luvsubby Posted August 22, 2009 Share Posted August 22, 2009 I don't know what grade of oil the previous owner had put in the last oil change but it looks pretty light. The oil change is only 150 miles old and my valves are tapping pretty loud on cold start. Only moderately quieter warmed up. I just brought it home tonight and want to see if I can get it quieted down some before I have to drive it north to South Dakota. Is there something I need to know? I see some of the 2.2 motors are solid lifters but that is a later model than mine. There's 120,000 miles on the car but I don't know if it's the original engine. The car is a gem otherwise. Only a little rust on the driver's side by the rear quarter panel where the bumper trim meets the body. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Platinum_Racing Posted August 22, 2009 Share Posted August 22, 2009 Alright, I'm pissed because my long post regarding this problem deleted itself when I clicked the back button on my mouse, so here's the short version... I've had a few to drink... The sound is most likely an exhaust header leak. Have a friend rev the engine WITH THE EMERGENCY BRAKE ENGAGED and see if the noise is audible from underneath the engine compartment. If it is clearly audible from underneath the car, check the temps from the inlet and outlet of the catalytic converter. If the inlet is considerably higher in temperature than the outlet, you have yourself a clogged cat. The gasses that would normally escape the exhaust through the cat are now finding the path of least resistance, by blowing out your exhaust manifold gaskets. Pause for cigarette... Remember I've had a couple to drink... Exhaust manifold gaskets have long been confused with valve rockers... Since pretty much the dawn of time. if you run a car with a lower viscosity oil than is recommended by the manual you may experience noisy rockers. This issue will go away once the engine is filled with a heavier weight oil. If not, you have an exhaust leak, most likely close to or at the headers. That being said, when I bought my 92 Legacy it was equipped with 10W-30 oil. I had a ticking noise that would not go away with higher octane fuek (Meaning it was not knocking, pinging, or detonation). I filled the cranklcase with 10W-40 and the noise persisted. I checked under the car after replacing the muffler with an OEM style one and found the cat was clogged with a leak at the header gaskets. The tick I head turned out to be a header gasket that was leaking exhaust gas. Keep in mind that I am "Under the influence" and all information contained in the above post is subject to change when I am sober. That being said, you should be fine to go on your little road trip, provided that your car has no other major problems that need to be addressed. Good luck!!!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
luvsubby Posted August 24, 2009 Author Share Posted August 24, 2009 Okay, I looked at the stamp on my engine and it just says EJ22. I changed the oil to 20-50 Valvoline and a new filter. The stuff I drained out was on a couple hundred miles old and it was BLACK and thin. I started the car with the new oil and it tapped for a while but quieted down substantially. About half as noisy as it was. Now I had similar noises coming from an old EA82 engine and the problem was the oil pump not pumping enough volume even when the pressure was fine. It also came and went so I wold have quiet lifter part of the time. I checked the exhaust manifolds as suggested by Platinum_ and they're fine. Someone mentioned that the injectors can get noisy with age. That, like the oil pump, can be a pricey solution. I haven't done the screwdriver stethiscope trick yet to see where the source of the noise is. So for now I'm going to ignore it as much as possible and see if it gets better or worse. Thanks for the input. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Platinum_Racing Posted August 24, 2009 Share Posted August 24, 2009 Glad the problem has subsided. I run 10W40 in my EJ22, I feel heavier weight oil is better in this motor anyway. It seems to like it more. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
1-3-2-4 Posted August 26, 2009 Share Posted August 26, 2009 I run 10W-30 in my EJ22E lifters sound fine and I will know more so when i replace my leaking headers. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
luvsubby Posted August 26, 2009 Author Share Posted August 26, 2009 I just talked to the first owner of the car. They handed it off at a little over 60,000 miles and handed off a file full of maintenance records that didn't make it to me. It now has 120,335 miles on it. The PO i purchased it from says he took care of the maintenance "regularly". I don't know if that involved timing belts or not. I haven't got time to change the belt and water pump before I take an 835 mile round trip. I hope it hold up until I get back. Thank goodness for AAA. Tappets are much quieter though and she runs nice. I do get this under hood noise that sounds like alternator bearings going out. I checked the alternator out put and wiggled it while the engine was running. It didn't change in sound. I hope it's not the timing belt idlers going out but it may be. I'm a mechanic and that's what it sounds like. I also wonder if the oil pump may need to be replaced. It would be a good time to look into all of that while doing the T-belt. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
1-3-2-4 Posted August 26, 2009 Share Posted August 26, 2009 don't forget to replace that front crank seal and be careful in taking it out as you don't want to nick it because the oil pump is right behind it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Platinum_Racing Posted August 27, 2009 Share Posted August 27, 2009 The timing belt should make it up to 100K miles. It should've been replaced before you bought it, but it's likely that it is still the original one. (Being a mechanic you probably already know this) Wiggling the output wouldn't really change the sound of the alternator bearings if they were going. If the engine is putting out enough torque to spin the alternator, then it shouldn't really affect how the alternator bearings sound unless you completely disconnect the output wire. It could be the idlers, it could also be the water pump. Then again, it could also be the AC compressor idler. As you probably know, check the cheapest items first, then dive into the more expensive repairs. The noisy valve issue could potentially be an oil pump, but if it is you should probably find and replace the noisy lifter. The EJ22 (Pre 1997 models) have hydraulic lifters. As you know, noisy lifters caused by clogged oil feeds can result in damage to the valvetrain, resulting in the valves not opening fully. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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