airborneops

What is the difference between piston slap and valve train noise? Don't worry, I have read the dosens of threads and know what my options are if I have one or the other.. I just want to know how you can tell the differences between the two noises, I expect they are distinct, but have not heard piston slap, so I don't know the difference.

I have done the long screw driver trick, and have determined the EJ251 soc (2002 Subaru Outback) is a noisey lawnmower engine, and can't be sure where the ticking is coming from. It is not the injectors.

I think a noise I have is valve train at piston 1, a dealer thinks its piston noise even after warm up (short of it is they get $600 to tear down the engine to check, if there is an issue an after market warrantee picks up the bill, if they find nothing, I eat the $600).

If I can tell the difference, I can decide if I have to do head work, or piston block work. I don't feel I can trust the dealers...but I digress...;-) How do you tell the difference between the noises?