Hello All,
This is my first post so please be kind. We have a 1997 Subaru Legacy Outback and recently the valves are rattling like crazy. Can anyone tell me if they have had problems like this in the past? Our car has only 90k on it and I never expected it to develop this issue so soon.
Thanks in advance for your help.
Regards, Jeff
I have heard from some people that running a thicker grade engine oil helps. It you have a 0-30 or 5-30 oil try moving up to a 10-30.
Does it happen all the time or just when it's cold? How about when you accelerate? (if so, it's something different than valves)
Does it have oil in it? (sorry, I have to ask) Have you used a cheap oil filter at your last change? Oil filters can leak down and cause a lot of startup noise.
jim
The outback went to solid lifters in '97, so you don't have an oil problem. The valves may just need adjustment at 90k miles. Does the noise get better when the engine warms up? If it goes away when the engine is warms up, everything is fine. If the noise is still there, have the valves adjusted.
Peter
I hope you or someone else can clarify this for me. I have a '99 DOHC 2.5 engine. I've had the left side camshaft out because of an issue unrelated to noise. I know that this engine uses shims for valve adjustment. What I don't understand is that the cam followers appeared to be full of oil when I removed them and they made lots of noise on first startup until they filled with oil again.
So does anyone know exactly how this works? It would appear to me that a top end oil problem might very well cause valve noise despite the lifter arrangement. What's the deal with the follower? Does the oil pressure press it against the cam lob all the time to reduce noise?
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