My 85 gl two wheel drive ea82 engine (139000 miles) has gotten a real bad tick. I read about changing the mickey mouse gasket on the oil pump and some o rings under the cam towers? and also the crank shaft seal. Does anyone know if this can be done with the engine still in the car? Also my timing belt is due to be changed. Should I replace the tensioner and the water pump while I'm in there?

Does driving with this tick hurt anything?

The oil pump seals/front crankshaft seal can be replaced with engine in car. The cam towers are tricky, but it can be done.

 

New tensioners are never a bad idea. The water pump is up to you, it can be replaced with the engine in the car without having to remove the timing covers.

 

Finally, the ticking doesn't really hurt anything. Yes, it's less than ideal, and it's hella annoying, but it doesn't really hurt anything.

If you've never done this before, I'd recommend pulling the engine and performing all the maintainence services you've suggested, and check the clutch and rear main seal while you're at it. Oil pan gasket probably needs replacing by now too.

 

After doing this stuff w/engine out, NOW I'm comfortable doing it with the engine in, but not before doing it that first time.

Just thought I would tell you about what should be a sure fix for keeping the the oil pump from sucking in that mickey mouse gasket we came up with. After replacing the micky mouse gasket on our EA82 engine in our stock car the ticking stopped for awhile but gradually came back. Just today my mechanic (husband) took oil pump off an EA82T engine that he is working on for next race season. The mickey mouse ear on it was chewed up & obviously had been sucked in. So he came up with what should be a cure to the problem. He inserted a piece of copper tubing in the suck hole leaving just enough lip to keep the gasket from sucking in. The tubing has got to be the right diameter to fit good & tight of course. It should at least eliminate one source of ticking issues. He loves coming up with these simple & cheap fixes for the common Subaru problems.

Thanks for the input. I forgot to mention that is car is automatic. Does that make pulling the engine harder? I also have a passport with the same tick, tick, tick, tick. It drive me nuts. I hear that for that engine I need to replace the rocker arm shafts. Anyway thanks for the input. I hope you see this posting as I am new to this message board thing and not sure how to reply.

Here's some good reading about your ticking problem.

 

http://www.ultimatesubaru.org/forum/showthread.php?t=21477&highlight=lifter%2A

He inserted a piece of copper tubing in the suck hole leaving just enough lip to keep the gasket from sucking in.

Illustration?

tick of death?

wait wasn't there a cheesy movie about giant ticks killing people?

 

i hope your not faced with that kinda tick...

Illustration?

Hope pictures help along with a few more details. Pete used a 1/2" drill to enlarge suck hole. The length of copper tubing is approx. 5/16ths. He says very important to keep top of copper tubing flush with oil pump face. You can see in the picture of the gasket, which we removed from this pump, the suck side gasket is pretty messed up. The lip of the copper tubing should keep the oil pump from sucking in the poor mouses ear:grin:

well with an auto, from what I've been told and with the 3 auto tranny swaps I've done, the torq converter has to be put on the tranny side first and then after you get the engine in place, you put the bolts in the flywheel plate to the torq converter. You can do this through the timing mark hole and the starter hole.

 

just a thought.