PeterP

Here is exactly what is written on my service bill. MISC TECH 1088 PERFORMED COMPRESSION/LEAK DOWN TEST-CYL 1&2=200LBS,CYL 3=195LB,CYL 4=190LB//LEAKDOWN 5%-ALL TEST WITHIN SPEC 1088 C Considering what I've recently learned I wonder if my mechanic did the compression test on a cold engine. Or if his tech just decided to sit in the car and eat lunch instead. Sigh. Thanks for the expertise you guys have offered.

> Your oil leaks probably mean you are using far less oil then you think you are. The reason I think it is burning oil is the new catalytic converter gone bad after one year. Granted it is an aftermarket one... The original one lasted 106K miles. Is that normal? I am hesitant to install another cat unless I am certain that I'm not going to just gum it up again. > Have you had a timing belt done on this car yet? Yes, last summer. > Those compression numbers I dont like, but if subaru says the leakdown is good i wont argue. The 2.5 NA engine has a compression ratio of 10:1. Wouldn't 150 psi be just about right? > When was the last time the cooling system was serviced, and what brand oil are you using? Cooling system, a year ago. Was using penzoil 5W30 until the last oil change 3 months ago. At that point I put in Rotella 5W40 to try to reduce oil consumption. > What oil change intervals do you use? 3K > What kind of driving do you do? My (ahem) wife drives fast on the freeway but reasonable on surface streets. Typical Atlanta driver.

Update: I replaced the PCV valve with a Subaru valve mid-July. The old one appeared ok to me (the ball rattled fine). Oil consumption continued at 1 quart/1K miles. In July I had my mechanic do a compression test. He said all 4 cylinders came in a 150 psi. He also stated that he did not see any obvious oil leaks. I just dropped it off at Subaru. They performed a leakdown test that resulted in cylinders 1&2: 200psi, 3: 195psi, 4: 190psi which was within spec. At least my rings and valve seals are good. The Subaru Tech said that my 2 month old PCV valve was gummed up and replaced it. Could the (still clogged) catalytic converter do this via excessive backpressure? He also said that the head gasket was leaking and the crank and cam seals were leaking. (The crank and cam seals were replaced 1 year ago during the timing belt replacement. ) He recommended pulling the engine and doing a complete reseal to solve the problem. Their quote was $2300 for the job. Is this reasonable? I plan to have them replace the clutch at the same time for an additional 700-1K (depending on if the flywheel is needed). I also need a new catalytic converter + O2 sensors. There are two cats that are replaced as a pair. Cost $1100. So I am a little miffed at my mechanic who did all the work last summer that just now needs to be done again (except for the leaky head gasket). I'm hunting for a local Subaru-specific mechanic who may be able to offer a better price.

Thanks for the recommendations. I'll pick up a Subaru PCV valve on Monday when the parts counter re-opens after the holiday weekend. I'm the original owner of the vehicle. At 20K it had a bad belt tensioner that Subaru replaced. Oil and filter (penzoil 5w30) every 3-4K miles. Regularly scheduled maintenance. Timing belt at 105K along with the front main seal and water pump. Clutch at the same time with the rear main seal. Brakes as needed. Catalytic converter a year ago at 106K. Original head gasket.

I have a 2002 Outback Limited with 116K miles that consumes about 1 quart oil per 1000 miles. This has been going on for about 2 years now. I also replaced the catalytic converter last summer. The check engine light just came on again and the code indicates another catalytic converter replacement in less than a year. From this I assumed that the engine has been burning oil and this clogged the catalytic converter. I also have been using 5w30 oil in it and recently switched to 5w40 to try to reduce oil consumption. Thinking that the rings or valve seals were bad I had my mechanic do a compression test. All 4 cylinders result in 150psi. I'm stumped. Where is the source of the problem? What do I check next?