Ouch!!! That looks bad mate!
I will see if Richard Henry's can fit me in at the beginning of the week,I've got a few days off,if not I will just after risk it,it's my daily and the only way I can get to work.
Will defiantly be taking it easy until I find out what's going on.

 

Mine slaps when cold I'd call it a sort of clack just over 1k revs its deffo tolerance related as if fades as car warms, when my new belt and pulleys were done it made no difference with mine. And my oil is clean too. I always look at the exhaust smoke apart from the condensation as long as it's not passing oil it's all good. If unsure could do a compression test?
With the cold weather it brings into question the oil grade too. I use 10w50 all year round as its wider scope, but anyone using a 5w in the winter it may be a bit thin an add to the noise although unlikely oil used on a forged build just putting it out there.

 

Ah I see,so really I should be giving the 5w40 a miss on my next oil change?
I might buy something a bit thicker then,cheers

 

Just been reading up on the oil I intend to use for my Next oil change on Monday and the 5w40 seems ok and will certainly not do any damage so I will stick with it and see how I get on,cheers.
This is some info I found on the oil I will be using.

Millers CFS 5w-40 is part of the Millers Oils Motorsport range. CFS 5w-40 is formulated with 100% synthetic base fluids, including a synergistic blend of three esters combined with the latest additive technology for maximum performance.Millers Oils CFS 5w-40 is recommended for competition or modified engines where maximum power release is the preferred criteria. The CFS 5w-40 grade has been formulated for high revving engines used in motorsport such as circuit racing or for larger engines for short duration i.e. hill climbs and sprints.

 

Personally with a tuned impreza I would stick with 10w50

 

I know you've certainly had your fair share of highly tuned Impreza
What would be the negatives in using 5w40?
And the positives in using 10w50?
My reasoning behind going for 5w is that when cold it will circulate better than a 10w and 50 when warm would zap a bit of the power,but I could be wrong?

Since I have bought this oil now I will use it,maybe just for 2-3k then look at swapping for 10w50 as you suggest.

 

I use the same as banny in mine....

 

That'll do for me then cheers.
I will drive the car pretty steady with this 5w40 in then order some 10w50 for the next change.

 

Mine makes a lot of noise when cold and doesn't quite down unless iv given it a beating and gotten the Pistons nice and hot, until then it slaps more than all my other forged builds put together lol

 

Cool.
I'm starting to think it's more paranoia than a problem now,never having had a forged build,colder weather plus me scared to give it any hard driving since hearing the noise so not getting the engine nice and hot.

I will have a good nosey tomorrow when I change the oil and see if RH can get me in for a Cambelt change on Tuesday(bit short notice mind and I understand they will be a busy place?) So might just end up helping my mechanic mate do the job.
Cheers for all the advice and help from you all

 

Good Luck with it IMO boxer engines heat up quite quickly and really should be let to warm up anyway the 5w is only a benefit where there are very low temps, here in the uk I personally think it's a bit thin a 10w being a bit thicker is more suited and also for forged build tolerances, the diff will not cure the slap that is a bit of paranoia and also caricaristics of the engine but may help if you were using a 5w. The oil debates will never end this is just my two pence worth lol. Change ya belts just for peace of mind and try to get used to the sound of your engine when cold.

 

Totally agree sy. the oil debate is never ending lol

I was defiantly getting used and expected the really loud engine when cold but the paranoia level went up when I could still only recently hear a noise when warmed up and the radio stopped working
To be fair I never really switched the stereo on much anyway.

 

My 2.1 slaps when cold, goes away once warm. Sounds like a diesel when it's cold though .

I run mine on Millers CFS 10w50, good stuff.

 

Lol Scotty mine sounds like an old tractor when cold,really is loud but had read about forged before I bought it.
Did plenty of reading before choosing oils to use and have always used millers so the CFS seemed like the best one to go for,guess I just chose wrong when picking 5w40.
I won't run it for too many miles then change to 10w50 as this seems to be the better option as recommended by you guys.
The fuches race pro stuff that's in atm I didn't like the luck of anyway as it's a dark oil and not golden coloured which I'm used to.

 

I use the fuches race pro 15/50 , used it in all my forged builds and never had a problem with it but best mate swears by millers 10-50 aswell,,, going back to the piston slap again , my 2.1 is very quite cold or warm ,, but both the forged 2.5s iv owned have been loud from cold till very warm ,the current one being the loudest out of the lot but it's also the highest spec engine so makes sense that it would have more piston clearence

 

I run 10/50 in my forged builds too. I ran Fuchs race pro 10/50 with no problems but upgraded to Silverline Synionic 10/50 as i use mine on track.

 

Have my worst fears been confirmed?
Well I did an oil change today,struggled to get the filter off but did manage in the end.
No time to fit the oil pressure gauge either.

I did find a small amount of metal in the old oil,around 20-30 very small flakes,the picture below isn't the greatest but shows the bits of metal
Does this look like it could be the start of a bottom end failure?

 

Do you have a magnetic sump plug?

When mine started becoming noisier it was cracked pistons...

 

No but I've just been out and tested the flakes with a magnet and they do stick to the magnet,guessing this would rule out bearings?

 

It does sound piston related to me. Why not do a cheap compression test? Gauges are cheap and just remove each plug in turn. I have had a similar noise on a Vauxhall and it was a stuck piston ring that wore away causing the piston to slap when cold. Not too bad when it warmed up as expanded. Let us all know the outcome!

 

Good advice cheers,this will be the next thing I do,I'm back at work tomorrow and need to use the car,I get thur&fri off next week so I will call up at my mates who has all the test kits.
When I bought it off one of the members on here,top bloke he is and said API did a compression test when they changed the plugs and came back as all in the mid 10bar range(no reason to doubt him but no paperwork to back this up) I will have to get it tested for my piece of mind.

I did put some new plugs in last week and the old plugs were a good colour and good even condition,would a bad piston show up anything on a spark plug?

 

No, definitely not. No idea that my piston was fooked until the tapping became worryingly loud lol.

 

Worrying times ahead I guess,but at the end of the day if it blows up then so be it,I will just drive the car as I normally do and start saving up for a rebuild,not much more I can do.
I'll get a compression test done,get the pressure gauge fitted and keep my fingers crossed lol

 

It's a good sign that your plugs are a good colour then as proves no oil is getting through to the plugs so rings should be doing their job. Mechanics have a stethoscope type think that might be able to pin point your noise so go down that route. Worth a compression test if you have gear and time though. Good luck

 

The only metal that will stick to a magnet will either be from the piston rings or the cams.

Do a compression test for piece of mind. Doesn't take long to do, make sure your battery is up to it.

 

Thanks for all the advice,probably going to be Thursday next week until I can get a compression test done,I'm going to drop the oil again too and put some thicker oil in(that's if the engine lasts that long)
I will keep you updated

 

I have not read the entire thread but could this nit just be a bit of debris from the previous failure as you says it's been rebuilt. I remember when bout a used sump from a failed engine. It took dozens of fill and drains to get all the rubbish out of the sump.

 

For the price of a brand new sump why risk the engine

 

The rebuild was 8 years and 30k miles ago so doubt it's from this.
Car had a recent twin scroll conversion tho and a 2nd hand sump was used tho(I think?)
I suppose there is a small glimmer of hope that the small metal particles are from this??

 

Stating the obvious here, but any form of metal debris in your oil is not a good sign.

If it were mine I would buy a couple of oil filters and another lot of cheap oil and I mean as cheap as chips, dump the oil and filter that's on in the same manner as last time, checking for debris, stick the cheap stuff in run it up to temp then dump it, again checking for debris, and then put some good stuff in and cross my fingers.

This is just for making sure there's nothing else floating about in there or at least as little as possible, then another 500/1000 miles I'd dump it again, then if there's more debris you know you're on borrowed time and need to take it real easy until you've sorted another engine.