Excessive lifter noise

I have a 1994 Subaru Legacy with the 2.2L engine that, has excessive lifter ticking on the passenger side. It seemed to occur after an oil change at the local tire store. Has anyone been through this? All levels are fine, no leaking, and I can't adjust the valve lash as the lifters are hydraulic and self adjusting.

Suggestions?

Thanks....

Gerry snipped-for-privacy@wi.rr.com

Reply to
Gerry Wolf
Loading thread data ...

Reply to
Edward Hayes

Aren't those products at opposite ends of the scale?

AFAIK, Rislone is a type of oil thickener, MMO will thin the oil out. I wouldn't add either of them to crankcase oil until I was sure where the new sound came from.

Reply to
Bonehenge

Hi,

Rislone is a cleaner/solvent. It claims NOT to thin the oil, but it certainly doesn't thicken it! I've used it successfully in a coupla engines w/ noisy lifters, my Subie being one.

MMO is appropriately named, IMO. It is a "mystery" what that stuff is. But it seems to work well enough to have been on the market for eons!

Other thoughts for the OP: is there a way to verify the correct weight oil was put in? If they put in straight 30 wt from the bulk tank (a favorite trick at one of our local quickie lube places) instead of the proper multi-grade, that COULD be problematic. And, check the filter. A number of "house branded" filters are built by Fram, and I've noticed a drop in oil pressure AND increased lifter noise whenever my Subie got a Fram. Not knocking Frams like so many people do, but my Subie's the most "filter specific" vehicle I've ever driven: it just likes OEM best!

Rick

Reply to
Rick Courtright

Ive tried the so called easy fixes. The only way to fix it is take the valve cover off ( 3 - 10mm bolts) check for slack lifters by hand. Note witch ones are sus then remove the lifter assembly (more 10mm bolts).You can now see if the sus lifters are stuck in a compressed state or can be compressed by finger pressure. If so, they're the problem. You can buy new ones ($50 each in Australia) or work each one a few times in a small cup of oil while holding a pin against the release valve. Then let the valve go and see if the lifter holds pressure. If it does it's good. Repeat with the others then bath the whole assembly in petrol and blow the oil passages out well. When re-assembled don't rev the motor too much it'll miss and rattle till the lifters are pressurised ( 'bout 5 minutes). It only takes a very small particle of grit to cause this problem.

Reply to
JohnM

MotorsForum website is not affiliated with any of the manufacturers or service providers discussed here. All logos and trade names are the property of their respective owners.