engine "clicking" noise

[darbykidd]

3 months ago my parent's bought a 98 outback from a private party. It has about 120,000 miles on it and its always had this regular clicking sound coming from the engine. It speeds up and slows down with the engine speed. The sound is really pronounced when starting it up first thing in the morning and then seems to be hardly noticeable when the engine is warmed up. They have had the 120,000 mile service done on it and has been into the local dealership to get a new water pump and block heater installed but that is a whole different story and I won't go there. The dealer hasn't said anything about it, of course maybe it wasn't "clicking" very pronounced at the time. This clicking sound has been going on since they've had it. The car is in extremely good shape and appears to have been well cared for by the previous owner. Aside from this, the car seems to be in perfect running condition. Just wondering if this is a normal sound for subarus or if not what the deal is and what they need to do about it. Thanks for the help.

[sha_zapple]

Its somewhat normal. Nothing really to be worried about. My car does the same thing. Its the valvetrain and the lifters ticking.

[MPtyza]

Yeah, that slight clicking sound is how you can tell that a car passing you is a Subaru without actually looking...

[Mr_D]

This could also be caused by piston slap, where the pistons "rock" slightly in the cylinder. As the engine warms up the pistons expand, the clearances are reduced and the noise gets better. As a test see if the noise is load sensitive. Typically valve train components are not load sensitive but pistons and bearing are.

Warm it up halfway and then see if it sounds ok in neutral but gets worse when you put it in drive and accelerate a bit. If so you probably have piston slap on at least one cylinder. Subaru covers this repair (due to faulty design and manufacturing) under warranty only if the sound stays even with the engine fully warmed up.

My 2001 Outback sounded good until 29,000 miles when it developed a small ticking sound while it's cold. I was told "that's normal" by the dealer but it didn't used to have the noise.

By 40,000 miles it had gotten much worse and by 47,000 it knocks loudly all the time now. I took it in twice to the dealer and they insist that "engine knocking is normal", for a Subaru. That doesn't say much for their quality. The transmission also slips between 2nd and 3rd gear while it's cold and you can see the RPM's surge when it shifts. After charging me $157 to flush the tranny and change the fluid the dealer told me "That's normal too so we won't fix anything, will you be paying cash today?

I scheduled a fourth visit to the dealer to have the piston slap checked out again while it's really loud before the warranty runs out. I hope they will finally take care of the problem. Subaru knows about the problem and they put in redesigned pistons in some cases. It's up to the dealer whether they take care of it or not.

By the way, here are 2 other things that can cause the noise.
1. Faulty timing belt tensioner. Ask your dealer if 1998's have that issue.
2. Lifters need adjustment. Certain years used solid lifters that require periodic adjustment at 100,000 miles. Other years used hydraulic lifters that run ok for life.

[Nastypieceawork]

Yep, thats' just the lifters. There are sixteen of 'em in a four cylinder car usually. They've just worn a little. IT doesnt seem to affect performance, and is FAR MORE COMMONLY known to occur in a range of Mitsubishi models and is more prone to loud ticking when cold.

You can have them replaced, but need to replace all sixteen lifters at once. I once had my previous car, an Evo, priced up and it looked to cost me NZ$1,300 inc labour. Depending on what country you're in, this could cost you much more.

Good Luck!

A Subaru Legacy 1996 GTB Twin Turbo owner.

[jgalema]

I have this problem which started a few weeks ago and i was told that it is the throw-out bearing for my car because it stops only when the clutch is engaged. At least that's what i was told. Could this be a possibility?

Thanks