I have a tapping noise coming from the top right hand side of the engine, possible stuck valve.....car was parked for 3 months and when i give it gas the noise gets louder and faster.

I have changed the oil to 15w 50 mobile 1 and also put it stuff to quiten the noise but still sounds like i have a midget banging away, its only coming from the one side corner.

I thought only 97-98 had this problem?....can anyone advise me as how to fix this..also the engine seems to have a small misfire, drives fine but on idle it shakes the whole car!

Local garge have said to get the car compression tested...is it really this bad? any advise would be great thanks

 

Anyone with any idea?

 

What model/year?

Rob

 

1993 wrx gc8

 

is it anything to do with the blowoff valve?

 

Ra or normal WRX?

Mettalic noise for sure?

R.

 

You may be right as the noise is where you would place the dump valve but its internal as you can hear the metal clang

 

standard wrx andf sounds like two spanners in a bag....as you give it more gas it gets louder and faster...when at idle it goes and can only be heard when you put your ear right near the engine!

 

Knock or tap?

As in... Hollow knocking sound or solid tapping sound.

Rob

 

Big end gets my vote then.

Usually shows as a very slight rattle on idle which gets much louder from 2k upwards

Rob

 

just had another listen and very tappaty sound, valve, tappats..not piston as to sharp.

 

its more of a tap then a knock mate....if the big ends gone then would it be driveing as well as it is.

only differance is a slight engine shake on idle

 

Ok, plot thickens then...

Best bet...

Take off the cam cover and rotate the crank using a breaker bar etc..
Check that none of the clearances between the cams and followers are too large.
Failing that you may have a problem with a follower, this should show up by measuring the clearances

Rob

 

my local garage has said they want to do a compression test on the car, will this tell me anything? thanks Rob

 

Its very strange as all we did was change the oil to 15w 50 mobile 1 and things went down hill......from this point the car was tapping and the engine was shakeing like a small misfire.

 

If you get a chance, (in fact you will for comp test) check the plug condition.

This will give you an idea of what is wrong also, colour of plug etc.

Had you run the car before changing oil? ie. after the 3 month stand time but before changing oil.

Rob

 

Meant to add, compression test will show stuck valve, lack of compression.

Rob

 

The plugs have all been changed recently, the car was stood for 3 months when i started it with a new battrey....it started fine with no noise. I then switched it off after a few minutes and left it for a few days and changed the oil, oil filter and air filter.

I have changed the coil packs all round too

 

so a compression test will tell us what the score is?

 

Oh yes the old plugs were a little black but nothing out of the ordinary

 

I was thinking more along the lines of one particular plug being a different colour to another now...

Coil pack located 100%

Rob

 

I think all coilpacks are located correct mate, and to be honest i did not look at each plug to compare them......so rob any ideas of a easy fix? i have changed all service parts and also added some mixture for noisy valves

 

Wonder if it's a dodgy hydraulic lifter, brought to light by switching to a 15/50 oil.

What oil were you using before ? If it was a light weight oil, before I stripped anything, I'd try switching back to a lighter oil, and see if it cures the problem. It may take a little while to sort itself out.


Mark.

 

Compression test and valve clearance check should be your first non cost things to do.

This will give you an insight into where the problem lies.

Rob

 

Agree about the oil change, even if you drop the 15/50 into a clean container so that you can reuse it if ness.

Rob

 

Mark the oil was put in by the last owner so im not sure what it was or how long it was in there!

So maybe switching to a thicker oil may resolve it? i have been told by a mate to put in auto transmission fluid in to get the valve loose again??? any comments

 

OK so cant do compression test tommorow as garage closed, will change oil to 15w50 tommorow and take her for a run. If no change then will sort compression test monday

 

Many thanks for you help Rob and Mark, will keep you updated tommorow

 

Hang on, you've just changed to a 15/50, and you have a problem !!! You need to change to a THINNER oil. Now it's getting cold out, a 5, or 10/40.


Mark.

 

Its been a long day..haha ok so will get some 5 40 tommorow and see what happens