Hi all and merry xmas,

When the motor is cold a got a tikcing from the left bank, this is a 2003 outback. I can not hear this tick when the motor is hot or if a let the car run for a 15 minut in idle befor i start driving. I live in Iceland and now it is very cold here.

check oil level

change your oil

what viscosity are you using?

check oil level

change your oil

what viscosity are you using?

I did that and it did not change the tick.

I am using normal oil for cold weather.

can this sound come from valve lift og from piston.

this car is just drive a 15000 mile

Piston slap.

Piston slap.

 

Do you now how, is the piston slap to the cylinderhead or is it in self piston.

I've never actually heard Subaru piston slap, but from what everyone else is saying around here, piston slap is waaay louder than just ticking, it's more like a knocking that can wake up your neighbors across the street.

 

If you're in Iceland, you've got to be below 0ºC right now, I'd use a thinner oil, what kind of oil viscosities do you have there?

Thats right, it is more like slap from the left side of the motor. And it increase when i put load on the motor, but when the motor is hot this slap disappear almost or you can not hear it, mybe if you put the car in drive and put load on the motor. I am using ESSO 5W-40 Ultron motor oil, and i change for a few days, but it did nothing.

Thats right, it is more like slap from the left side of the motor. And it increase when i put load on the motor, but when the motor is hot this slap disappear almost or you can not hear it, mybe if you put the car in drive and put load on the motor. I am using ESSO 5W-40 Ultron motor oil, and i change for a few days, but it did nothing.

I have the same noise very low hardly noticeble, I have 43000km legacy/wagon-se 5mt I'm concerned but not worried if it gets louder I'll see subaru.....so take the time for things to get louder ....engine noises are hard to detect even from experts.

enjoy your car

When my 99 Forester is warm I get no noise at all. On a cold start in a building with the windows down it is fairly loud. Frankly it does not concern me a lot as they tend to tick on for years.

I do think it is fairly stupid to let a design out on the street like this, and Subaru does have a fix. They have to tear down the whole engine and do a piston replacement so you only get it if you pressure them.

Subaru and other manufacturers are engineering pistons with ridiculously short skirts in an attempt to boost fuel economy and HP by a slight amount. The SLIGHTEST amount of skirt wear will cause piston slap. (#4 cylinder seems to be the most problematic)

 

Piston slap is usually fatal in domestic cars. Japaneese cars seem to slap happily for hundreds of thousands of miles. Try different kinds of oils if you want to. Once the noise starts, it's there to stay regardless of oil type. The problem is well documented in 2.5 liter engines.

 

I just turn up my radio volume.

My 2.2 in my 97 impreza has a tick when cold as well. No clue what it is, doesn't seem to happen in the warmer months? I think I'm running 5W30, but I'd have to check that. I've been meaning to switch to Amsoil, maybe that will help?

Do you have a block heater???..my 99 forester will tick when cold but if i have plugged it in overnight.it starts like a summers day without any noise...I would think block heaters must be standard equipment in iceland...

Hi all and merry xmas,

When the motor is cold a got a tikcing from the left bank, this is a 2003 outback. I can not hear this tick when the motor is hot or if a let the car run for a 15 minut in idle befor i start driving. I live in Iceland and now it is very cold here.

My Impreza slaps on cold mornings. Not very loud, I have to turn off the ventilation to hear it clearly. Started doing it at 90,000km - oddly this co-incided with an oil change. To Redline. I am now running Mobil 1 again, but the noise refuses to go away.

 

My 1992 Legacy NEVER did this, and I know it's new owner is closing in on 200,000 miles. (320k km)

 

 

I agree that this is design fault and that it is unforgiveable!

Do you have a block heater???..my 99 forester will tick when cold but if i have plugged it in overnight.it starts like a summers day without any noise...I would think block heaters must be standard equipment in iceland...

 

Yes i have think about that and mybe this is my solution to get rib of the slap, I was in Reykjavik yesturday and I let one expert listen the motor, after the car was over night at his workshop, he told me this was piston slap, and i have to live whit it.

Yes i have think about that and mybe this is my solution to get rib of the slap, I was in Reykjavik yesturday and I let one expert listen the motor, after the car was over night at his workshop, he told me this was piston slap, and i have to live whit it.

 

I once owned a Subaru 1800 and one day the started to tick horribly!

 

This classic Subaru symptom is because dirt gets into hydraulic lifters and the HL therefor can´t refill themselves. So the solution is and it WORKS!

 

Change the oil in your car and add one liter of ATF with the motor( if the oil capacity is 4 l , use 3 l MO and 1 l ATF , don´t overfill the engine!)

Then let the engine run for some time and maybe drive 20-30 KM.

 

Then change the oil and filter . Try using 10W-30 oil. This worked for me and hopefully for you.

does not have slap. We recently had some unseasonably warm weather here.

My car (99 Forester) does not slap at all unless it has not been running for a few days since I put Mobil 1 15-50 in it.

I started it up on a hot day after sitting nearly a week, slap would have been normal until warm up. No slap at all! I think the underhood temp must have been at least 100 on that day. It was much as if the car had already been running for a while.

Run synthetic. Took care of a sticky lifter in the A6.