Lifter clatter

[Don Butler]

My Outback is a 99 Limited Edition and is the nicest car I ever owned. Mechanically, it's superb with excellent power and has yet to burn oil. Not a spot of rust anywhere. 70,000 miles.

On cold starts, however, there is the distinctive sound of lifters. Within a very short time it disappears. Otherwise, no trouble.

In another 6 months or so my extended warranty policy elapses. So I have two questions:

1. Are the lifters usually covered on those policies and if so, is this something I should see to before the expiration of the policy?

2. Is it typical? I don't know of anyone else with a 99 OB and would like to know if this is just normal.

Don

[bheinz57]

It's called piston slap. And you are welcome to search on this site or on the net in general for some defined answers to what it is and why your Subaru engine sounds like that.

Brian

[The_Lizard]

No, I think it's the lifters on mine, too, you can hear the noise stop after the oil pressure comes up in a seocnd or two. The piston slap noise is similar but goes until the engine starts to warm up.

I wouldn't worry about it as long as it stops soon. If it keeps going, that's a sign of low oil pressure.

[Don Butler]

I know the difference. I was a tech and service manager for 15 years in the automotive industry. If my OB had more miles or had been driven harder I might question my own statement, but no, it's lifters.

I was hoping to find if this was a common failing point or if there were experiences with having them changed out.

Best regards,

Don
Retired septuagenarian

[The_Lizard]

Don, I haven't heard of lifters being a common point of failure. However some of these boxer engines develop low oil presure as the seal around the oil pump ages. That seal is one of the "while you're in there" items to consider replacing when you have the timing belts off.

You might want to take a look at the yahoo group named subaru-tech, they are serious gearheads but be advised, they don't tolerate chatter:

http://autos.groups.yahoo.com/group/Subaru-Tech/

[Don Butler]

I have about five years to go before the scheduled TB replacement. I don't have the daiily drive to the city and back anymore and I'm really enjoying the luxury of working around the house and in my woodworking shop, so Mr. Outback isn't piling up a lot of miles.

My oil pressure light goes out immediately after starting (I know that's not necessarily a sign of sufficient oil pressure) and the oil level doesn't drop between changes. Neither is there any dripping on the garage floor. Not even one drop!

If there's been no lifter failure issues for these engines I'll just go back to sleep!

Regards,

Don

[The_Lizard]

Do a visual inspection for a rear oil leak, sometimes they drip on the exhaust at the Y and smoke off without hitting the floor. The other common leak points are the front crank and cam seals. IIRC only the crank seal has full pressure behind it, the cam seals just have splash lubrication happening behind them.

Yeah, I am enjoying part time, I'm basically serving as a live-in caretaker for my mom, and now I have a heck of a lot more time to spend on the house and her care. Plus, I'm commuting in my late father's Legacy sedan, so my OB now uses the garage for a hide box.