Not a tractor,,. Subaru Forester Question

[olgentdc]

I have been searching to find out if this Subaru has a interrupt engine ,,. In other Words ,, When the timing chain fails does the piston hit the valves causing $$$damage !.. No doubt a few of You guys have a 2015 Forester and know more than Me. Ours has 130,000 miles , Never been touched , according to the original owner,They had it since New . We bought it with 120,000 miles, first thing i noticed at startup was the very minor rattle like a lifter or something (Like a timing chain ) ,,. the Guy said it always does that, He thought it was normal ? ?,,,., And it has not got any worse ,,. Not one bit . I just wonder if it is the timing chain , And if we run til it quits what harm it may come about ? .. I dont see in the book where it is scheduled maintenance anywhere ? Just heard ignorant tailgate and beer bottle talk from guys that really don;t know , So unless you got a brewskie in hand and You want to sit on the porch with Me and chat , thats fine But , i have already heard from You fellas OK , I really need to find someone that knows for sure ,. . Btw ,,. My Case Tractors are Doing fine

 

[Janicholson]

I have been searching to find out if this Subaru has a interrupt engine ,,. In other Words ,, When the timing chain fails does the piston hit the valves causing $$$damage !.. No doubt a few of You guys have a 2015 Forester and know more than Me. Ours has 130,000 miles , Never been touched , according to the original new owner,. We bought it with 120,000 miles, first thing i noticed at startup was the very minor rattle like a lifter or something (Like a timing chain ) ,,. the Guy said it always does that, He thought it was normal ? ?,,,., And it has not got any worse ,,. Not one bit . I just wonder if it is the timing chain , And we run til it quits what harm it may come about ? ... Btw ,,. My Case Tractors are Doing fine

Chart
I own a 2014 outback and it has a chain drive timing system. (i assume they are similar engines if not the same 2.5 engine. Subaru has no mileage or time based replacement guidance for the chain. contrary to the prior series belt drive which was 60k miles. Mine has rattled a bit on start from the day we took ownership. The dealer we bought it from had an internal policy to change timing drive on all used vehicles being sold. It had 110K miles then. so a new chain and tensioner made startup noise. I do not think of that issue at all. (I have changed the belts on my older Subarus as needed. Not easy. I had one fail but it didn't crash valves.

 

[Mule Meat]

Bare with me now..
The engine has two timing chains. One for each bank.
Has four timing chain guides.
Two of the guides (one on each side) have hydraulic tensioners (on bottom of right bank, on top of the left bank).
Chain tension is applied by oil pressure to the hydraulic tensioners. Much like a hydraulic lifter.
If the hydraulic tensioners go bad. The oil will leak off and cause the chain to rattle until oil pressure is restored.

To replace the tensioners. The whole front of the engine must be torn down to remove the timing cover. Very labor intensive and expensive if done by a shop. Dealers will tell you that the rattle is "normal" because they do not like replacing them..
Common problem with those engines.

On a side note. Some of those engines had a high pressure fuel pump that make a load noise. Subaru tried wrapping the fuel pump with foam in order to insulate the noise. Something you may want to check. Highly dought that's the problem. But since you are under the hood. May as well check it.

 

[Jeff in ND]

Unless the newer ones are different, they have a timing belt and YES they are an interference engine. I have a 2006. Belts were supposed to be changed at ~100k as I recall.

Mine has a tapping/rattle whenever engine is coasting. I thought it was the tensioner for the timing belt and replaced it all even tho prior owner had the belt replaced maybe 20k earlier. Did not fix it and I think is something with the variable valve mechanism. Been that way now a long time w/o change.

 

[Mule Meat]

Here ya go..

 

[M-MAN]

Granddaughters 09 has always done that.

 

[olgentdc]

You Guys are helpful ,,. It seems that one of the chain tensioner is bleeding off causing the minor rattle at start up that goes away immediatly because oil pressure builds the hydraulic tensioner

 

[4play]

If you are going in there, and plan on removing or replacing the cam phasers, you might get the special tools. I would also suggest replacing all the timing chain components, ( 2 chains, 2 tensioners, 4 guides).

 

[Mule Meat]

You Guys are helpful ,,. It seems that one of the chain tensioner is bleeding off causing the minor rattle at start up that goes away immediatly because oil pressure builds the hydraulic tensioner

As you can imagine by looking at the video. It's a lot of work to replace the tensioner. If you wish to repair it. Timing kits are available and it's best to buy a complete kit.
If you do not want to tackle it. Just let the engine idle a few seconds longer than you normally would at start up. Especially in the mornings. Revving the engine at start just increases the risk of the chain jumping time. I know of some Subarus that have been rattling on start up for four or five years and they still run fine.

 

[TomA in CA]

The timing chains run in oil and do not have to be changed. The rattle at startup probably has nothing to do with timing chains. It is likely rod bearings starving for oil with that light oil they recommend. Probably all normal. What is not normal is my wife's 2014 Subaru with 100,000 miles using a quart of oil in 200 miles. The cars are crap and should not be bought .

 

[Janicholson]

The timing chains run in oil and do not have to be changed. The rattle at startup probably has nothing to do with timing chains. It is likely rod bearings starving for oil with that light oil they recommend. Probably all normal. What is not normal is my wife's 2014 Subaru with 100,000 miles using a quart of oil in 200 miles. The cars are crap and should not be bought .

My 2014 outback uses 1 qt in 2500, my 2001 uses 1 in 3000, My 2000 used 1 in 2500. There is no major history of grief. Jim

 

[cleddy]

I have been searching to find out if this Subaru has a interrupt engine ,,. In other Words ,, When the timing chain fails does the piston hit the valves causing $$$damage !.. No doubt a few of You guys have a 2015 Forester and know more than Me. Ours has 130,000 miles , Never been touched , according to the original owner,They had it since New . We bought it with 120,000 miles, first thing i noticed at startup was the very minor rattle like a lifter or something (Like a timing chain ) ,,. the Guy said it always does that, He thought it was normal ? ?,,,., And it has not got any worse ,,. Not one bit . I just wonder if it is the timing chain , And if we run til it quits what harm it may come about ? .. I dont see in the book where it is scheduled maintenance anywhere ? Just heard ignorant tailgate and beer bottle talk from guys that really don;t know , So unless you got a brewskie in hand and You want to sit on the porch with Me and chat , thats fine But , i have already heard from You fellas OK , I really need to find someone that knows for sure ,. . Btw ,,. My Case Tractors are Doing fine

We have a 2010 Forester with low milage. It developed a rattle that was hard to isolate where it was coming from. Ended up being a heat shield rattle on one of the Mufflers. Shimmed and snug it up and rattle went away.

 

[Tramway Guy]

For a while, left camshaft issues were a thing on Subaru’s with the 2.2/2.5L fours. Just a little ticking on startup.

 

[Mule Meat]

The timing chains run in oil and do not have to be changed. The rattle at startup probably has nothing to do with timing chains. It is likely rod bearings starving for oil with that light oil they recommend. Probably all normal. What is not normal is my wife's 2014 Subaru with 100,000 miles using a quart of oil in 200 miles. The cars are crap and should not be bought .

Subaru's built between 2010 and 2014 had an oil burning problem. The oil consumption was caused by the engine revved higher at speed due mainly to using CVT transmissions. A class action lawsuit was filed and to settle. Subaru extended the warranty on the cars from 5 years or 60,000 miles to eight years or 100,000 miles, whichever comes first.

 

[olgentdc]

My 2014 outback uses 1 qt in 2500, my 2001 uses 1 in 3000, My 2000 used 1 in 2500. There is no major history of grief. Jim

If this Forester turns into a oil burner I will trade it to a dumyuppi ! ,After driving 70mph in the mountains of Tennessee it needed a qt. of oil ! ,..i lived that life of having to add oil with every damglorified junkie GM product I owned ,,, I had V=sick pontiac and Olds gutlass ,,, then a 350 3/4 ton gashogpowerwonder)where the power went) and the one that took the cake was the northstar baddilac,,... always needing oil ,,none of them made it to 225,000miles. Sadly , Every GM vehicle I ever owned was ready for the junkyard when it left my driveway. .. my Fords and Dodges were never that Way and I always got 300,000, then sold them to friend who drove them another 100 thousand miles as a dependable daily beater../ BTW ,,. My 03 Lincoln will deliver 23.5 average at 78 mph on a 2000 mile trip with ease and comfort ,,. The 08 Marquis I had before we got the Forestor would get a flat 25 mpg.on same trip and speed ,And Neither NEEDED OIL between changes every 5000 miles ,.. The Forester is amazing if You drive 65mph,,. it will flirt with 35 mpg ,( or rather lead You to think it was getting that kind of hi mileage ),. But at the end of each trip the actual over last 400 miles at best was 28.6 ...To match the Fast pace of the Marquis and My Lincoln on a interstate trip it drops to around 26 Mpg . My wife loves the Forester ,,. BUT , I fear it will never goo 300,000 miles like my dodge and fords ,, i would rather have a good old Panther platform Ford product for comfort , dependabilty , Long lasting. Safe driving ..// My opinion, Yours May vary