Knock

[CJ76]

I just recently bought a 97 legacy gt. I purchased it from an original owner with only 113k on it. He had just finished putting in head gaskets, a new radiator, water pump, and a timing belt in the vehicle. They were installed by a so called professional mechanic. I have all of the reciepts. I have had the vehicle for about two weeks and yesterday it started making a knocking noise. The noise gets louder and faster when I accelerate and I am afraid it is a bad rod or rod bearing. The oil level is not low and apears to be clean free of any metal, but I have not drained it yet. Does anyone have any ideas of what else it might be. I am hoping its not a rod becasue from what I understand I would need to replace or have the engine rebuilt. By looking at the cost of that I will not be able to do this for quite some time considering I just purchased this vehicle and spent every last dollar I had to get it. Any advise would be helpful. And worst cas sinereo, does anyone know where I can find a cheap used 2.5 engine? This is my first post to this forum, glad your all out there to help!

Thanx, CJ

[kaz98gt]

It was quiet up until that point? Subaru boxers are known for making a knocking noise; mine has rod knock and valve tick, and she still runs strong.

[CJ76]

It had a little ticking noise when I got it that was very faint. Just within a couple hours of driving the knock came about. Oil level is fine and I am just worried that maybe there was some damage done to this car prior to me purchasing it. Like overheating before the owner put in gaskets. However I really looked this thing over pretty well and test drove it, but I did not do a compression test even though I should have. I have only put on 300 miles since my purchase. I spent quite a bit on this and I will be devistated if it is a bad rod! The thing that scares me is that it is pretty loud. NOt your average valve ticking or piston slap. I am hoping there is a way to diagnose this problem quickly since I will need to find other transportation options if it is a bad rod or rod bearing.

[CJ76]

I have been wanting and saving for this car for years and I have not gotton off to a good start!

[TbirdMan]

My EJ25 has a bit of a knock too, not a full on clatter, but a bottom end noise. from what i can tell, this is not uncommon and, while certinly not a "good" thing, is not necessarily a sign of significant damage. I remember someone saying it could be piston slap, from the pistons getting a little out of round, or just rod knock from worn bearings.

 

If it doesn't get any worse, try to ignore it. If you can't, your only choice is to rebuild it.

 

EDIT: didn't finish reading your second post, as i said, the previous owner doesn't have any liability to fix or take back the car, neither does the mechanic, so your only choices are to live with it, or rebuild it.

[skibob6]

Piston slap can be pretty freakin bad, I think you are underestimating what kind of noise a boxer can make. Mine makes a metal on metal sound when I first start up and then once the oil pressure and temp builds up it gets a little quieter but it is still very prevalent. I usually feed mine about half a quart of oil a week just to keep it semi-quiet in my mind.

 

If you have piston slap you will most likely know because of the telltale vibration and rhythmic sound it makes in conjunction with RPM.

[kaz98gt]

you could find a cheap 2.2 from around the same year and swap that in too usually people will rebuild them and try to get rid of them for sub-$500, and they'll RUN FOREVER. I almost got a freshly rebuilt one for $300 but it was 2000 miles away.

[CJ76]

I am considering the 2.2 but really would like the extra power of the 2.5. Have the head gasket issues been solved? I hear mixed reviews on the kind of head gaskets to put in. I am going to further diagnose the problem this week and weigh my options. It will be hard to do anything right now since funds are real tight but I would go with a 2.2 for the right price because it seems like the 2.5s are almost twice as much!

[kaz98gt]

fel-pro is the way to go, 98quiksilvergt did the gaskets on his and for what it's worth he said they're the norm for hg swaps. set it and forget it i'm guessing, but don't take my word for it haha.

 

here's how I saw it when I found out I had a 2.2 instead of the 2.5: lost 20hp and 20ft-lbs, but the engine is bulletproof. iron block, sohc, mla's, less things to worry about. it would be the engine I'd want to build up if I was to do that at some point...if you find something freshly rebuilt and ready to go it's gonna be cheaper than a 2.5 most likely because "it doesn't have the same amount of power". bullshit. the ej22 was one of the best that fuji turned out, regardless of the specs. I'm a little biased, but mine hasn't given me any issues yet. I think I'll have to do the cam seals at some point, but everything's held up perfectly fine, and I personally know a few people with 2nd gen L's with 200k miles on them without a hiccup.

 

late night rant. done

[Custom Trendz Inc.]

i used fel-pro headgaskets when I did mine(1k-ish miles ago) runs fine so far

[subikid90]

I have my fel pro kit sitting in the garage for that day to come...I sure hope it waits till this summer!

 

My white leggy now has about 20k on its fel pro gaskets without one problem.