Ticking Subaru / Oil Option?

[dk1604]

Originally Posted By: webfors
Agreed that oil does make a difference with respect to sound in the H4. M1's 0w40 really quieted mine down, along with the Rotella T that I'm running now. PP 5w30 was noticeably noisier, however the UOAs with it were stellar. It'll most likely be my winter oil for the next two years.


I have only run PP 5w-30 once, when I bought it on sale at CT, and I agree with your findings that it's pretty noisy. Now that the car is out of warranty I might experiment with other weights though I'll probably try the 5w-30 GTX High Mileage first to see how it sounds.

Regarding the oil filters, does anyone know what gets installed at the factory? Is it still a Tokyo Roki or are they shipping Honeywells to Japan?

 

[thunderchild]

Originally Posted By: Familyguy
If it was me, I'd drain enough oil such that it was a quart low. Then I'd add 1qt of Marvel Mystery Oil (a couple of bucks at Walmart). Drive it like that until your next oil change (a couple of thousand miles would be ideal). On your next change, replace the oil with Rotella T6 synthetic 5W-40 or Mobil1 0W-40 and install a decent filter like a Napa Gold(OEM Wix). That should clean out much of the [censored] inside (if there is any) and then start you out with a known good oil for the Subie. If it still ticks after that, I'd probably just live with it.


This would be my advice!!

 

[lewdwig]

+1 on the M1 0W-40.

 

[gathermewool]

Originally Posted By: dk1604
Originally Posted By: webfors
Agreed that oil does make a difference with respect to sound in the H4. M1's 0w40 really quieted mine down, along with the Rotella T that I'm running now. PP 5w30 was noticeably noisier, however the UOAs with it were stellar. It'll most likely be my winter oil for the next two years.


I have only run PP 5w-30 once, when I bought it on sale at CT, and I agree with your findings that it's pretty noisy. Now that the car is out of warranty I might experiment with other weights though I'll probably try the 5w-30 GTX High Mileage first to see how it sounds.

Regarding the oil filters, does anyone know what gets installed at the factory? Is it still a Tokyo Roki or are they shipping Honeywells to Japan?


For whatever reason, Castrol GTX HM 10W-30 and M1 HM 10W-30 were the quietest in my 97 LGT (I think that I posted earlier that my Subie liked 5W-30. I meant 10W30, even on cold starts

.) The loudest seemed to be Formula Shell 5W-30. I ran each type of oil for multiple intervals, throughout the year.

I had a Tokyo Roki on my '08 STI, which was built before they stopped supplying them to US dealers, IIRC. I actually just installed the last Tokyo Roki in my stash this past Wednesday.

I'll be sticking with the blues (Honeywells) from now on, pending UOA results.

 

[sw99]

Geee, my 2.2L loves 5w20 (I know, they spec 5w30). I could not imagine running 20w50 or even 10w30 for that matter. For filters I use pro selects, purolator, and ST's without any issues. Some folks may have seen my 12k ST filters... 154,000 miles on the ticker so far. Several 20-25% MMO treatments as well(Full OCI @ 5K). I think people worry too much.

 

[gathermewool]

Originally Posted By: sw99
Geee, my 2.2L loves 5w20 (I know, they spec 5w30). I could not imagine running 20w50 or even 10w30 for that matter. For filters I use pro selects, purolator, and ST's without any issues. Some folks may have seen my 12k ST filters... 154,000 miles on the ticker so far. Several 20-25% MMO treatments as well(Full OCI @ 5K). I think people worry too much.


Yea, well you've got the indestructable EJ22, buddy! You could run that thing on peanut oil and filter it with Brawny paper towels and not have any issues

 

[Kira]

Hello, This thread really took off! We checked the valve lash and every valve was spot on. I was plaesed at how clean the rockers looked. FYI: the exhaust valves share a paired rocker. One push rod contacts a forked rocker arm. Since oil leaks had begun there was no waste in changing the gaskets. In all likelyhood the tick is common piston slap in a 2001 2.5 liter w/86K and will be lived with. The likelyhood of this engine having one of it's cylinders rehoned to fit a Subaru oversize replacement piston is very slim. The noise goes away at low revs (~1,000 RPM). Thanks to everyone for contributing. It helped ALOT to hear Subaru owners recall their experiences. Thanks, Kira

 

[Norm Olt]

On my SVX the powersteering pump is the most likely candidate for a ticking sound, especially at idle. It also has speed sensitive assist and the sound goes away at any rpm over idle.

Just another thought...

Cheers!

p.s. If not lash-related, just give any HDEO 15W-40 a try.

p.p.s. 86K is barely broken in for a Subaru! Piston slap is unlikely, IMHO, lacking years of abuse.

 

[Hollow]

Our previous 1996 and current 2003 both had classic "piston slap" when cold that quieted down to a very slight tick when at temp. It's a Subaru thing, most of them do it.

FWIW, the aftermarket filter that is closest to Subaru OEM bypass specs would be a Pure1. My 2003 got a fill of 5w30 Formula Shell and Pennzoil with a Pure1 filter about a month ago. Best it has sounded in 25k miles of ownership!