I'm a newbie Subaru owner, its a 91 Liberty with 90k kms, I think thats a Legacy in the US with noisy valves in the left hand bank. From a search on this forum it appears that there are four main reasons 1. Oil pump seals, 2. High pressure O ring under the rocker gear, 3. Pressure relief valve in the head or 4. Sludged up lifters. I have flushed the oil with Wynns engine flush and refilled with 10w-30 oil. Am I correct in assuming that it is not the oil pump because its only one side? It seems the most likely reason is Reasons 2 and 3. I always go by the motto if it aint broke don't fix it! Are mu assumptions correct. Thanks Ian. Awesome forum BTW

but I am sure the experts here will weigh in.

I assume you have enough oil in the engine, so you probably have sludged up lifters. Common Subaru problem. However, I can't vouch for its ease of serviceability since I have never done it

Much has been seen on the internet about auto-rx. Maybe a couple more rounds of cleaner would be a good place to start if you think they are sludged up.

 

How about the timing belt and tensioner. I don't know for sure if your engine has one of those automatic tensioners that can make noise on the left side. Has that been changed? Is it nearing replacement time? If it needs to be done anyway that might be something to think about.

 

Edit: Duh, you said EJ22. I am pretty sure the tensioner could be suspect.

Nope, can't be a belt tensioner. There's only one belt, and the tensioner is automatic.

 

I strongly suspect you have one or two collapsed hydraulic valve lash adjusters. It's not likely to be the whole bank of 8 adjusters.

 

Getting to these things isn't all that hard. You don't even have to remove the timing belt.

 

Simply remove the valve cover, and you can then unbolt the rocker arm assembly. The valve lash adjusters can be pulled out fairly easily. They might be bit sticky because of oil suction.

 

Pull each adjuster out individually, and inspect. Bad ones will be very obvious. You should put the good ones back in the same place (don't mix them up). Inspect the part of the adjuster that the rocker arm touches. There should be no pitting, and it should be very shiny.

 

There's a replaceable o-ring on each adjuster. Sometimes the adjuster itself is still good, but the o-ring has failed. Part number for the o-ring is 13396AA000 . Cost is around CA$2.50 each, compared to around CA$35.00 each for the complete adjuster.

 

I suggest you buy two lash adjusters (intake & exhaust are identical), and 8 o-rings. You should also replace the valve cover gasket and the valve cover bolt gaskets.

Much to my amazement after posting I got into the car to go to work and no more rattles, overnight it fixed itself. Probably I have done 200km(120 odd miles) since the flush and oil change. Quiet as a mouse now. Thanks for your replies.

Ian, one of my adjusters occasionally clicks in the morning, although it has been a while - fingers crossed!

 

To avoid sludge build up in the future replace the PCV valve now, and make sure all the PCV hoses are intact.

I love it when someone gets away with the easiest fix. That helps to make up for all the folks who get the hard stuff.

FYI. I once had a similiar situation. When I pulled the rocker shaft assembly off, some pieces of blue silicone (from sealing the two halfs of the block together I assume) had broken off and clogged the oil passage way. Cleaned it all up and all was okay!

Originally posted by rallynutdon

FYI. I once had a similiar situation. When I pulled the rocker shaft assembly off, some pieces of blue silicone (from sealing the two halfs of the block together I assume) had broken off and clogged the oil passage way. Cleaned it all up and all was okay!

 

Did you do the work on the block, or was this an engine you hadn't messed with?

 

I'm pretty sure the factory uses and anerobic sealant to seal the two blocks.

 

The blue silicone could have come from the oil pump.

What amazed me was that the easy fix worked, first time ever. Will follow your advice and do the PCV valve next. Idle is a bit rough so I'll also have a look at the throttle body and the IAC solenoid. Thanks again. Ian:D

Originally posted by Legacy777

Did you do the work on the block, or was this an engine you hadn't messed with?

 

I'm pretty sure the factory uses and anerobic sealant to seal the two blocks.

 

The blue silicone could have come from the oil pump.

 

I hadn't touched the block or the engine at all. I had just bought the car 2 months before with 116,000 miles on it (BTW, the engine lasted till 220,000!). I think it was blue silicone. It was 7 years ago so I'm not sure of the color.