enclosedflame56 Posted October 11, 2019 Share Posted October 11, 2019 I have a 2006 Outback XT Limited, that I have recently done a lot of work to. About 4500 miles ago (at around 149k), I spun a bearing in my original short block. I pulled the motor out, and everything was lost. I cut all of my losses, picked up a new shortblock, some used heads (90k on them), and got to work. My build: -IAG Stage 2 Tuff short-block (EJ257) -D25 Heads (not original, but they were cheaper and I was able to find them easier.) -I brought the used heads to a machine shop and had them put brand new exhaust valves in, and had all of my valves ground and redone. -Complete reseal kit from Subaru -New Full timing kit -VF52 turbo -Single Mass Flywheel -WRX Exedy Clutch -A bunch of new hoses (all of the ones that had cracks/broke on the way out) -Killer Bee Oil Pickup Tube -All New Oil components (pan, pump, etc.) My question is regarding my idle. When I go out and do a cold start, my engine is what I would consider pretty loud with a tick. I know that a lot of people swear that Subaru injectors are loud, or that the valve train in flat motors are considerably louder, but I just want to make sure I'm not hurting anything. I have included a short video that I took right after I did a cold start. I can hear the tick sometimes even when the car is hot, and I'm sitting at a light with the radio off. The tick completely disappears after I go above 1000 RPMs (when I'm warmed up, otherwise it's more like 1500), and sounds great otherwise. I have no reason to believe that this is causing any issues, it's just probably the loudest tick I've heard other than when my last outback threw a rod bearing, so I'm just trying to take the precautionary route. I have taken a mechanics stethoscope, and the short block makes no weird noises, but the tick seems to be coming from the head. Would you consider this "normal"? Or should I do some poking around and see if there is a greater issue at fault? https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=G7NvMui7LCI took a better video with a short view of the engine bay to see if it's more pronounced: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4GTPPo0dOmQ Thanks for any help/feedback you might be able to offer! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
KRM Posted October 11, 2019 Share Posted October 11, 2019 The tick seems to be normal to me. Being the sound quality of the video isn't the best but it sounds exactly like my 05's injectors cycling Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
laramieskibum Posted October 12, 2019 Share Posted October 12, 2019 Seems loud. When’s the last time you changed plugs? I had a loud tick. Plug was loose...now after plugs and a few new coils she’s purrs Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
enclosedflame56 Posted October 12, 2019 Author Share Posted October 12, 2019 The tick seems to be normal to me. Being the sound quality of the video isn't the best but it sounds exactly like my 05's injectors cycling Okay, that’s pretty reassuring! I plan on swapping out injectors in the near future to go for more power, but I didn’t want to turn up the power levels if I was going to have a tick that may or may not be a big deal. I just don’t like the tick and I’d hate to have something happen to this motor. Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
enclosedflame56 Posted October 12, 2019 Author Share Posted October 12, 2019 Seems loud. When’s the last time you changed plugs? I had a loud tick. Plug was loose...now after plugs and a few new coils she’s purrs It seems louder in person I think. I haven’t changed (or checked them actually come to think of it) the plugs since I built the motor. The plugs looked fine when I built the motor, so I refused them. I bought new ones, just didn’t throw them in. I’ll throw them in a little bit later today and see if that solves anything. Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
shralp Posted October 12, 2019 Share Posted October 12, 2019 Harder to tell as it sounds like you have an aftermarket exhaust which masks some of the audio but yeah, the under hood video sounds pretty much like all the Subys I’ve owned in the past 15 years.... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
enclosedflame56 Posted October 12, 2019 Author Share Posted October 12, 2019 Harder to tell as it sounds like you have an aftermarket exhaust which masks some of the audio but yeah, the under hood video sounds pretty much like all the Subys I’ve owned in the past 15 years.... I don’t actually have anything that’s aftermarket as far as the exhaust goes. The only thing I’ve done to it is a catless up pipe. I have a downpipe, but I haven’t put it in yet. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kzr750r1 Posted October 12, 2019 Share Posted October 12, 2019 For a cold start sounds fine. Is it quiet (relatively) once it warms up? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
enclosedflame56 Posted October 12, 2019 Author Share Posted October 12, 2019 For a cold start sounds fine. Is it quiet (relatively) once it warms up? Yeah, it’s definitely much quieter at idle once it’s warmed up, but I can still hear it at traffic lights and stuff. That’s my main reason of concern. It’s all the time... Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
enclosedflame56 Posted October 17, 2019 Author Share Posted October 17, 2019 Seems loud. When’s the last time you changed plugs? I had a loud tick. Plug was loose...now after plugs and a few new coils she’s purrs I swapped out the plugs, and didn’t get any change. My next thing on the list to to replace my injectors. Hopefully that will clear things up! It runs fine, just don’t like that tick all the time! Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kzr750r1 Posted October 17, 2019 Share Posted October 17, 2019 Unless you still have metal flake in your oil I would not stress over it much. Drive it like ya stole it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
samuel082799 Posted October 23, 2019 Share Posted October 23, 2019 I think you're fine, mine makes that same sound. Its been like that since I bought it 10,000 miles ago and I have had no issues. I think Subarus just have loud valve train. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
enclosedflame56 Posted October 31, 2019 Author Share Posted October 31, 2019 Unless you still have metal flake in your oil I would not stress over it much. Drive it like ya stole it. Thanks man! I did an oil change today, and this is what I found... The flakes are there but they are TINY. I had to really get close and try and find them, but I did see some. Hopefully that's not an abnormal thing? I'm at 6,000 miles on the new block. Hasn't gotten louder or anything, still pulls nice! You can see the bubbles, but you can also see microscopic bronze shavings in there, which would mean bearing material... What do you guys think? Sent from my HD1905 using Tapatalk Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
enclosedflame56 Posted October 31, 2019 Author Share Posted October 31, 2019 I think you're fine, mine makes that same sound. Its been like that since I bought it 10,000 miles ago and I have had no issues. I think Subarus just have loud valve train.I definitely believe that, this valve train tends to be loud I think. Hopefully it's nothing major... Sent from my HD1905 using Tapatalk Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nonamedude Posted October 31, 2019 Share Posted October 31, 2019 I think some metal shavings is not the end of the world at that point. Maybe you should get an oil analysis? Subbing so I can see what to expect on my new block as well. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kzr750r1 Posted November 1, 2019 Share Posted November 1, 2019 It was several OCI before my new motor "wore in" per se. I was seeing it still around where you are as well. Lately it's clear but that's +50K ago. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
enclosedflame56 Posted November 1, 2019 Author Share Posted November 1, 2019 It was several OCI before my new motor "wore in" per se. I was seeing it still around where you are as well. Lately it's clear but that's +50K ago.Oh sweet! That's good to hear! I'm not too worried to be honest. The car has been driving great, and I'm religious about keeping up with the maintenance on my car, so I'll just keep a close eye on it. Thanks everyone for the help! I'll update if any problems arise! Sent from my HD1905 using Tapatalk Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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