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View Poll Results: How much oil goes missing between oil changes?
Less then 1 ltr 21 36.21%
About 1 ltr 15 25.86%
1-2 ltr's 19 32.76%
3 or more ltr's 6 10.34%
I put a ltr or more in every fill-up 2 3.45%
Multiple Choice Poll. Voters: 58. You may not vote on this poll

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Old 11-07-2010, 02:51 PM   #1
The G.O.A.T.
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Default excessive oil consumption

I have a 2007 2.5 wagon and from day one there has been about 1-2lt of missing oil at every change. Just wondering what the average was for these cars.
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Old 11-07-2010, 04:56 PM   #2
2.5i guy
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I have to add about a quart (a little more than a liter) per oil change. My change interval is about 5,000 miles give or take.
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Old 11-07-2010, 04:59 PM   #3
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you should probably specify mileage instead of just oil changes. I run my oil 6k miles if its all normal driving and typically add one qt about 1/4 qt at a time. Where did you get liter anyway? do they package the oil as liters in canada or something? Also, you shouldn't find out how much oil your losing at the oil change, you should find out that its slowly consuming oil when you chk the level at gas fill-ups, like the owners manual says and a good car owner does

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Old 11-08-2010, 01:41 AM   #4
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I check every fill-up and a liter is about a qt. but I am wondering if I just got a bad one or if 1-2 qt's was normal. I run full synthetic 10w-40. I change it every 3000 miles.
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Old 11-08-2010, 04:40 AM   #5
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You probably shouldn't be running 10w-40...that might be the cause of the oil consumption. 5w-20 is what the factory recommends, and that's what I use. 5w-30 in July/August
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Old 11-08-2010, 06:37 AM   #6
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Quote:
Originally Posted by flightwatch View Post
You probably shouldn't be running 10w-40...that might be the cause of the oil consumption. 5w-20 is what the factory recommends, and that's what I use. 5w-30 in July/August
thicker oil won't cause consumption.

and subaru's are recommended 30 from the factory, and like a thicker oil.

long story short: 40 is perfect.
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Old 11-09-2010, 06:57 PM   #7
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I seem to be burning a quart of oil every 4,000km or so. Sometimes more, sometimes less. Sucks but it seems alot of these engines burn oil and generally make alot of noise in the winter on cold starts (piston slap?)
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Old 11-09-2010, 09:30 PM   #8
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Quote:
Originally Posted by PULMEOVR View Post
I seem to be burning a quart of oil every 4,000km or so. Sometimes more, sometimes less. Sucks but it seems alot of these engines burn oil and generally make alot of noise in the winter on cold starts (piston slap?)
my forester, RS and RV all do the same. subaru's just do it.
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Old 11-10-2010, 01:33 PM   #9
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Quote:
Originally Posted by The G.O.A.T. View Post
I check every fill-up and a liter is about a qt. but I am wondering if I just got a bad one or if 1-2 qt's was normal. I run full synthetic 10w-40. I change it every 3000 miles.
Did you put synthetic in on the first oil change?
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Old 11-10-2010, 01:42 PM   #10
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i ws burning about 2-2 1/2 qts. between changes (3,500). just changed the pcv valve so we'll see how it goes now. looked ok when i checked it last night, but it was kind of dark, so i'll give it another quick look today
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Old 11-10-2010, 09:53 PM   #11
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I;m about 1.5L between oil changes. I change it every 6000km's and I do 99% highway (150kms a day)mileage so the engine is always running. Engines will burn oil and as oil wears down it will burn off faster. Seems to be a normal thing on Subaru's I've encountered. If you were burning a liter per week I'd be concerned.
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Old 11-10-2010, 10:26 PM   #12
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if the car sees high RPMs a lot i will go though a quart.
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Old 11-11-2010, 12:17 AM   #13
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I voted twice. Once for "every tank of gas" (my stock engine) and once for "none at all" (the engine I built).


Quote:
Originally Posted by The G.O.A.T. View Post
I run full synthetic 10w-40.
Quote:
Originally Posted by flightwatch View Post
You probably shouldn't be running 10w-40
Quote:
Originally Posted by vicious_fishes View Post
long story short: 40 is perfect.
I agree that you shouldn't be running 10w40 for two reasons. First, you want the lowest possible cold viscosity you can get. No matter how warm your climate is, there's no such thing as an oil that's thin enough on startup. You always want to use a 5wXX or 0wXX when it's possible to do so without sacrificing HTHS. Second, 40 weight warm is almost certainly too thick for your engine. Subaru factory engines all seem to come off the line towards the tight end of the tolerance. I've yet to see a modern (GD chassis) NA Subaru without very high oil pressure. You need to build about 10psi per thousand RPM. Most of the ones I've investigated have been making 20-25psi per thousand RPM on 5w30 and even more on 5w40. That's just excessive and undesirably high for a number of reasons.
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Old 11-11-2010, 12:23 AM   #14
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My sti burns about a quart every two weeks. I was a BAD CAR MOM till around 60k. I NEVER checked the oil and was not so good about getting it changed. Shame.


-negative nelly
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Old 11-11-2010, 02:11 AM   #15
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Wish there was an option for 0
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Old 11-11-2010, 06:44 AM   #16
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Quote:
Originally Posted by RS Guy1513 View Post
i ws burning about 2-2 1/2 qts. between changes (3,500). just changed the pcv valve so we'll see how it goes now. looked ok when i checked it last night, but it was kind of dark, so i'll give it another quick look today
interesting. tell me how to do this?

Quote:
Originally Posted by williaty View Post
I agree that you shouldn't be running 10w40 for two reasons. First, you want the lowest possible cold viscosity you can get. No matter how warm your climate is, there's no such thing as an oil that's thin enough on startup. You always want to use a 5wXX or 0wXX when it's possible to do so without sacrificing HTHS. Second, 40 weight warm is almost certainly too thick for your engine. Subaru factory engines all seem to come off the line towards the tight end of the tolerance. I've yet to see a modern (GD chassis) NA Subaru without very high oil pressure. You need to build about 10psi per thousand RPM. Most of the ones I've investigated have been making 20-25psi per thousand RPM on 5w30 and even more on 5w40. That's just excessive and undesirably high for a number of reasons.
well, i never mentioned anything about the cold visc, that can be from 0-10. although it is worth noting that the greater the range the less life the oil has (in terms of time/km driven). if you're changing it frequently i wouldn't hesitate for a 0-40 castrol edge. i personally run helix ultra 5-40 and change it every 10,000km. it does get topped up in between though as it will burn 5L in that time.

as for pressure, i'm unsure as to what kind of oil pump comes on the yank engines but mine tops out @ 70psi. 120+ psi sounds ridiculous, surely you don't get that much?

we have also had the wrx since the very first gen and the industry wisdom here is mildly thicker after the first 50,000k's or when you up the power at all.
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Old 11-11-2010, 01:36 PM   #17
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Quote:
Originally Posted by vicious_fishes View Post
interesting. tell me how to do this?
Unscrew the PCV valve from the block. Immerse it in something like liquid carb cleaner for a few minutes. Shoot some aerosolized solvent (brake cleaner) through it. Then shake it. If it clicks madly while you shake it, it's good. Screw it back into the block.

Quote:
as for pressure, i'm unsure as to what kind of oil pump comes on the yank engines but mine tops out @ 70psi. 120+ psi sounds ridiculous, surely you don't get that much?
The basic 2.5L engine comes with a 7mm pump capped at 72psi. The AVLS engines come with a 9mm pump, also capped at 72psi. The cars will see 100+psi on startup when the oil is cold but that's just to be expected. Once the oil is hot, they're obviously capped to 72psi by the relief valve. However, most of the cars will see that by 2800-2900RPM on 5w30 oil. This means that at highway speeds in the US, the oil pump is constantly in bypass, which is not a good thing. Ideally, if the pump were sized properly to deliver 10psi per 1,000RPM, the pump wouldn't go into bypass until redline, which is a much better situation for the oil.


Quote:
we have also had the wrx since the very first gen and the industry wisdom here is mildly thicker after the first 50,000k's or when you up the power at all.
The reason people try to do this is that the WRX motors benefit from oil with high HTHS viscosity. There's no direct correlation between kinematic viscosity (weight) and HTHS viscosity. However, in general, heavier oils usually have higher HTHS. Kinematic viscosity has nothing to do with engine wear/protection. HTHS has a HUGE amount to do with engine wear/protection. So when people have tried increasing the oil weight and gotten better results, they'd accidentally stumbled onto an oil with higher HTHS. Modern chemistry, however, has given us oils with lower kinematic viscosities and simultaneously higher HTHS viscosities. These are the oils you want to use.
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Old 11-11-2010, 11:10 PM   #18
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Quote:
Originally Posted by williaty View Post
Unscrew the PCV valve from the block. Immerse it in something like liquid carb cleaner for a few minutes. Shoot some aerosolized solvent (brake cleaner) through it. Then shake it. If it clicks madly while you shake it, it's good. Screw it back into the block.
thanks for that

The basic 2.5L engine comes with a 7mm pump capped at 72psi. The AVLS engines come with a 9mm pump, also capped at 72psi. The cars will see 100+psi on startup when the oil is cold but that's just to be expected. Once the oil is hot, they're obviously capped to 72psi by the relief valve. However, most of the cars will see that by 2800-2900RPM on 5w30 oil. This means that at highway speeds in the US, the oil pump is constantly in bypass, which is not a good thing. Ideally, if the pump were sized properly to deliver 10psi per 1,000RPM, the pump wouldn't go into bypass until redline, which is a much better situation for the oil.



The reason people try to do this is that the WRX motors benefit from oil with high HTHS viscosity. There's no direct correlation between kinematic viscosity (weight) and HTHS viscosity. However, in general, heavier oils usually have higher HTHS. Kinematic viscosity has nothing to do with engine wear/protection. HTHS has a HUGE amount to do with engine wear/protection. So when people have tried increasing the oil weight and gotten better results, they'd accidentally stumbled onto an oil with higher HTHS. Modern chemistry, however, has given us oils with lower kinematic viscosities and simultaneously higher HTHS viscosities. These are the oils you want to use.
perhaps it would be beneficial to all to post what these are?
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Old 11-11-2010, 11:13 PM   #19
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Quote:
Originally Posted by vicious_fishes View Post
perhaps it would be beneficial to all to post what these are?
Oh, any oil with a high HTHS and a low kinematic viscosity. You can figure that out just by looking at the spec sheets for oil actually sold in your local stores. I use Redline because the HTHS is 50% higher for no increase in kinematic. There's other good ones if you dig.
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Old 12-09-2010, 09:34 AM   #20
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'06 2.5i M5 purchased new with 0 miles
- 10k mile oil change intervals with Valvoline syn and Pure One filters.
- 1liter make up oil per 3k miles since new
- blackstone oil analysis at 109k miles suggested longer intervals would be acceptable. (sticking with 10k)
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Old 12-09-2010, 10:58 AM   #21
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i was losing oil and took it to subaru to have it looked at and it ended up being that my camshaft and crankshaft seals were bad. this was earlier this week, just got the car back yesterday. i have 138k on 06 OBS. i use 5w-30, vavoline synthetic blend.
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Old 12-09-2010, 01:15 PM   #22
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lots of short trips burns more oil than fewer long trips in my experience. If I do mostly highway mileage in a change, I tend to lose less than if I run a tank strictly city driving. Anywhere from .5-1L of oil consumed between a standard interval is noted. It usually hovers around .75L

I run amsoil 5w-30 year round, just recently switched to amsoil 5w-30xlt which is slightly cheaper than the regular amsoil.
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Old 02-13-2013, 06:25 PM   #23
1122union
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Default 2008 Subaru Impreza (Stock-Non WRX) excessive oil consumption

I purchased a used Impreza (19K) for my daughter last November. At the moment, it has a little over 22K and is using a quart of oil every 1500 miles.
It is not leaking and I do not see blue smoke coming from the tail pipe. Is this normal for this year?
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Old 02-13-2013, 06:42 PM   #24
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How do you know it's not leaking?

Measurable oil loss at 22,000 miles is not normal for any year.
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Old 02-14-2013, 12:45 AM   #25
subi400
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^^^ I agree!!

Even a subaru with 50-75k miles shouldn't burn more than maybe 1/2 to 1 qrt every 3k - 5k miles.

But 1 qrt every 1500 miles is not right. It seems as if these engines ARE NOT being broken in right from the factory.

Williaty what do you think?
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