Happy new year all !,

1995 wrx JDM wagon has developed a strange ticking noise on 1st morning startup, sounds like a rattly old ford for a couple of minutes then dissapears.

Started last week ( had the car almost 3 years now & its never happened before ) sounds like hydraulic tappets taking time to fill up or something like that, guess 1st question is does this car actually have hydraulic tappets ? & secondly is this normal ? if not suggestions welcome !

thanks in advance,

SS

 

Mine did this in my old scooby WRX02,
The oil that had been put in the car was 0W-30, This oil was way too thin and escaped from the Hydraulic tappets too easily so I was told! Only really noticeable on really cold mornings.
Swopped it the very same day for 10W-50 and problem was resolved!

Same happened on my Dad's Primera ZX.

Check your oil level too!

Plums.

P.S. some slight tapping on start up (1-2 secs) is normal untill the oil pressure builds.

 

Thanks for responce Plums, checked oil level & its OK, last change was around 6 months ago with 10w-40, ( admitedly "generic" cheapo oil )
maybe a change to something a bit more classy would be worthwhile, is 10-40 ok or would 10-50 be better ( I dont relly know what the numbers actually stand for ! ) would have though that the current cold spell & the fact that its 1st start would make the oil effectively thicker ?

perhaps my oil pump is on the way out ? although light goes out almost instantly ?

SS

 

The numbers are to do with the effectiveness of the oil at different temps, the first number is to do with lower temp protection and the second number for high temps. In an ideal world you would want a 0w/60w but they dont really exist. Do a search for oilman at opie oils and he knows his stuff and can do you a good deal on the oil and tell you the best for your engine and state of tune. I used an engine flush when i did my last oil change as i had a tappety noise, then put in 10w/40w amsoil did the trick, no noise and the car seems much smoother.