every now and then, the engine sounds like its ticking while its idling or when im accelerating. its not really all that loud. im sure its normal... but i wanted to make sure its not an indication that the valves are bent or anything like that.

i was thinking about taking it to a dealership to make sure i wasnt trippin... but i dont want to risk the chance of them breaking something. haha

 

Its probably your injectors.

 

the injectors would tick that loud? hmmm weird.

 

I think t's just the way subarus and other horizontaly opposed engines sound.Evere heard an old vw beetle that didn't "tick"? Porsches' sound very similar also.

 

No, VWs and 911s tick because they use timing chains, not belts.

The sound you hear is the lifters over the valves. You should only hear it when the oil is cold, before the engine reaches 80c in coolant temp.

 

yeah i figured its the lifters... i guess it ticks louder because of the synthetic oil.

i just wanted to make sure its normal. hehe

 

Mine ticks constantly, I noticed it ticked more once I changed the oil too? I wonder why that is.

 

weird, huh? i dunno man... im just not used to all the ticking. haha

 

Mine was ticking pretty loud a few mornings ago when it was REALLY cold out. It went away after a few minutes. My old 84 wagon gl made the same noise when cold

 

I'm not too sure about the whole timing chain thing. I've never heard a boxer engine that didn't tick, and I've never heard a timing chain that did tick, unless there was something wrong with it. I've owned old school hot rods since I was 17 and never heard a timing chain that made a "ticking noise".

 

I think it has to do with the engine configuration, and to a lessser extent, the injectors.

 

Vibe:

https://www.i-club.com/forums/showth...icking+lifters

We've already been down that road Yes, it is the engine configuration that makes that sound happen (lifters getting ahead of the valvetrain); one other possible source is the HLA (hydraulic lash adjusters) compensating for the slightly less-than-ideal conditions of a cold engine. The boxer engine is designed to be happy with 80c coolant and 800c exhaust temps, and it is crabby until it gets there.

I spent much of my youth arms-deep in the engine bay of several Porsche 911s and I rebuilt an air-cooled VW engine from scratch. The chains most definitely make noise on those two engines; in fact the chains are what give both engines (along with valve clatter and very, very short headers) their distinctive sound. I'm talking about '80s-era engines (1976 for the VW); they may have definitely removed the sound in more recent engines.

 

Thanks for explaining. New porsches still tick.

 

yeah, there is a BIG difference in the way my car acts when the engine is cold, and when its warm!