Is this noise familiar with anyone? Update: Short Block being replaced by Subaru

Hey all,

I recently had an oil change and noticed a new sound. At first it was quieter and only seemed to happen at part throttle. Now it seems to happen randomly along the rpm range while driving, but never at 50% or more throttle. It kinda sounds like something rattling around. I removed a piece of the oem heatshield that did feel a little loose (the smaller underside from the stock turbo heatshield I replaced with a cobb), but the sound persists. The clip is after the loss heatshield section was removed. Nothing else felt loose, or prone to rattle.

Fear of knock or some other catastrophic thing is pushing me to ask for opinions before I bring it in.


Cobb Stage 2 map (nuke tweak), full tbe, cobb intake, turbosmart 100% recirc valve.

edit: yes, I woke up to my tires being low this morning .

 

Been doing some research. Seems like it could be a noisy lifter.

Update: Wrong

 

Took it down to my local Firestone. Mechanic there seems to concur that this could be the issue. The manager was afraid of doing any internal work on the engine, but after talking it through it looks like they are going to give me an estimate for replacing the driver side HLA's.

They changed the oil again for free as well.

 

Firestone turned it down because the tech was not comfortable enough with it. Morries is next on the list.

 

Gonna get an estimate from Morries. I am sure it will be high. I wanted to have a starting point before I talk to NF.

 

Easier and a lot cheaper to go to the people who eat, sleep, and breath Subaru.


Do I need to mention who they are? They sort of dominate this forum.

 

Haha, yeah, I know. Just doing a little due diligence myself.

 

We'll the first problem here is your video is not working for me... Probably my phone. Next problem is you have Firestone do your work...
Please don't ever again ask a firestone to engine work. Unless of course you know that Firestone has a seasoned veteran tech. Which 99% of them do not.

 

I didn't have Firestone do work on my engine. I asked them for their opinion and estimate. They suggested I take it to a dealer or a performance shop. I have a good relationship with my local Firestone and they are within walking distance from my home. I'm not going to stop asking them for estimates and opinions when something comes up. Why wouldn't I ask them if they can do it? I trust their lead tech, and if he said he wanted to do it, it would get done. He said he wasn't comfortable trying since he hadn't done it before and wasn't sure how accurate his estimate could be. No harm no foul.

 

Like I said, Unless you know that Firestone has a good tech. I was mostly giving you ****, and it was late when u posted that. But seriously there are lots of guys on here that have taken apart tons on subie engines and charge less than a shop.

 

Yep. Going by distance, and working my way out. The quote from Morries was pretty funny.

Update: This was the Brooklyn Park Morries Subaru, and was an over the phone quote.

 

No yeah, Morries will get the job done but it will be expensive. Message nf and have them give you a quote.

 

Already messaged. I've met the gang, and they are all top notch.

 

Cool man, good luck and keep
Posting here if you need more help. If it comes down to it I can do it but i would be doing it in my garage hence I would take longer....

 

Have you done this before?

 

Yes but not nearly as much as the guys at nf,

 

But, you've dealt with this specific issue?

 

Umm no. I have done head work and engine work, but I have never torn one down for the Lifter issue yet.

 

Took it to NF so Nuke could have a listen. Nuke is confident it is a spun bearing. I will update when I get this worked out.

 

Bummer man

 

definitely sounds like a rod knock. p.s. your car doesnt have hydraulic lifters, they are solid buckets. hopefully you dont have too much metal going through your engine and the cam journals arent scored

 

Must be the same car I saw today.

 

is that the silver 09 hatch I saw there last wed?

 

Probably, yes.

Dropped it off yesterday at Minnetonka Subaru. I have 3 months left on the original Subaru powertrain warranty. I will know more later today.

 

That was me you talked to. was having my 08 wrx sedan getting upgraded.

hope you find the resolution you need, and that it isnt too pricey

 

sorry to hear that my 09 had it happen at 30,000 miles. What is the build date if you do not mind me asking??? 08/09 of 08???

 

Hey, I remember you. How is the 08? They will fix it either way, I just hope it is covered under warranty.

 

Thanks, man. Not sure when it was built. I've been reading up on this. Not an entirely uncommon issue. I am right around 57,000 miles.

 

Just got off of the phone with Mike at Minnetonka Subaru. He said they are in my corner as much as possible, but they aren't going to cover anything that wasn't caused by a faulty/failed Subaru part. I am on board for the initial $99.95 diagnostic fee, and they are moving forward with tearing down the engine (another $1,290.00). I haven't paid anything yet, and these costs will be covered under the warranty if it meets the criteria. Mike said I should know more by Monday afternoon.

Not sure how many people care. I just hate threads where someone has an issue/question and the last thing they post is that it was fixed without any explanation. Hopefully this helps someone else at some point.

 

It still runs like a dream. picked up a used anarchy motive shift knob from one of the other members hear and it shifts like a dream now. so happy i got rid of the stock knob. had the boost controller and downpipe put on. will say there is a mega difference between stage 2 and a stock tune.not bad for only being on 16.5 psi with a stock turbo

 

I totally agree man. More info is great that way other people on the forum can get their cars fixed too

 

Agreed, need more threads with clear conclusions. Can't count the times I have found a post by someone who has the exact same problem or question I have only to find no resolution or answer.
Hope it is covered by warranty! If it is, you are lucky it took a crap right before the warranty ran out.

 

Yup, thanks for keeping us updated. Best of luck and sorry to hear this happened.

 

Ok gang, ready for an update? I got a call from Mike at the Minnetonka Subaru. The short block has major scoring in all cylinders, especially 2,3,4. I just about ****ted my heart out waiting for him to tell me what it was gonna cost me. Subaru is going to replace it with a brand new short block at no cost to me. Covered under 'Good Will' of the original Subaru powertrain warranty. Christmas come early. I should get a call back here shortly as Mike is looking into the timing of ordering parts and such. I am relieved.

 

I'm sure that was a heavy weight off your shoulders.

 

Glad to hear everything worked out for you!!!

 

Thanks, man. Everything is going good so far. I am sitting at just under 60k, so while everything is out I'm replacing the clutch as well. Also gonna see if they'll put in the killer B pickup I ordered.

 

And then people wonder why people buy extended warranties! Good thing everything worked out good for you.

 

Glad to hear that things are working out as well. +1 for the Killer B oil pickup.

 

Just heard from Mike again. The Subaru district rep had come by again to take pictures. He confirmed to Mike that they were not requiring me to go back to stock, and will be putting my tbe, intake, etc back on. I had the OEM parts ready to go in case that was going to be a requirement for the new short block. This has been a much smoother process than I had anticipated. Kudos to Mike and the boys at Minnetonka Subaru for walking me through this, and to Nuke at NF for pointing me in the right direction.

Update: Just got a call back from Mike. They are going to pay for a couple days on a Hertz for us as well. Needed an extra vehicle for commutes, but wasn't expecting the generosity.

 

I was able to snap a few quick pics when I went in to pick up the rental car. The tech had already gone home for the day, and they didn't want me to touch anything so the relevancy of these pics are in question. Not that I wanted to mess up the tech's work area, either.

 

Cool pics!

 

Did you have an extended warranty through Morries, or just the factory warranty? It sounds like from your post that it was the factory warranty, but then another OP said good thing you have the extended warranty.