Valves Rattling

[jbeary]

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

 

[Henry Paul]

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.

 

[Jim Stewart]

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.

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

 

[Edward Hayes]

The oil supply holes to the rocker shafts and or tappets can become slugged
up after a while, especially if you ignored regular oil/filter changes. You
maybe instead of going to a heaver oil would be to use an additive like
Reslone to clean out small oil passages.. Run the engine for 500 miles or so
and then change oil to factory recommendation i.e. 5w30?. Let us know what
worked. Someone else on a Suby news group suggest MMO additive for this very
thing and maybe he will see this thread and respond. I have had good luck
with Reslone (Wal-Mart for 5 bucks or so) ed

 

[Peter Berbee]

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

 

[Jim Stewart]

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.

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?