Can Timing Belt Fix Ticking?
- saxon.hall.00
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Can Timing Belt Fix Ticking?
Ok, as I've said in a previous post, my ticking is bad, no more needs to be said.
So if anyone is interested out there, I went into the mechanic today, and had a chat to him about this annoying noise, and he seconded me (it's loud). So he's pretty convinced it has something to do with one of my timing belts.
If I remember correctly, I think he said if one of the timing belts snaps, it wont do the engine any damage, but it drops the oil pressure in 'some area' making the oil not get the lifters where it should?
Is this correct or not?
Cheers
So if anyone is interested out there, I went into the mechanic today, and had a chat to him about this annoying noise, and he seconded me (it's loud). So he's pretty convinced it has something to do with one of my timing belts.
If I remember correctly, I think he said if one of the timing belts snaps, it wont do the engine any damage, but it drops the oil pressure in 'some area' making the oil not get the lifters where it should?
Is this correct or not?
Cheers
Subaru, L Series, sports wagon, 1.8L, 89 model


- El_Freddo
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G'day Saxon,
Your mechanic is right about the oil pressure, but the dizzy is also run off the same belt do the engine will die on you anyway - by die I mean stop running, there won't be any serious damage.
As for the ticking - the cam belt won't do anything to solve it. The problem will be in the lifters themselves. Over time without regular oil changes the lifters can slag up in the track that the oil enters the lifter. The oil passages to the lifters may be blocked or the spring and ball that regulates oil pressure to the lifters may be stuck closed or partically blocked.
^ That and they are random in their ticking... A thinner oil may do the trick but it could also result in more oil loss through old seals that don't hold oil as well as they used to.
Either put up with it or do what I did - shove an EJ in the EA's place! That was one of my reasons of the EJ anyway.
Cheers
Bennie
Your mechanic is right about the oil pressure, but the dizzy is also run off the same belt do the engine will die on you anyway - by die I mean stop running, there won't be any serious damage.
As for the ticking - the cam belt won't do anything to solve it. The problem will be in the lifters themselves. Over time without regular oil changes the lifters can slag up in the track that the oil enters the lifter. The oil passages to the lifters may be blocked or the spring and ball that regulates oil pressure to the lifters may be stuck closed or partically blocked.
^ That and they are random in their ticking... A thinner oil may do the trick but it could also result in more oil loss through old seals that don't hold oil as well as they used to.
Either put up with it or do what I did - shove an EJ in the EA's place! That was one of my reasons of the EJ anyway.
Cheers
Bennie
- saxon.hall.00
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- Location: Scamander (East Coast), Tasmaia, Australia
Thanks for the info freddo
Well the mechanic is pretty convinced that it has something to do with the timing belt, so should I let him know its not that (because the car is still running) and to avoid labor fee's, or is it worth still checking out the timing belt to see what condition its in as its got 266,000 on it and I have no history of the cars maintenance?
Cheers
Well the mechanic is pretty convinced that it has something to do with the timing belt, so should I let him know its not that (because the car is still running) and to avoid labor fee's, or is it worth still checking out the timing belt to see what condition its in as its got 266,000 on it and I have no history of the cars maintenance?
Cheers
Subaru, L Series, sports wagon, 1.8L, 89 model


- phillatdarwin
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- Location: 93GL / 86rx ea82t Darwin NT
hi all i are back
do what i did to my car last week and put some cat diesel oil in it and drop it after some ks or do what i did and just leave it in i had my temp drop not run as hot has drop by about 45% .
or u can just run it as a flush to clean it all out .
i had a lot of lifter noise now it has stop and do not have lifter noise now .
do what i did to my car last week and put some cat diesel oil in it and drop it after some ks or do what i did and just leave it in i had my temp drop not run as hot has drop by about 45% .
or u can just run it as a flush to clean it all out .
i had a lot of lifter noise now it has stop and do not have lifter noise now .
- AlpineRaven
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- Location: Melbourne, Victoria, Australia.
not first time I've heard about diesel oil... but its not ideal to run it for long term.phillatdarwin wrote:hi all i are back
do what i did to my car last week and put some cat diesel oil in it and drop it after some ks or do what i did and just leave it in i had my temp drop not run as hot has drop by about 45% .
or u can just run it as a flush to clean it all out .
i had a lot of lifter noise now it has stop and do not have lifter noise now .
Cheers
AP
Subarus that I have/had:
1995 Liberty "Rallye" - 5MT AWD, LSD - *written off 25/8/06 in towing accident.
1996 Liberty Wagon - SkiFX AWD 5MT D/R, Lifted.. Outback Sway Bar, 1.59:1 Low Gearing see thread: 1.59:1 in EJ Box Page
Sold at 385,000kms in July 2011.
2007 Liberty BP Wagon, 2.5i automatic

1995 Liberty "Rallye" - 5MT AWD, LSD - *written off 25/8/06 in towing accident.
1996 Liberty Wagon - SkiFX AWD 5MT D/R, Lifted.. Outback Sway Bar, 1.59:1 Low Gearing see thread: 1.59:1 in EJ Box Page
Sold at 385,000kms in July 2011.
2007 Liberty BP Wagon, 2.5i automatic

- phillatdarwin
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- Joined: Thu Dec 25, 2008 6:11 pm
- Location: 93GL / 86rx ea82t Darwin NT
i know about that .
but if we are all smart we wood run it in all engines we rebuild as it keeps the engine clean .
i run it in my motorbike when i was overseas it was new when i got it ride it like it was not my bike .
it did not go black from the heat like all oils .
cat oil is very good oil and when u get your oil from a shop u are paying about the same price .
but if we are all smart we wood run it in all engines we rebuild as it keeps the engine clean .
i run it in my motorbike when i was overseas it was new when i got it ride it like it was not my bike .
it did not go black from the heat like all oils .
cat oil is very good oil and when u get your oil from a shop u are paying about the same price .
- saxon.hall.00
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- Joined: Thu Aug 28, 2008 11:50 am
- Location: Scamander (East Coast), Tasmaia, Australia
- phillatdarwin
- Junior Member
- Posts: 532
- Joined: Thu Dec 25, 2008 6:11 pm
- Location: 93GL / 86rx ea82t Darwin NT
- phillatdarwin
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- Posts: 532
- Joined: Thu Dec 25, 2008 6:11 pm
- Location: 93GL / 86rx ea82t Darwin NT
- AlpineRaven
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Thats correct... some of the diesel agents isnt good for the seals in petrol engines and some other type of items in the engine as well..El_Freddo wrote:And that would be due to all the deterget agents in the diesel right?
Cheers
Bennie
Cheers
AP
Subarus that I have/had:
1995 Liberty "Rallye" - 5MT AWD, LSD - *written off 25/8/06 in towing accident.
1996 Liberty Wagon - SkiFX AWD 5MT D/R, Lifted.. Outback Sway Bar, 1.59:1 Low Gearing see thread: 1.59:1 in EJ Box Page
Sold at 385,000kms in July 2011.
2007 Liberty BP Wagon, 2.5i automatic

1995 Liberty "Rallye" - 5MT AWD, LSD - *written off 25/8/06 in towing accident.
1996 Liberty Wagon - SkiFX AWD 5MT D/R, Lifted.. Outback Sway Bar, 1.59:1 Low Gearing see thread: 1.59:1 in EJ Box Page
Sold at 385,000kms in July 2011.
2007 Liberty BP Wagon, 2.5i automatic

- AlpineRaven
- Senior Member
- Posts: 3682
- Joined: Wed Oct 19, 2005 10:00 am
- Location: Melbourne, Victoria, Australia.
You cant buy cat oil from anywhere. It would be truck dealers.phillatdarwin wrote:i know about that .
but if we are all smart we wood run it in all engines we rebuild as it keeps the engine clean .
i run it in my motorbike when i was overseas it was new when i got it ride it like it was not my bike .
it did not go black from the heat like all oils .
cat oil is very good oil and when u get your oil from a shop u are paying about the same price .
Cheers
AP
Subarus that I have/had:
1995 Liberty "Rallye" - 5MT AWD, LSD - *written off 25/8/06 in towing accident.
1996 Liberty Wagon - SkiFX AWD 5MT D/R, Lifted.. Outback Sway Bar, 1.59:1 Low Gearing see thread: 1.59:1 in EJ Box Page
Sold at 385,000kms in July 2011.
2007 Liberty BP Wagon, 2.5i automatic

1995 Liberty "Rallye" - 5MT AWD, LSD - *written off 25/8/06 in towing accident.
1996 Liberty Wagon - SkiFX AWD 5MT D/R, Lifted.. Outback Sway Bar, 1.59:1 Low Gearing see thread: 1.59:1 in EJ Box Page
Sold at 385,000kms in July 2011.
2007 Liberty BP Wagon, 2.5i automatic

- saxon.hall.00
- Junior Member
- Posts: 68
- Joined: Thu Aug 28, 2008 11:50 am
- Location: Scamander (East Coast), Tasmaia, Australia
Ok, cheers but still, should I let him know its not that (because the car is still running) and to avoid labor fee's, or is it worth still checking out the timing belt to see what condition its in as its got 266,000 on it and I have no history of the cars maintenance?
Subaru, L Series, sports wagon, 1.8L, 89 model


- AlpineRaven
- Senior Member
- Posts: 3682
- Joined: Wed Oct 19, 2005 10:00 am
- Location: Melbourne, Victoria, Australia.
I would get the timing belt checked or to save headaches later is to replace it to be safe... or hope it'll be alright till 300,000 kms.. its your call....
If it was me since I know how to change it, I'd change it now and get the oil pump checked at the same time.
Cheers
AP
If it was me since I know how to change it, I'd change it now and get the oil pump checked at the same time.
Cheers
AP
Subarus that I have/had:
1995 Liberty "Rallye" - 5MT AWD, LSD - *written off 25/8/06 in towing accident.
1996 Liberty Wagon - SkiFX AWD 5MT D/R, Lifted.. Outback Sway Bar, 1.59:1 Low Gearing see thread: 1.59:1 in EJ Box Page
Sold at 385,000kms in July 2011.
2007 Liberty BP Wagon, 2.5i automatic

1995 Liberty "Rallye" - 5MT AWD, LSD - *written off 25/8/06 in towing accident.
1996 Liberty Wagon - SkiFX AWD 5MT D/R, Lifted.. Outback Sway Bar, 1.59:1 Low Gearing see thread: 1.59:1 in EJ Box Page
Sold at 385,000kms in July 2011.
2007 Liberty BP Wagon, 2.5i automatic

- phillatdarwin
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- Location: 93GL / 86rx ea82t Darwin NT
- subybrumby
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- discopotato03
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- Location: Sydney
A few urban myths here .
I think people should take notice of the lables on diesel engine oil containers , they often say not for engines with cat converters in the exhaust system .
Fact 1) , diesel engines don't get blackening of the oil because they run hot - it's because of the fuel they burn and high compression ratios meaning blow by . They need the extra detergents in their oils additive package to keep their blow by crud suspended in the oil and not deposited around the crank case .
Fact 2) , EA82's do get rattly when their belts are a bit slack and I put this down to a bit of cam thrash or backlash at idle type revs . If the belts flap against the insides of the belt covers this makes some noise as well .
My then 290 K old EA82T got noisy and eventually broke the belt that drives the distributor and oil pump .
I fitted new belts tensioners and idler and that old engine ran MUCH quieter .
It started to get a touch noisy again about 10-12,000 ks on and I reset the belt tensioners which took most of the tapping away again .
If you look at the belt covers there are a couple of access holes where you can get at the belt tensioner fasteners and all you have to do is back them off slightly and tighten them up to the recommended torque settings - DO this ONLY with a torque wrench and you won't strip the threads in the front of the engines aluminium cases .
Just in case you don't know the tensioners have springs on them so when you loosten the fasteners the spring pulls the tensioner and belt taut and then you retorque the fasteners .
I'd always wind the engine over first to have tension on the right side of the belts .
So this is real world experience , not merely using the force .
For the effort to back off and retorque four fasteners you don't have anything much to lose except some noise .
I suggest you beg/borrow/steal a workshop manual and read up on these things just for piece of mind , it wouldn't hurt to show your mechanic the manual if he doesn't work on these engines very often . Even a Gregories explains it in easy to absorb detail .
Cheers A .
I think people should take notice of the lables on diesel engine oil containers , they often say not for engines with cat converters in the exhaust system .
Fact 1) , diesel engines don't get blackening of the oil because they run hot - it's because of the fuel they burn and high compression ratios meaning blow by . They need the extra detergents in their oils additive package to keep their blow by crud suspended in the oil and not deposited around the crank case .
Fact 2) , EA82's do get rattly when their belts are a bit slack and I put this down to a bit of cam thrash or backlash at idle type revs . If the belts flap against the insides of the belt covers this makes some noise as well .
My then 290 K old EA82T got noisy and eventually broke the belt that drives the distributor and oil pump .
I fitted new belts tensioners and idler and that old engine ran MUCH quieter .
It started to get a touch noisy again about 10-12,000 ks on and I reset the belt tensioners which took most of the tapping away again .
If you look at the belt covers there are a couple of access holes where you can get at the belt tensioner fasteners and all you have to do is back them off slightly and tighten them up to the recommended torque settings - DO this ONLY with a torque wrench and you won't strip the threads in the front of the engines aluminium cases .
Just in case you don't know the tensioners have springs on them so when you loosten the fasteners the spring pulls the tensioner and belt taut and then you retorque the fasteners .
I'd always wind the engine over first to have tension on the right side of the belts .
So this is real world experience , not merely using the force .
For the effort to back off and retorque four fasteners you don't have anything much to lose except some noise .
I suggest you beg/borrow/steal a workshop manual and read up on these things just for piece of mind , it wouldn't hurt to show your mechanic the manual if he doesn't work on these engines very often . Even a Gregories explains it in easy to absorb detail .
Cheers A .
- saxon.hall.00
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- discopotato03
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