Hi all,
A mate of mine has bought a my99 turbo at the weekend,he said it seems to be pinking when first started after 30 secs the engine warning light comes on and the pinking goes when warmed up,but when driving in 3rd gear at low revs the car does'nt like it at all,it has a prodrive performance kit on it .He phoned the lad he bought it off he said not to worry about the light coming on as he has taken it to a subaru garage and had it checked out and its fine ,sounds fishy to me because if the light comes on there's a problem is'nt there not to sure myself any advice would be most appreciated cheers

 

How do you know it's pinking? Is it fitted with a Knocklink or are you listening from det cans?

If the CEL comes on, then there is something wrong. Not necessarily something bad, but it does need checking.

You can conect the two black connectors under the steering column and read the error code from the ecu.

Have a look here for a list of codes.

Stefan

 

Hi Stefan i've not heard the car it's just what he's told me.Thanks for the info

 

You normally here a slight slapping or tappety noise when the car is cold. This is very common on the Impreza and usually disappears once the car is nice and warm. You should drive the car hard when cold, so it's not normally a problem. Mine sounds a little slappy when cold and has done so since new and never skipped a beat.

If it is truly pinking (i.e. pre-ignition), then it does need looked at ASAP. I'm no expert, so can't really comment on what the reasons for this would be.

Stefan

 

Thought the tapping sound was usual my93 sti does it when cold and its his first scooby thanks again for the info it will help loads

 

It really depends on the noise on cold startup to be honest. Mine's always sounded a bit slappy to begin with, but it could be something more serious.

Greasemonkey's your man for more technical/proper advice

Stefan