On a cold start in wintery temps (starting now, late-October), my motor (04 WRX) will generate a rhythmic light clunking sound. I didn't find much information from searching, but there are some indications that this is normal? and a result of piston slap??? This is the start of my third winter with the car and I can't remember if it was this loud or persistent (it was at least present before). All sorts of weird noises come out in the cold...turbo whistles differently, suspension creeks a bit more.... I just want to confirm with you guys who I assume would be more the cold weather experts than a general joe-schmoe on NASIOC any suggestions = great help. so long as it's not a "your car is going to die..have the dealer replace the motor now!" b/c I doubt its that serious.
your car is going to die.........have the dealership replace your motor and give me the current one! =P anyways, my car clunks and ticks now and then when it gets cold...always goes away though after it warms up......hasnt' effect me yet....so i guess it's normal.
same here....and my subey is running with the turboz...i guess its normal...i'll let it run for about at least 3mins before i take off...
It is normal, mine does the same thing for about 3-4 minutes after start up, it has done it for the last three years. My Legacy was the same way as well.
yeah my SVX is the same way too... probably just the metals shrinking and expanding alittle due to the temp changes
weird thing is... I have a remote start so I let it warm up 10+ minutes (it's warming up now! ) but it still chatters. oh wells. I don't think Porsche boxer engines do this. haha! thx for chiming in guys!!
and you dont see many porsche motors with 200k+ on them either. there may be a correlation to funky subie rattles and longevity. if i can crack open a block at 200k and see the original hone marks, i wont care what kind of nioses it makes.
are u running 5w30 oil type? I'm running 15w50 and I need to warm up at least 5 to 10 min and its still does the piston slaps....after awhile driving couple miles, the noises disappear...
the thing with this is that it's not too good with our cars. I never let mine idle and warm up. I let it idle for maybe 30secs-1min and then i drive off letting it warm up as i drive and keeping it under 3k until it warms up. The thing with letting it idle is that the engine will be fully warmed up but the drivetrain is still cold. With the difference in temps between the drivetrain and engine, one will expand from the heat while one is still cold and not expanded yet....it causes clunking and other noises until everything on the car warms up. Thus why, i warm up both at the same time by driving it til it fully warms up.
I am running Mobil1 5w30. I understand its not a good idea to overfill oil as it will start to foam? LVT, interesting point about warming up the tranny & engine together. Well, I have a remote start but I still keep the revs low anyway like you say. (My uncle's 911 GT3 has no liner and sound deadening The engine reverberates off of the roof so loudly! hehe)
yup, not good to overfill....I ran mobil1 10w30 on mine during the winter. as long as it's full synthetic, 5w30 or 10w30 wouldn't really harm the car. I use 10w30 because my car is getting old and burns oil. the thicker viscosity should last abit longer. plus, from what i've read....10w30 is a better viscosity being it doesnt' take much change from phase to phase. 1i forgot where i found the info but i might look it up since it does bring up a very interesting point.
warming your car up too long isnt hugely bad for your engine but it isnt great either.... I was always told that it can do long term damage to cylinder walls... so the best solution is allow it to idle for a min or 2 and like LVT said drive SLOWLY and take it nice on your car till it warms up....
its piston slap...some have it, some dont...its from subaru using the same castings for a million years and not changing, or replacing them.
