3/4million miles & counting).

 

I have several parts car engines and was wondering if I could rebuild one myself (shadetree mechanic for decades) and keep it at the ready. Is there much rebuild knowledge around here or any good places to have one rebuilt?

 

I frequently travel 1000 to 2000 miles on trips and don't want the ticking time bomb to get me far from home, so I'm wondering if I need to address the ticking or just live with it... (the higest mileage car has 250k/mi and ticks less than some of the others...)

[snowstormer]

hows it goin?

 

there is a good write-up in the repair section on engine tapping.

 

you will get other replies, if you wait a little though-

 

i came to the same conclusion on car ownership a few years ago myself, i have 7 subarus now... its a good theory.

[86subaru]

try mmo or dual-a -blend oil castrol , and a good filter

[cap86]

Good info in there about fixing the ticking - Thanks! Unfortunately the link to the write-up from "one of our fellow Subaru nuts from Austrailia", the one about disassembling the lifters, no longer works. Does anyone have a copy of the article or another place to view it?

 

I'm still curious about what, if anything, the ticking is doing to the engine? Should I worry about what four years and 85,000 miles of ticking has done? It still runs like it did at 102,000mi - will it get worse? will something snap?

 

My Soob-a-Guru has said that as long as the oil pressure is enough to register on the gauge that everything will be OK as long as the pump gets replaced at the next timing belt change. Is he nuts or is this OK too?

CAP86

[GeneralDisorder]

Really the ticking doesn't damage anything. It can continue indefinately. It's just the sounds of a loose valve train, or portion of the valve train. What you are hearing is the tap of the lifters compressing slightly when a valve opens..... basically they are not pumping up due to either insufficient oil pressure, cloged lifters, or just plain worn out lifters. If they have ticked as long as you say, then probably the only cure for you is going to be to replace those lifters that are worn out. The ticking causes the lifters to actuate a lot more than they normally would when fully inflated, and so when left in a ticking state for a long time the lifters just eventually fail from the added wear. There is no cure for this but to replace the lifters with new ones, or good ones from another engine.

 

GD