Stock motor started knocking... (shortblock + more replaced, 1/18) resolved

[Lantana frs]

When my first motor shit the bed the Toyota tech struggled with it as he had never worked with a Subaru engine. After a failed short block replacement they gave me an entirely new motor. Happy ever since.

[3essess]

Fwiw, listened to your video and my 2013 has been making the same (or similar) sound every now and then at idle from when it was new. Comes and goes so I figured it was normal and never bothered to take it in. I also have the rattle while slowing down in neutral along with crickets and various other clacking noises. The idle dip also seems to come and go every now and then. Car has over 35k and is still running strong - knock on wood!

[MarkR171]

Doubt yours is making the same as mine doesnt come and go. Once it comes, it happens every time the car warms up.

Havent heard from the dealer yet. I'll call on Monday and ask for an update.

[MarkR171]

Originally Posted by Dr. BRZ

i really don't feel like reading 8 pages so why not convert to e85? there's no knock off with e85. it's much better and car is faster.

Everything is in the first post.

[MarkR171]

Update: 9/26/2016

I called the service manager today (working directly with the manager now rather than the advisors.) He mentioned a guy from Toyota NA and a tech from the dealer chain's Subaru dealer came by to listen to the car. They thought there may be some debris in the oil system causing the VVT system to rattle, so the Subaru tech recommended disconnecting the cam gear and running the engine without it. The service manager told me that the noise goes away completely with the cam gear disconnected. I don't know what that means exactly, as I don't think the engine can run without it, but maybe the oil control valve was disconnected or something allowing the chain to spin. Not sure.

Toyota NA is sending another engineer to the dealership to work on the car. They are going to inspect the oil system for debris and the vvt components for any damage to see what is causing it to rattle a second time. The service manager says I should hear again "very soon" about what they're going to do. I'm hoping to hear back in the next couple days at the latest.

[Pat]

That's good news. Getting field engineers involved means they're taking it seriously.

[MarkR171]

I figured I'd post this here because the service manager mentioned suspecting debris in the timing system and this video shows potential weaknesses related to that. Also sending a link to the service manager.

[ame="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EX5x7PqXyhU"]Subaru BRZ FA20 cam chain info, tips and traps - YouTube[/ame]

[MarkR171]

Update from end of Monday 9/26/2016

Service manager says they have NOT opened up the vvt system at all yet. They only disconnected the vvt oil control solenoid to check if it's the vvt system acting up again. All they did so far was drain the oil, cut open the filter and strain the oil. No shavings or any debris visible. Toyota wants him to take the car overnight to test before continuing tomorrow.

I'm guessing he'll call tomorrow saying there is still a noise. Essentially all they did was an oil change... on 2500 mile old oil... and found nothing.

[MarkR171]

Update Tuesday 9/27/16.

Got the car back today.

The service manager had me speak directly with the tech to go over everything they did with the car. The first thing they did was unplug the controller for the driver side exhaust cam gear. Immediately, the knocking/tapping noise stopped. Toyota had them drain the oil, cut open the filter to look for debris, and even ran some oil through paper to look for debris. They found nothing. They refilled the oil, plugged the controller back in, and no more knocking/tapping. Engine runs perfectly normal.

Toyota believes there might have been a tiny bit of debris in the oil control valve that controls the oil pressure inside the cam gear to control the timing. By unplugging the controller, and plugging it back in, they think they forced the debris through the valve. They didn't want to open the timing cover because there is no longer any symptom to diagnose. Opening it and looking around would get them nowhere.

I asked the tech if there was any oil left that could be used for an analysis, but he said the oil has been out in open air so it wouldn't be a good idea. But he did mention it would be a good idea to do an oil change after 3-5,000 miles and send the oil out for analysis just in case there are particles that the naked eye can't see.

For now, the dealership put 107 miles on it since the noise went away and I put about 50 on it today. Car is back to normal.

I'm somewhat relieved that it seems to not be a mechanical failure. Everything that has been done to my car has been logged to my VIN with Toyota so it's all documented in case the issue comes up again.

[MarkR171]

Aaaaaaand its back.

Because today is Christmas eve, part of me wants to try unplugging the control valve, resetting it, then forget about it.

The other part of me wants to just park it until the dealership is open and bring it back knocking.

[Teseo]

Why not give you a complete engine? Swap it and call it a day, rather than wasting time and money on materials and man-labor

[MarkR171]

Update: 1/3/2017

So my service manager told me last week that Toyota suggests they disassemble the motor so that we can find the source of the problems. This is the current state of my engine:



He also mentioned that they found metal shavings in the oil but were not aware of the source of the shavings in his text to me this morning.


I asked for an update in the afternoon and got this response that I'm not sure how to take currently...

"We found a very small oil port with a restriction that appeared to be the sealant that is used between the block. Toyota is sending someone tomorrow to inspect the engine now that it is disassembled."

[Lantana frs]

I feel for you but stay the course. My experience with Toyota regarding warranty work has been very positive.

[DarkSunrise]

This thread might be useful for you:

http://www.ft86club.com/forums/showthread.php?t=107959