friendly_jacek

I used the term "semi-synthetic" in a loose sense, strickly speaking the new SM oils are group2, group2+, or mixtures of group 1 and 3. And no, you do not pay extra. Most new regular oils are SM. The old stuff, SL, was more unpredictable and could have been anything between group 1 and 2. The cheapo group 1 had a potential to oxidate and sludge easily and required more viscosity improvers (VI), that had a reputation to break down. There were rumors that oil makers would make sure that the VI sheared down easily to pass the fuel efficiency test. That is history now, since SM is much better, except for the SL/CI-4 oils or the ACEA-A3 oils that really shine.

I don't see a problem with your original plan. Mobil 1 ATF is compatible with the regular stuff. I did the same thing myself and the tranny is still humming hapilly along 15000 miles later. Now, the stores you asked for advice, they did not have an incentive to mislead you, did they?

Nipper, go ahead and reread my post. You will find that we mostly agree. I said 7500 miles in 2 months, that is indeed a perfect world, pure Hwy, car manufacturer-type testing style driving. I said that 5000 miles/6 months (whichever comes first) on dino is the best compromise. Even Subaru determined that 3750 miles is sufficient in most severe duty service. Most people do mixed driving. Also if you research on oil a little bit, you will find that the new API SM oils are "semi-synthetic" and will not break down in 3000 miles like you (or JL) are saying. They are tested to resist breakdown as part of API SM certification.

It might be just me but I don't share all that entusiasm about simple preventive maintenace "fixing" "a big problem". If the maintenance was done regularly every 30000 miles, as recommended by SOA, there would be no problem to begin with.

One has to use a common sense in regards to oil change intervals. If one puts 7500 miles in 2 months, its it probably OK even with dino oil. If one only does 3000 miles in 2 years, its is way too much even with synthetics. IMHO, 5000 miles/6months is a good compromise for dino oil vs. 10000 miles/12months for HDEO or good synthetic (beware of pseudosynthetics).

I see what you are saying, the higher pressure can negatively effect handling in wet, snow, ice, and sand. However, cornering and handling is improved a lot in dry. Pick and choose. I also get worse tire wear with stock pressure (shoulders).

I am not sure tire pressure is that significant. I keep max pressure in my tires (44 PSI in the potenza 950s) and do not see any major MPG benefits. The best MPG I got was 25. Don't drive below 70 MPH though. As for that 55 MPH thing, sure, that is why you guys had the national 55 MPH speed limit in 70's and 80's. History repeats itself!

Acctualy, synth ATF is more than fine. It's the manual transmission that is better of with regular gear oil since most synth gear fluids cause problems with synchros.

Thanks! Totally makes sense. When I read the post the first time, i thought it was internal plug fouling.

Dont worry, it tracks perfectly at any speed (it's never empty). Besides, I have brakes on the trailer, it's a boat trailer.

Go ahead, put dirty a filter in and measure the fuel pump temp. If it is hotter, I will believe you. Wait, you can also measure the current draw at the pump, that will save you the temp measurment. Either way, please post back with numbers. I hope it is clear by now where the filter is located (you know, for the the original poster :-)

Maybe, my subaru's one did not. It only mentioned using 3rd on long uphills. Mind you, the engine does more than 4000 rpm with 70 mpg in 3rd.

Well, I would not use the NEVER word. While Subaru recommends first oil change at conservative 3000 miles, some makers (Honda comes to mind) recently urge the owners NOT to change oils before 5000 or 10000 miles (forgot which) because they use special, high-moly brake-in oils to facilitate proper brake-in. These days, you will not find lots of metal in break-in oil!

Since the thread was revived, what was the outcome of these cars with oily spark plugs? I'm curious because i have 00, too.

You explanation intuitively makes sense, but is not entirely correct. Fuel pump does not neccesarily work much harder with a moderately dirty filter. It works equally hard all the time pumping high volume under pressure higher than the fuel pressure at the injectors. With clean filters, pressure regulator relieves the exccessive pressure and bypasses a significant flow back to the tank. At this point, the pump works hard because of the high flow condition. As the filter is clogged more, the pressure at the pump may increase some, but the flow decreases a lot as the pressure regulator will bypass less gas to the tank. Obviously, when filter is tottaly cloged, the pressure regulator may not be able to compensate for the lost pressure and the pressure at the injectors will drop. This can potentially stress the pump a little bit. Sadly, most ECU do not monitor the fuel pressure, so filters should be changed regularly.

00 has MAP and not MAF. More reliable albeit less precise. What do you mean by cutting out? Like car jerking back and forth? Any unusual tranny shifting, like hard shfts and high RPM shift points? AT temp blinking, etc? I had the above with defective TPS/defective connection. It could also be problems with any of the tranny sensors. Measure the fuel pressure before deciding to replace a fuel pump!

One more thing is that some AT would overheat in overdrive while towing and thus turning it off has some cooling action: less unlocking of torque converter and more output at the ATF pump. I use 3rd while towing a boat, unless I do 65 mph or more on a freeway.

Sounds like ATF was rarely changed if ever. Subs are very sensitive to dirty ATF. However, sounds like the tranny is tosted. Good deals on the rebuilds, I would say, suspiciously low.

Nice pictures! I'm no mechanic but from reading the forum, there are 2 more possibilities (and potentially even more): Dirty ATF causing sticking of the clutch pack (this appears to be a common one). Scored clutch pack casing friction and draging (damage from eneven tires, etc).

I guess you have AT, right? Mine (2000) had some of that since almost new. Replaced oil at 42000 miles, had a lots of small metal particles (front and back). I understand this is considered normal in diffs. Now, with redline oil in diffs, at 60000 miles, there is some diff noise, but not too bad. I bet no one changed the fluid in that 95 legacy...

What happened to this poor soul? The brakes failed again?

Some people would say that synthetic oil is so slippery that it slides past the oil rings. My take is different, Mobil 1 5W30 and 10W30 oils are in the low range of viscosity for 30 oils. Try something thicker (with higher HTHS) than that.

Sorry for the confusing statement. No, it is not bad. The thing is that you shouldn't think that these new "blend" oils are any better than the other regular oils with the API SM certification. There is one more thing I remember from braking in my 2003 Corolla that may have a bearing on the discussion here. The engine was wery noisy from a factory (a common complaint for that car). The noise decreased slowly after 5000 miles and it took more like 20000 miles to quiet the engine. Obviously, toyota is different from Subaru, but what I am saying is that the engine brake-in process can take much longer than some believe.

Do not listen to the BS that you drive too hard or AT eats you pads. I have 00 legacy and replaced all pads at 45000 miles as a preventive measure. Still had several K miles of life in them. Mind you, I have AT, the car sees tons of city driving, I live in coastal area, drove on sand a couple of times, and pull a boat from time to time. You need to call SOA rather than argue with the dealer.

My 00 legacy came with low maintenance (not maintenance free) battery made by Jonhson controls. I hated that thing since it leaked electrolyte through the gas vents. Finally it died after 5 years and I replaced it by Everstart. If it exploded during cranking, you could bet on sparks igniting hydrogen and some cells being dry and filled by gas. If it exploded itself, it could be an internal short. I know someone almost blinded by exploded car battery. These things are dangerous.