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Old 02-03-2016, 10:40 PM   #1
personality
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Default EJ253 Oil Consumption Issue

Hey Everyone,

So I've been having an oil consumption issue and really haven't been able to get to the bottom of it but thinking it's starting to be clear at this point, I have a 2009 Subaru Impreza 2.5i with 50k on the dial. Before my last oil change I checked about 1000 miles before 5k mile interval and there was barely any oil on my dipstick, added oil and drove home, then immediately changed the oil, using 5w-30 Valvoline Full Synthetic.

During the oil change I was researching possible reasons number one seemed to be PCV valve being clogged or broken, I was able to track that part down on the car, cleaned and tested and seems to work fine was pretty dirty though. Since this oil change I've put 1,000 miles on my car, some of which have been rather spirited just to see if I could narrow done why and how I'm consuming it. Oil levels at this point are still the same.

I was planing on changing my plugs and began the tear down of my airbox, decided to take my intake apart all the way up to the throttle body, removed my breather houses and PCV house had oil in the 2 left/right breather houses and a good amount of oil inside the intake canister right before the throttle body. Cleaned all of that out and re assembled, checking for clogs in the tubes, none seemed to exsist.

Today, I changed my spark plugs and the top drivers side had a good amount of oil in the well it seemed, and defiently had it on the spark plug tube, none on the plug what so ever, plugs actually seemed to be in excellent shape for the most part (I bought the car with 30k ish miles and wasn't sure if they've ever been done.) so I ended up just soaking up as much oil as I could and cleaned the tube and re installed new plugs, car is actually running really well, no misfires, no CEL, and no sign of oil consumption 1000/5000 miles in to my next oil change interval.

However, the fact my spark plug tube had oil on it scares me, sounds like it's a valve cover gasket and spark plug seals, but I want opinions or if anyone here ha experienced the same thing I'd appreciate your input. I kind of wonder if the PCV valve being clogged caused the oil to travel there because now I'm not having the consumption issue.

Thanks for any help!!
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Old 02-04-2016, 08:54 AM   #2
Abacus06
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Quote:
Originally Posted by personality View Post
Hey Everyone,

So I've been having an oil consumption issue and really haven't been able to get to the bottom of it but thinking it's starting to be clear at this point, I have a 2009 Subaru Impreza 2.5i with 50k on the dial. Before my last oil change I checked about 1000 miles before 5k mile interval and there was barely any oil on my dipstick, added oil and drove home, then immediately changed the oil, using 5w-30 Valvoline Full Synthetic.

During the oil change I was researching possible reasons number one seemed to be PCV valve being clogged or broken, I was able to track that part down on the car, cleaned and tested and seems to work fine was pretty dirty though. Since this oil change I've put 1,000 miles on my car, some of which have been rather spirited just to see if I could narrow done why and how I'm consuming it. Oil levels at this point are still the same.

I was planing on changing my plugs and began the tear down of my airbox, decided to take my intake apart all the way up to the throttle body, removed my breather houses and PCV house had oil in the 2 left/right breather houses and a good amount of oil inside the intake canister right before the throttle body. Cleaned all of that out and re assembled, checking for clogs in the tubes, none seemed to exsist.

Today, I changed my spark plugs and the top drivers side had a good amount of oil in the well it seemed, and defiently had it on the spark plug tube, none on the plug what so ever, plugs actually seemed to be in excellent shape for the most part (I bought the car with 30k ish miles and wasn't sure if they've ever been done.) so I ended up just soaking up as much oil as I could and cleaned the tube and re installed new plugs, car is actually running really well, no misfires, no CEL, and no sign of oil consumption 1000/5000 miles in to my next oil change interval.

However, the fact my spark plug tube had oil on it scares me, sounds like it's a valve cover gasket and spark plug seals, but I want opinions or if anyone here ha experienced the same thing I'd appreciate your input. I kind of wonder if the PCV valve being clogged caused the oil to travel there because now I'm not having the consumption issue.

Thanks for any help!!
I'm no expert on this by any means, but I've heard around these forums that synthetic oil isn't necessary for these motors, and can actually cause leaks compared to conventional oil. That's all I got...
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Old 02-04-2016, 11:49 AM   #3
lpxltt
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First, you should get the valve covers fixed to rule that out as much as possible.

Second, I have had a similar issue with my EJ253 (07 Outback Sport). Synthetic can make it worse (especially Mobile 1). Idling and stop and go traffic makes it worse. Generally I will not see any consumption until about 1200-1500 miles into the oil change, regardless of driving conditions though.

This has happened since I bought the car with 25k on it (now at 163k). A common theory is that if the engine was babied the start of its life, then there will be an oil consumption issue.

As long as you are not seeing smoke from the tail pipe or losing more than 1 quart per 1000 miles, you should be fine.

Also, check your oil way more frequently than once every 4k miles. Every other fill up would make more sense.
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Old 02-04-2016, 01:18 PM   #4
JohnM10
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You need to replace the spark plug tube seals along with the valve cover gaskets and as stated above, you should check the oil level frequently. Running very low on oil will be detrimental to the engine.
I use conventional oil myself as I prefer to change the oil for frequently as it gives me a a chance to give a good inspection to the underside of the car while it is up on the ramps. I also like to monitor the seepage of the head gaskets on a regular basis.
Although I use conventional oil, I still find it hard to believe that using a good full synthetic motor oil can be a bad thing.
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Old 02-05-2016, 03:44 PM   #5
personality
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Thanks for the insight guys! Do any of you happen to have the part numbers or know the best place to get the parts for the gaskets and seals?

I'm thinking of switching to Rotella T6 next time I change the oil. I do my best to check every other tank of gas, but lately it's been much colder and haven't been remembering to check the oil as frequently. But now that this happened I've been checking it every 200 miles pretty much.
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Old 02-06-2016, 10:45 AM   #6
LaurenceDVS35
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NO t6 in your N/A extra zinc will kill your cat
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Old 02-07-2016, 08:03 AM   #7
AndrewCSantiago
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Yea, using T6 will destroy your cat, guys.

I stay away from it, due to the HIGH content of zinc in it, which is no good for the CAT.
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Old 02-07-2016, 01:18 PM   #8
GEE-OTTO
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Not sure about the T6 killing your catalytic converter but it is great oil and not needed for N/A H4. Save money buy regular oil this isn't a performance engine .
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Old 02-08-2016, 04:14 AM   #9
subi400
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Quote:
Originally Posted by LaurenceDVS35 View Post
NO t6 in your N/A extra zinc will kill your cat
Quote:
Originally Posted by AndrewCSantiago View Post
Yea, using T6 will destroy your cat, guys.

I stay away from it, due to the HIGH content of zinc in it, which is no good for the CAT.
Ok, first off, if an engine is basically not burning or NOT burning any oil the cats are NOT going to be affected when using an oil with a higher zinc content. But 1250 ppm zinc (which is what the T-6 5w40 has) is NOT going to do much at all so throw that out. But, he isn't going to be using this oil anyway so what you said is mute....

There are two things going on with the OP's engine, first off if the engine had an easy break-in then the rings didn't seal well right off the bat and as mileage increases more and more oil can get by the oil control rings. The other issue is that the OP is using a gf-5 rated energy conserving garbage oil that is purposely designed to shear some during operation to aid in fuel economy. I have many sources and facts to back this up.

I don't know how many times I have to correct people about an oil with a bit more zinc and cats... you people need to learn how to look at this stuff

Just like when someone switches to the T-6 5w40 in a turbo engine with stock cats and the oil consumption stops and yet people still think the zinc content is going to kill the cats... I mean really WAKE UP.
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Old 02-08-2016, 04:28 AM   #10
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Quote:
Originally Posted by personality View Post
Thanks for the insight guys! Do any of you happen to have the part numbers or know the best place to get the parts for the gaskets and seals?

I'm thinking of switching to Rotella T6 next time I change the oil. I do my best to check every other tank of gas, but lately it's been much colder and haven't been remembering to check the oil as frequently. But now that this happened I've been checking it every 200 miles pretty much.
Opposedforces.com is a good site to look for part numbers.

valve cover gasket should be = 13294AA070
Spark tube hole gasket should be =10966AA000

There are some bolts that hold the valve cover on, on each bolt there is a rubber washer, In the opposedforces diagram where I got the above part #'s it doesn't shoe the rubber washer. Should be easy to get though at the dealership.

For the oil, I am going to suggest to switch to the Rotella T-5 10w30 which is found in a grey jug. Buy 2 extra quarts and you are set. This oil is a NONE gf-5 rated energy conserving oil which is what your engine needs.
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Old 02-09-2016, 04:58 AM   #11
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A liter in 4000 miles isn't really anything to worry about. My old 06 impreza was using 1 quart every 1000kms which is 622 miles that was bad, and i ditched the car as a result at 297,000kms (184500) miles

I would either just keep an eye and top it off every 1000 or 2000 miles or you can start messing around with oil brands and weights and see if you can get rid of it.

with just regular 5w-30's you will notice some do better than others my preference is Valvoline 5w-30 at the moment. If that doesn't get results then I would suggest maybe trying one of the High Mileage 5w-30 formula's like
- Castrol High Mileage,
- Pennzoil High mileage
- Valvoline Maxlife
- Quakerstate Defy

If its still using oil after that you could try a 10w-40 like Castrol GTX (which maybe the only 10w-40 left on the market.
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Old 02-10-2016, 06:58 AM   #12
subi400
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Originally Posted by Subie_Chris View Post
A liter in 4000 miles isn't really anything to worry about. My old 06 impreza was using 1 quart every 1000kms which is 622 miles that was bad, and i ditched the car as a result at 297,000kms (184500) miles

I would either just keep an eye and top it off every 1000 or 2000 miles or you can start messing around with oil brands and weights and see if you can get rid of it.

with just regular 5w-30's you will notice some do better than others my preference is Valvoline 5w-30 at the moment. If that doesn't get results then I would suggest maybe trying one of the High Mileage 5w-30 formula's like
- Castrol High Mileage,
- Pennzoil High mileage
- Valvoline Maxlife
- Quakerstate Defy

If its still using oil after that you could try a 10w-40 like Castrol GTX (which maybe the only 10w-40 left on the market.
The rotella T-5 10w30 is still better than those oils you listed due to what this particular oil is made for. Has a universal diesel and gasoline spec for a starting point. It is not even close to an energy conserving oil which is why I am suggesting it. Dam stupid energy conserving oils and the stupid EPA...handicapping car manufacturers... Look at the oils for the European market, way different here in the US, but their cars get great gas mileage... yeah...

If a person has to step up to a Xw40 oil in an NA engine to try and stop oil consumption it is time to look for a replacement or get the current one rebuilt, end of story.

I have a feeling though that there is an engine replacement coming, though I hope the change to a NONE energy conserving crappy oil helps this oil burning issue.
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Old 02-10-2016, 12:05 PM   #13
personality
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Yeah I'm hoping to get the tube seals and gaskets changed this weekend, going to take your recommendation and switch to rotella t5.

The original consumption problem (or so I thought) was that the PCV valve was clogged and I was getting oil in my intake and breather tubes and right into my throttle body. Now I'm fairly certain from my hours of reading that this motor was probably babied in its break in period and these seals just need to be replaced.
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Old 02-11-2016, 12:44 AM   #14
subi400
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Quote:
Originally Posted by personality View Post
Yeah I'm hoping to get the tube seals and gaskets changed this weekend, going to take your recommendation and switch to rotella t5.

The original consumption problem (or so I thought) was that the PCV valve was clogged and I was getting oil in my intake and breather tubes and right into my throttle body. Now I'm fairly certain from my hours of reading that this motor was probably babied in its break in period and these seals just need to be replaced.
The pcv valve can definitely cause oil consumption issues on these 05-09 models just like the earlier engines as well. The process of elimination is key
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Old 02-28-2016, 12:28 AM   #15
personality
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Anyone have a manual for the 09 that can tell me how to get the drivers side VC off? Passengers side was a walk in the park. The drivers side has me defeated currently, I have all 6 bolts out, removed the fuel rail, even removed the injectors to give me even more clearance, but I cannot for the life of me maneuver the thing off of the head. Just so many wires/pipes/etc and i cannot seem to get it off.
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Old 03-05-2016, 03:05 PM   #16
J-rod144
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I would highly recommend checking blowby, these 2.5 SOHC are known to have quite a bit. I recently put in a rebuilt short block in my 07 with 220 kms and the subaru tech said I got unreal longevity out of that engine. A little bit of oil on the spark plug boot isn't a huge deal as long as it isn't leaking all over the ground, if you clean and replace the pcv valve and lines and you're still adding oil you need a rebuilt shortblock.
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Old 03-15-2016, 02:06 AM   #17
personality
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So got Valve cover gaskets and spark seals all changed, have driven about 2k miles since with no insane consumption issue like I was having.... So rotella t5 for n/a is better than t6? Just making sure going to be changing oil this weekend! TIA!
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Old 03-15-2016, 12:18 PM   #18
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Quote:
Originally Posted by subi400 View Post
But 1250 ppm zinc (which is what the T-6 5w40 has) is NOT going to do much at all so throw that out. But, he isn't going to be using this oil anyway so what you said is mute....
^also a moot point
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Old 03-20-2016, 12:20 PM   #19
niksterberg123
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Default Blowby

I'm a bit of a newbie when it comes to engines, but I've been researching a lot since my car experiences some oil consumption. What exactly is a blow-by test? Is this similar to a compression test or leakdown test?
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