EA82 L series, replacing oil pump seals

KaFoomaN · Post by **KaFoomaN** » Tue May 15, 2012 11:17 pm

hey i am looking to fix or at least quieten down the engine's usual *tick* *tick* noise on my 94/95 L serie's. ive read that it could be issues with the oil pump seals and/or the 'lash adjusters'? i was wondering if anyone could help with instructions on how to get to and replace the oil pump seals, and how exactly to get to the 'lash adjusters' to check them with out having to take the engine out and if possible with out taking the belts off.
i know its a pretty normal expectation to have the lifter ticking in the EA82 but it would be nice to dampen it a bit

any help would be muchly appreciated

sublime · Post by **sublime** » Wed May 16, 2012 7:11 pm

Hmmm... You're out of luck I'm afraid! The cam belts must be removed to get to both of the cam carriers and the oil pump.

You can do this while the engine is in the car but I cannot help think it is far easier to remove it first. Removing the cam carriers is not difficult, just a big job! If you had to do this leaning over the guards it would be annoying to say the least! You may be able to remove/loosen one belt to get the oil pump off...

Your best bet would be to buy a Gregory's manual (or something similar - OEM Subaru manuals are great) so you can understand what is involved.

YouTube · Post by **El_Freddo** » Thu May 17, 2012 2:02 am

sublime wrote:Hmmm... You're out of luck I'm afraid! The cam belts must be removed to get to both of the cam carriers and the oil pump.

Too right! Working on the oil pump without removing the cam belts really is asking the impossible!

sublime wrote:You can do this while the engine is in the car but I cannot help think it is far easier to remove it first. Removing the cam carriers is not difficult, just a big job! If you had to do this leaning over the guards it would be annoying to say the least! You may be able to remove/loosen one belt to get the oil pump off...

It's not hard to do it with the engine still in the car - if you know what you're doing! Learning as you go it'd be easier to do on a bench but you could do it still in the car for a real challenge. It would ultimately save you some time and cracking the cooling system open unless you're going to do the water pump at the same time.

As for checking the lash adjusters there's really nothing you can do by checking them once they're ticking. What you can do though is add a small spacer (2 or 3mm) to the oil pressure relief valve spring to keep the pressure where you want it. This has worked a treat for me recently, it's the first time I've used it but the engine is one of the quietest EA82s I've had. The manual will tell you where you need to do this.

Also make sure you replace the shaft seal, this is often missed and is the cause of sucking air into the oil system.

Cheers

Bennie

spike · Post by **spike** » Thu May 17, 2012 9:55 am

tried it and failed.........
the only way weve found to keep the ticking low is
keep the oil at max
theres a certain product that i cant remember, lifter somthing? that is added to the oil
turn the radio up

Smokey · Post by **Smokey** » Thu May 17, 2012 10:33 am

Would be interesting to see how much oil pressure changes between bad ticking and it being resolved by these various methods. Has anyone first hand exp with pressure differences?

Cliff R · Post by **Cliff R** » Thu May 17, 2012 6:37 pm

The additive is Nulon Lifter free and tune up.
I bought it from my local Auto 1 store.
Just tip the bottle into the engine along with the existing oil and off you go.
It may take a couple of hundred ks to get going but in my experiece it certainly works on the EA82 engine. That and keeping the oil at its max level helps too.

YouTube · Post by **El_Freddo** » Thu May 17, 2012 11:14 pm

spike wrote:tried it and failed...

Are you talking about the pressure relief valve spring spacing trick??

I've never used an additive, maybe I should have been before I found this spacer trick.

Cheers

Bennie

KaFoomaN · Post by **KaFoomaN** » Fri May 18, 2012 2:00 pm

Ah cheers guys. i've tried the Tune up oil before and personally i dont think it has done anything yet. ill try replacing the oil seals see if that makes any difference. as for getting to the Lash adjusters, is that a hard or not, sorry about the questions im still a novice when it comes to cars :P

YouTube · Post by **El_Freddo** » Sat May 19, 2012 11:26 am

KaFoomaN wrote:as for getting to the Lash adjusters, is that a hard or not, sorry about the questions im still a novice when it comes to cars :P

Not really, it's more a PITA to put it all back together again then find that they're still making noise!

To do it you'll need to remove the cam sprockets, then the rear sections of the cam belt covers, from here remove the cam covers on the sides of the engine, 4 bolts Driver's side, 5 passenger's side.
Then remove the cam box - 8 bolts both sides. Make sure you've disconnected the distributor as it will come out in the cam box "assembly". Now the rocker arms should have all fallen to the ground, if not you're lucky. They'll all be there at some stage - if not when pulling it apart, then it'll be when you're trying to put it back together.

For someone doing this for the first time, I'd recommend pulling the engine so you're not doing your back in leaning over the engine bay all day trying to work it out

Cheers

Bennie