97 legacy outback wagon help

The1AndOnlyBug

You may call me Your Majesty.
So I know virtually nothing about Subaru's being a Jeep guy. I just bought my first one because I need something decent on gas and I'm tired of racking up highway miles on my wife's pathfinder. I picked up a 1997 legacy outback wagon with 78k on it for $200. (I'm sure I beat a couple people on here to the car lol)
Problem #1
I started it up and it has a tapping at idle that goes away as the RPM's go up and as well as once its warm it's gone.
The gentleman I bought it from said he thought it had a collapsed lifter.
I drained some oil and dumped a quart of MMO in it hoping it will help, I guess we'll see.
Problem #2
It wont shift out of, or start in park. As far as the shifting goes the release button won't press in, I took it apart and it's not sticky, the sylonoid just wont move (bad perhaps)?
As far as the starting I'm not sure if it's going all the way into park, the reverse lights stay in while in park (no the parking switch isn't on) but go off once I out it into drive.
 

Blackbeard

Administrator
Staff member
We are a bit slower to answer, but I'll send this to the facebook group and hopefully they can help.
 

Blackbeard

Administrator
Staff member
I looked fairly quickly and the majority of the posts were from 2017, I apologize, didn't mean to insult anyone.
You didn't insult. I'm glad you are here. I just took over the site this year...and we are struggling, but working towards the goal! Let's see if we can get the help you need.
 

Blackbeard

Administrator
Staff member
So I know virtually nothing about Subaru's being a Jeep guy. I just bought my first one because I need something decent on gas and I'm tired of racking up highway miles on my wife's pathfinder. I picked up a 1997 legacy outback wagon with 78k on it for $200. (I'm sure I beat a couple people on here to the car lol)
Problem #1
I started it up and it has a tapping at idle that goes away as the RPM's go up and as well as once its warm it's gone.
The gentleman I bought it from said he thought it had a collapsed lifter.
I drained some oil and dumped a quart of MMO in it hoping it will help, I guess we'll see.
Problem #2
It wont shift out of, or start in park. As far as the shifting goes the release button won't press in, I took it apart and it's not sticky, the sylonoid just wont move (bad perhaps)?
As far as the starting I'm not sure if it's going all the way into park, the reverse lights stay in while in park (no the parking switch isn't on) but go off once I out it into drive.
Had some folks post to the facebook page - hope this helps.
That car does not have hydraulic lifters. It has a solid adjustment screw on the rocker arms. It either needs a valve adjustment or possibly has a lower end knock
 

The1AndOnlyBug

You may call me Your Majesty.
What is the facebook page?
Were you able to get the engine video to work?
No, I tried uploading it to youtube and it wouldn't upload just stayed at 0% I tried just posting it here and it said wrong format (.mp4) I will transfer it to my laptop and then upload it in a bit. What is the facebook page?
 

The1AndOnlyBug

You may call me Your Majesty.
I bought a cheap Bluetooth code scanner off of Amazon, and it has a knock sensor code. Buying the cheapest one I can find after I test it and check the continuity, (Presuming it's bad). We'll see if that helps. Trying to put the least amount of money into the vehicle until I know it's worth me repairing at this point.
 

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