February 25, 200818 yr Im afraid I have a new problem. On the way to work I have a 2 mile hill climb, well I find in order to keep up with traffic I sometimes must drop her down to 3rd gear and push the car to alomst 6000 rpm. I have only done this twice, as I dont like to tax the engine. Well today when I got to the other side of the mountain Im now hearing a constant tapping noise that will increase when pushing the gas. Put her in neutral and rev the engine and again tap or clicking sound will increase and decrease with the push of the pedal. My oil pressure when I first got the car was running at 45 psi as the norm, and at times only slightly higher with a increase of rpm. But now since the tap started is is running slightly below 45 psi. I have not noticed a power loss at this time. Any clue what I can check ? It's sucks as I just bought this car with 110K no rust and the cleanest motor I have ever seen. Im at work now and have a hour drive home and Im wondering should I get her towed or baby her home. Thanks Guys.. Joe
February 25, 200818 yr Check your oil , if that is good, Change your oil and use a subaru oil filter. Use a good name brand oil, I use castrol high mileage 20X50. Then run it for a while...if the ticking doesn't go away, you may have to reseal or replace your oil pump. But, the ticking isn't harmfull, my RX has it most the time. Just embarassing. Does it sound like the ticking is from each side of the engine or a certain side/piston? I'd drive it like it is. Also, welcome to the world of EA82. That is referred to as the "Tick of Death (TOD)" But it doesn't mean your motor is gunna go, just a funny name.
February 25, 200818 yr Just The tick of death Or Tod if you search the board you will find a bunch of post on it. Its not really a tick of death thats just the name some old head suby person named it. It is your Hydraulic lifters not pumping up all the way or not getting enough oil pressure. There are a few causes and if you search You will find all of them. Drive it home but check your oil to.
February 26, 200818 yr Author Well I have not had time to go out and check it, maybe latter. Just really pissed off is all..... If its the oil pump I would just get a new one... Joe
February 26, 200818 yr Just to add to what everyone else has said, I had a similar problem (mucho underpowered) with my EA82 engined 87 wagon, and i found that one of the main vacuum lines behind my carburetor was disconnected, which fixed the power issue. I also had the ticking issue, which could be caused by either a loose exhaust manifold on the right or left side, or by a lifter as was mentioned before. You should purchase some Seafoam (an engine/fuel additive that really does work!) from your local autoparts store and pour some directly into the engine through the oil add spout . . . Seafoam actually got my valve(s) to stop "ticking" by cleaning up all lubricated surfaces in the engine. Hope that helps chris
February 26, 200818 yr Cole, what hill are you going up? Just for reference, I can let you know what gear I take it in.
February 26, 200818 yr Probably lifters (TOD). Time to do a complete lubrication system reseal (new oil pump, oil pump seals, and cam case o-rings). If you don't cure the ticking fast, you'll end up replacing the lifters to get rid of it. The ticking is very hard on them, and they will rapidly wear to a point where they will never stop ticking till you have them rebuilt. GD
February 26, 200818 yr Author The hill is state route 183 going south, from the schuylkill county line into Berks county. Better know as the Blue Mountain. Heck it has now made me blue
February 26, 200818 yr Author Probably lifters (TOD). Time to do a complete lubrication system reseal (new oil pump, oil pump seals, and cam case o-rings). If you don't cure the ticking fast, you'll end up replacing the lifters to get rid of it. The ticking is very hard on them, and they will rapidly wear to a point where they will never stop ticking till you have them rebuilt. GD Stupid question what are cam case o-rings and if I get a mechanic to do it what am I looking at price wise ?
February 26, 200818 yr Joe, you have to mean the hill that starts by the Blue Ridge Hotel. That hill is long and steep, I have to drop her into 3rd. But I'm only pulling 3500 to 4k at the most, that's to do about 55 up the hill. That's with a running start from the previous hill by the way. Does sound like it's lacking in power if you have to crank it up that high. A tune up couldn't hurt if you haven't done so. But I'd be a little more concerned with the lifter tap if it's constant. Mine will tap on occasion, but only at idle, and if you touch the gas, it goes away.
February 26, 200818 yr Stupid question what are cam case o-rings and if I get a mechanic to do it what am I looking at price wise ? That's what they are, they are a metal ring cover with rubber to be general. They cost 2.63each at http://www.rockauto.com and you need 2. You have to take the cam cases off each side of the engine. Maybe you can talk a board member to help you out, if they live close, it's not too hard of a job...when the engine is out of the car.
February 26, 200818 yr Johnson'] That's what they are' date=' they are a metal ring cover with rubber to be general. They cost 2.63each at www.rockauto.com and you need 2. You have to take the cam cases off each side of the engine. Maybe you can talk a board member to help you out, if they live close, it's not too hard of a job...when the engine is out of the car. Yep Im only about 30 minutes north and have done it a few times. If this crappy weather ever quits I can help ya!
February 26, 200818 yr Yep Im only about 30 minutes north and have done it a few times. If this crappy weather ever quits I can help ya! I've heard that sometimes all they want is to be fed and beer:drunk:. But now-a-days, maybe some gas money.
February 26, 200818 yr If you take it to a mechanic it's about a $1000 job give or take. You would be doing a timing belt job plus removing the cam cases and putting them back. Laborious when you consider proper cleaning and reassembly to spec. When you have them down that far, it's not even difficult to do the head gaskets while you are in there. Good insurance but in your case probably uneccesary. GD
February 26, 200818 yr Author Well I appreciate DesertSubaru's offer... So this is a engine pull job right? No way to do it with the motor in ??? I know the prior owner did new timing belts, I will have to post a pic of the engine this week... 1000 bucks I dont have, I had to get a loan just to buy this car. Joe
February 26, 200818 yr Well I appreciate DesertSubaru's offer... So this is a engine pull job right? No way to do it with the motor in ??? I know the prior owner did new timing belts, I will have to post a pic of the engine this week... 1000 bucks I dont have, I had to get a loan just to buy this car. Joe Yes it can be done with the engine in the car but the drivers side is a little harder because of lack space. I sent a pm!
February 26, 200818 yr Yes it can be done with the engine in the car but the drivers side is a little harder because of lack space. I sent a pm! Ratcheting 10mm wrench fixes that problem. The only tough part is getting the valve cover off. 10 minutes of frustration and it's done. GD
February 26, 200818 yr Ratcheting 10mm wrench fixes that problem. GD AMEN! I love those things. I just wished they had them in the offset wrenches like these . Harbor Freight has those, but only standard. They'd be good for that lower b!+ch bolt on the driver side tranny.
February 26, 200818 yr Johnson']They'd be good for that lower b!+ch bolt on the driver side tranny. The lower bell-housing nut on the drivers side you mean? For those, use a u-joint socket and several extensions. I've seen 14mm (gen 1), and 17mm nuts used there. A set of u-joint sockets is wonderful sometimes. If I don't have a u-joint socket, I'll generally just use a box wrench. GD
February 26, 200818 yr A set of u-joint sockets is wonderful sometimes. GD Amen to that!! Being the impact type helps sometimes also. Stuby wrenchs come in handy also. But not for that nut!!
February 26, 200818 yr Im afraid I have a new problem. On the way to work I have a 2 mile hill climb, well I find in order to keep up with traffic I sometimes must drop her down to 3rd gear and push the car to alomst 6000 rpm. I have only done this twice, as I dont like to tax the engine. Well today when I got to the other side of the mountain Im now hearing a constant tapping noise that will increase when pushing the gas. Put her in neutral and rev the engine and again tap or clicking sound will increase and decrease with the push of the pedal.My oil pressure when I first got the car was running at 45 psi as the norm, and at times only slightly higher with a increase of rpm. But now since the tap started is is running slightly below 45 psi. I have not noticed a power loss at this time. Any clue what I can check ? It's sucks as I just bought this car with 110K no rust and the cleanest motor I have ever seen. Im at work now and have a hour drive home and Im wondering should I get her towed or baby her home. Thanks Guys.. Joe k first things first if its a n/a ea82 then u will tick on the way up. thats what makes a subaru a subaru. my opinion is do what the other guys have told u but alittle word of thought, try not to force ur suby to climb. just merge into the right most lane and take ur time with it. as for the last question just baby her home up the hill. once u get over the hill then just drive it normally. trust me the voice of experince is telling this
February 27, 200818 yr Author Well I noticed the tick on the passenger side, well it seems to be.. Question on my EA82 SPFI. During idle sitting , no load what should the oil pressure indicate ? Mine is about 1/4 above 0 psi. Rev the motor and she goes up ... I dont have the car that long so that is why Im asking is all... Joe
February 27, 200818 yr Those stock gages suck but thats about how mine was at when it worked. I have tried three different sending units and it still don't work. If I ground the wire the gage goes all the way up but when I plug it into the unit 0. Been like that for a year now. :-\
February 27, 200818 yr what you descrive with the oil gauge is normal. withthe sustained high rpm under load i would bet the oil pump seal sucked in on itself. generally high revs willl make a lifter tick go away if it was due to dirty oil or the car had sat for a long time replace the oil pump seal, search "mickey mouse" gasket, since the gasket is shaped like that, and one of the 'ears will suck in. use a dab of silicone on the ears to hold it in place when you re seal the pump itself should be fine. all the pumps i have removed have the cavitated gasket. fix the oil pump seal and change the oil and the tick should go away. save all the labor for the cam towers if the tick persists after doing the oil pump seal here is a tip: remove the pitch bar and take the nuts off the motor mounts and jack up the motor by the transmission and it will raise up a good 3 inches and this will allow better access to the valve covers and cam towers
February 27, 200818 yr your oil pump most likely needs resealed like Miles said. if you're doing the work yourself, consider doing the timing belt, water pump, oil pump seals, and any crank or cam seals/orings that are leaking. all of that stuff resides behind the timing belt so best to do it at the same time. how long since the oil was last changed? is the oil level low?
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