EJ22 Tick really bad after bleeding HLA's W/ Video

[Baddog]

So after I cleaned up my HLA's and bled them. I noticed one was really squishy on one side and another was on the other side as well.

 

I bled all of them. Those 2 were still squishy but since I needed the car I just put them back in. When I started up the car. It ticks MUCH louder now. And when I rev the tick goes a long with it. It wasn't this loud before.

 

Is this piston slap? Rod Knock? Or what? It never did this before.

 

http://i1191.photobucket.com/albums/z480/subarulover/th_car004.jpg

 

http://i1191.photobucket.com/albums/z480/subarulover/th_car003.jpg

[ehsnils]

I suspect that there is dirt involved in one lifter or one or two of them are bad. Rubber seals do age.

[johnegg]

please describe what you did to the HLAs, in detail.

what procedure did you use?

why did you do it at all?

 

as long as the oil ''lines'' are not blocked or gummed up they should quiet down.

 

let it idle for a while.

[kaz98gt]

Those two that are "squishy" should be replaced, no question. If you've got a bad HLA, even with oil in it, it doesn't provide sufficient pressure against the valve to bring it to the proper lash. I'm sure you know how they work and everything, but those couple that were bad should definitely be replaced, and any others that you find in there. But that pretty much hits the nail on the head as far as valvetrain noise. Pick up as many as you need from your dealer and go to town, and it should quiet down.

 

Interesting too...the 96 2.2 (I think phase 1?) has HLAs, while the 97 2.2 (phase 2?) went to MLAs. I wonder why...

[Baddog]

please describe what you did to the HLAs, in detail.

what procedure did you use?

why did you do it at all?

 

as long as the oil ''lines'' are not blocked or gummed up they should quiet down.

 

let it idle for a while.

 

 

 

1. Pulled the Valve Covers off
   
2. Removed the Rocker shaft assembly by removing 10 bolts. I think there was supposed to only be 8? But there was 2 shorter ones that I removed.
   
3. Brought the whole assembly over to the bench.
   
4. Pulled each one out with pliers carefully.
   
5. Submerged each one into oil and pumped the check ball with an allen wrench. I then pushed on the top to push the old oil out. And repeated it a few times. I let them all fill up with oil before pulling them out from under the oil
   
6. Inserted them back in and pushed on the top to feel if they were squishy or not.
   
7. Put it back in and torqued each bolt to 8.7ft pounds.
   
8. Reinstalled the valve cover.
   

One on each side (head) was squishy. Those haven't been replaced yet.

But I don't see why they would all the sudden become LOUDER, Much louder in fact.

 

Also if you listen in the background (the other noise besides the loud tick) there is like a slap sound? Or is that the valve tick too?

[SBT]

Think it's valve "tick" that you're hearing, but it did sound like you had an exhaust leak on 2 & 4, moreso than on 1 & 3, but could have been equal and just the way the camera picked it up.

[Baddog]

Think it's valve "tick" that you're hearing, but it did sound like you had an exhaust leak on 2 & 4, moreso than on 1 & 3, but could have been equal and just the way the camera picked it up.

 

I did have a leak last week. I put in new exhaust manifold gaskets and that cleared it up.

[johnegg]

if they were working before they should work now. the procedure sounds good. the only way i can see that ''cleaning'' them would hurt is if you washed out sludge that caused them to be loose. i would let it run, idle. the should pump up. if it gets quiet after it warms then they may be pumping up only to drain down when the car is off.

 

 

 

was the oil bath 30w?

 

i'd drive it for a while and see if it changes.

 

ej22 w/ HLAs a notorious for being loud right after a swap when they have not been run in a while.

 

the other possibility is that the oil galleys are plugged and they will never pump up.

[Baddog]

Well one doesnt hold oil at all. When I pump it it pushes the oil out. So it must not be sealing. The oil was a 5-40w Shell rotella T6 is what I had. So I used that.

 

IT has been running for an hour or so since I have driven it. No change in noise.

[kaz98gt]

One really bad HLA could be all that's causing it; same thing happened to a buddy of mine, but his was a MLA that was way way way out of lash the first time he did the job. Turns out everything was to spec except for one valve, which was 3x the normal amout of lift because the guy's an idiot and can't read

[ehsnils]

Too much lifter play on mechanical valve adjusters is just noisy and embarrassing. Too little can be bad for the valve seats.

[Baddog]

Well I opened her up today. 4! were bad. 4 on the drivers side all along the top. So I went and got some from Pick N Pull today.

 

Got 8 of them. Bled them and put 4 newish ones in. Was all quiet. Shut the car off. Went to start it about 30 minutes later. The tick was bad. So I of course cursed and got angry. Pulled it back into the garage. 2 went bad again. On the top. But this time only 2.

 

Going back to get more tomorrow. Damnit.

 

Hope I get this all fixed. Sounds like a loud ass diesel.

[subikid90]

Are these hard to find new? Or way to expensive?

[ehsnils]

Sounds like you may have a dirt problem. Check the ones you removed. Sometimes when you fiddle with stuff like the lifters you can break free small specs of dirt that clogs the finer holes in some places.

[Baddog]

Are these hard to find new? Or way to expensive?

 

They were really loud otherwise I would've gotten some from Delta. Subaru said they wanted 25.68 per! Give me a break.

 

I got it all fixed today. She sounds great now. Finally!

[subikid90]

Oh wow thats expensive if you have to replace all of them. I am guessing only a subaru dealer only part lol