went to look at a 97 outback a/t 2.5 , new radiator, new tires, new timing belt, water pump, hg , heads were resurfaced ,the guy said it has a rod knock , i heard it run and yes there is a noise , and not piston slap , i am thinking the valves need adjusting ,am i right or wrong,? 135,000mi on motor.would it hurt anything to drive it away, or drop a 2.2 in it,

Edited January 8, 200917 yr by 86subaru

Does it sound more like a ticking noise? If so its making the same noise mine made before it seized up. If thats the case I would recommend getting the valves checked and maybe realigned.

well...first of all how much does he want for it?

1,300 bucks, but i think i can talk him down

1,300 bucks, but i think i can talk him down

 

from a buyers point of view, he says rod knock, you say, needs engine. he says 1300$, you say 300$.

 

if you have to swap in an engine you want it cheap. i'd plan on an engine swap, you may get lucky tho.

 

depending where you are, 2.2s are cheap. ask gary, he's in WV.

Edited January 9, 200917 yr by johnceggleston

yes i agree, engine swap,body is ok a few dents, , interior good,

Rod knock is a very unique noise. Valves tick and sound like a sewing machine. Not many will admit rodknock tight up front, so i don't doubt it has it.

 

I bet the engine was cooked.

 

 

nipper

well the hg was done with heads resurfaced and it does start up and run , noise goes away some what after it warms up , after all the work was done they drove it , and starting making the noise, it's at a local shop ,they did not do the work , the owner has alot of work and no time to work on it, and has been sitting for about a year,

Edited January 9, 200917 yr by 86subaru

i bought one with 'engine noise' it turned out to be piston slap. of course in the beginning i didn't reallly know what that was. but since it was running, and i already had the engine waiting to go in, i decided to see how long i could drive it. that was 30k ago.

 

if you can get it for the right price, drive it around town and work at diagnosing the noise. if it dies... well you pay for a tow and then swap. i wouldn't put a lot of money into an egine that may have been cooked.

if it doesn't die........woohoo.

thanks,

i wouldn't rule out piston slap either. sounds like it might have a bad case of it. but piston slap won't cause any problems.

 

now - if it really wasn't making the noise before the head gasket work, that scares me a bit. makes me think it was driven too long overheating. but, it could just be valves or piston slapped that they forgot about (i mean it has been a year).

 

there are other possibilities, you might be able to narrow them down if you listen closely.

Big question is is the noise front center or sides of the engine.

 

 

 

nipper

front center is where the noise is coming from , not sure how far it was driven ,

eek, sounding worse by the minute/post. EJ swap it is always an option.

 

timing tensioner or oil pump are two other options. can't say i've ever heard those but can the oil pump make noise if the backing plate screws come out too far?

You said it goes away with increased temperature which in my experiance is the oposite of what I expect for rod knock. When the engine is cold and the oil is thicker you don't usually hear anything. Then once the engine heats up and the oil thins out you start to hear the noise. This is only my experiance with two motors. So I would not rule out piston slap entirely.

 

However, the odds of Rod Knock are unfortunately in favor on a motor that had a blown head gasket. If they drove it for a long enough period before noticing the overheating and head gasket issue it causes this problem. Antifreeze mixing with the engine oil eats away protective coatings on bearings and they start wearing heavily.

eek, sounding worse by the minute/post. EJ swap it is always an option.

 

timing tensioner or oil pump are two other options. can't say i've ever heard those but can the oil pump make noise if the backing plate screws come out too far?

 

If you can, pull the timing covers and look at the timing belt in the area of the tensioner. 97 might have the newer style tensioner that is much more sensative when being compressed to quickly and can cause it damage. You won't know it's damaged until you install it and start the car because it still has some pressure to it. Once you start the car you will see the timing belt and tensioner flapping around, and hear a noise, if it was damaged. My friend did it on his 2000 RS and we thought something was bad in the engine.

 

Keith

another 2.5 bites the dust, after a headgasket blows, typical, they replace the radiator first, then determine its more serious, so after cooking it a few more times, it must be the headgasket. So typical, put new HG and while in there, new water pump, new t-belt, etc. then it all goes bak together.....but it is knocking, so advertise it. I still would stay away from recent HG jobs on the 2.5's, asa dependable long term car.

But I would buy it for cheaps, and ej22 swap it..toss out that 2.5 garbage. Subaru needs to bring back the castings for the 2.2 block and ASAP

 

 

pretty much hear this everyday on the 2.5's

another 2.5 bites the dust, after a headgasket blows, typical, they replace the radiator first, then determine its more serious, so after cooking it a few more times, it must be the headgasket. So typical, put new HG and while in there, new water pump, new t-belt, etc. then it all goes bak together.....but it is knocking, so advertise it. I still would stay away from recent HG jobs on the 2.5's, asa dependable long term car.

But I would buy it for cheaps, and ej22 swap it..toss out that 2.5 garbage. Subaru needs to bring back the castings for the 2.2 block and ASAP

 

 

pretty much hear this everyday on the 2.5's

 

 

What he said.

 

nipper

thanks, agree put a 2.2 in it,

after all the work was done ,and ran fine , they drove it like 200 miles and started making the noise , they stopped and had it towed to the shop , and has been there almost 1 year, and the shop says rod knock , and has done nothing to it, the shop bought it , and all the other work they have to do , they will sell it to me,

Cooked the engine. They did all that work and didnt do one minor thing.

 

Change the oil.

 

Engine is shot.

 

nipper

ok, damage is already done, thanks

I just did a HG job on an engine that was using coolant, the engine was quite before I did the job. Now I have a very noisy lifter. Lots of people told me that Subaru engine's are very loud after a HG job. What does the noise sound like?

well not like piston slap , but pretty close , but after it warms up it ;s not as loud, checked oil it is pretty clean , no knocking sound either,

I just did a HG job on an engine that was using coolant, the engine was quite before I did the job. Now I have a very noisy lifter. Lots of people told me that Subaru engine's are very loud after a HG job. What does the noise sound like?

 

What Year engine?

 

The Phase 1's have a complicated valve lash adjustment procedure. I'd think most peeps would opt not to even attempt it.