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2002 LEGACY WAGON - During the first winter, lifter noise only occured if the temperature was close to freezing or below. This noise slowly diminished, and then disappeared, upon warm-up.
At first, the service rep. said that the problem was known to be caused by a belt tensioner that did not have enough clearance when cold, and a fix was being worked on.
Later, a different, unspecified cause was said to be known, but it would not be repaired if the noise disappeared within 15 minutes. Now, the lifter noise is present at start-up in warm weather and continues to some degree after the engine is hot.
Oil changes have been regular at 5000km intervals, with 10-30 or 5-30 oil, depending on the season. All scheduled and unscheduled servicing, except for three oil changes, has been done by the selling dealership.
Question: Is there a bulletin and a fix available? I can't trust an engine that sounds like this.

Actually,

I have dealt with the same noise with my 03 Leg wagon.

It is piston slap, not lifter noise, and the fix is to replace the offending pistons with ones that fit better. I had two replaced, and my engine is almost silent now.

Same symptoms, ticking noise when cold, worse when the air is colder.

Push the service department, there is a fix, and have them replace the pistons.

Good Luck!

I have been experiencing a lifter ticking with my 91 Legacy, it only happens in the mornings when it is cold out and the noise goes away after about 5 min. or if i rev the engine up to about 3k-4k rpms.

I currently run Castrol 5w30, but I live in San Francisco, which really never gets that cold. I'm wondering if it would be a good idea to switch to the Castrol 10w30. Thinking that the more viscous oil would stay up in the lifters better overnight and provide better protection in the mornings.

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