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I was getting a growl as my RPM's got above 4K. I just thought it sounded cool, but in retrospect, it may have been a warning from my turbo. The other day I was driving it and now when I rev the engine above 4K or so, I get a knocking sound, almost like a valve. It sounds like its coming from the turbo, but I can't be certain. The engine sounds fine at idle, but its when I rev it I hear the awful noise. Its a clacking(?) sound. Does anyone know what may be wrong? Do I need to replace the turbo? All my cars have some sort of problem now. I really have no reliable transportation. Why do I put things off for so long?!?

Thanks in advance for any help,

Brent

It sounds to me like your waste gate isnt working properly like it might be just flopping around in there? Is this the stock turbo? I would try when the engine is cold, actuating the waste gate by pulling the rod on top of the turbo towards the dp. I dont know what the measurement is for how hard it should be to move, but it should not not move easily. Thats the only thing i can think of that would tick under boost in the area of the turbo but thats just my 2 cents.

Thanks for the reply. Is the waste gate accuator in the "chimney?" If so, it looks like it is up, do I need to try pushing down on it? If so, I think I tried that and it wouldn't budge. What is the dp? I need to find my camera so I can video tape the sound.

Thanks again!

Brent

The wastegate actuator is the golden colored canister looking object in this photo. The arm would be the steel or brass rod that is coming out of the back of it. That rod connects the shaft going into the exhaust housing of the turbo and it opens and closes the wastegate which controls the amount of exhaust gas that bypasses (or does not bypass) the turbine wheel and that determines the amount of boost the turbo makes. It should be fairly hard to pull that rod out of the wastegate actuator. At least on my turbo it is but I have a bigger turbo than yours and the wastegate spring is stiffer so it won't open until higher boost pressure. On my turbo it's about 13lbs but on the stock VF11 it's probably 8lbs or something.

"DP" means down pipe. It's the pipe you see coming off the turbo. I'm not sure if the turbo chimney is over the whole wastegate actuator and rod or not but with this picture you should be able to identify it and you may need to remove the chimney to gain access to it.

The waste gate sits under the chimney, that was what I tried moving. I think it is sitting higher than this photo. So when pulling the rod toward the dp, the waste gate would go down? I'm trying to figure out the turbo setup. Never had any trouble until recently, and I've learned a ton over the last two days.

Thanks!

Brent

Yeah i believe the whole turbo is covered by that chimney, i cant remember since i tore that thing off asap as it was the cause of some god awful rattleing. Im not sure how easy it is going to grab onto that rod with it on. You cant actually see the waste gate move because it is inside the turbo but when you pull that rod and let it go you should here it slam close. In the picture below its the circle on the right with the bar attached to it. That bar goes up through the top of the housing of the turbo and attaches to the rod that Kimo posted. So when you pull that rod towards the rear of the car, that door pivots open, and when it opens it allows extra gas to bypass the turbine. And my though was maybe that door is opening and and slamming shut while your in boost and is making that noise. The only thing i can think of that would make that happen is if the mechanism inside the silver wastegate actuator ( The silver drum looking thing attached to the rod in the second picture) is broken or bent. Im not sure how that would happen but iv seen crazier.

Sorry for the long wait in between posts... Well, now that the engine in my 1989 VW Vanagon decided to go (really without much warning), I am hoping I'm not looking at an engine in my Subaru, too. I took a video of the rattling, but I noticed it may be hard to hear. If anyone can provide more insight as to what I'm hearing, please advise me (even if it is terrible news, I've been getting quite a lot of it recently)...

Here is a link to the video.

Does it make the noise just when revving the engine in neutral?

It may be related to the wastegate actuator. Check to make sure the wastegate actuator is "tight" and holding tension on the wastegate.

It seems to make that rattling noise only when I rev the engine. At idle, the engine sounds strong, but when I rev it up, I hear the rattling. It makes me nervous, because I'm not sure if its the engine. I would like to take it to Roopair (Subaru repair shop in Tacoma), i just dont want the engine to be damaged anymore than it may or may not already be. If its the wastegate actuator, is there a threat in driving it about 10 miles? I'm also not sure what "tight" is supposed to feel like, so I think at this point, I'd probably be better off having a professional look at it.

Thanks!

Brent

You should be able to drive it down to roopair. Just stay out of boost.

My VF11 was making a rattling noise while it was in boost. Turned out it had excessive shaft play. I replaced it with a TD04 and the noise was gone.



I see that you are in ACVW's I have a 73 Rivera camper.

Well, the moment of truth is just about upon me. I'll be making that drive to Roopair in about an hour... I'll let you know the verdict.

What is ACVW? I am extremely saddened that my Vanagon's engine bit the dust.

I guess I'm the only Subaru owner to have a motor go out at 146000 miles. I have the worst luck. I hate life right now.

Sorry about the verdict. ACVW Air-Cooled Volkswagen.

What did they say was wrong with the motor?

They said it sounded like a rod or something. I honestly don't remember. All I heard was, "Its the motor." Which is the last thing I wanted to hear, but was my biggest suspicion since I started hearing the noise.

That sucks

going by that video it defiantly sounds like a rod bearing

How hard would this engine be to rebuild?

it would defiantly be easier to swap in a new (used) block then doing a full rebuild.
depending on how long its been damaged the crank could be scored up pretty bad and the rod could be toast

bmxkelowna wrote:going by that video it defiantly sounds like a rod bearing

What he said^^^

Slunk33, almost every engine is easy to tear down, some require special tools but these Subarus do not. All the parts to rebuild these engines are avalible from Ebay, Craigslist and Pick-A-Parts. The crank and rods are everywhere in the Pick-A-Parts. The pistons are turbo specific as is the oil squirters and such.

I do not have the space nor the time to help rip one down and rebuild it but the whole collective of everyone on here can provide guidance if you wish to tear it down. I am in the middle of building a Jeep 4.0L into a stroker 4.7L for my sons Jeep.

That said, if you go the exchange route I would like to buy the old engine from you if you dont want too much, local pickup too. This spring/summer I want to rip one apart and check clearances on things like oil passage oversize drilling. I also want to mock up a stroker using stock 2.5 or bigger 83mm 2.5 stroker cranks.

There are some intricacies with the Subaru motors that can make them more difficult to disassemble or assemble. The main things are removal and installation of the piston wrist pins and installation of the two block halves.

I've got lots of pictures of two engine tear downs & rebuilds if you want to take a look at them.

http://www.main.experiencetherave.com/s ... ges/ej22t/
http://www.main.experiencetherave.com/s ... _headwork/