Oil consumption

[MaryCarHunter]

I have a 2000 Outback Wagon with 73,000 miles. It has always needed a quart of oil between changes but in the last two changes it has needed 3 or more. There are no visible leaks, no smoke, no smell. The techs at my dealer have been watching it and now say that I will have to have the engine torn down to see what the problem is which will cost thousands. Has anyone had this problem? Could it be due to the head gasket trouble that this age of car has (with recall). I am looking for any advice you may have for me.

 

6/28/05--The dealership puts in 5W30 oil and it is changed every 3,000 miles. I am going to try the paper under the car. I also picked up today the history of the service that they have done at the dealership so I can go over everything.

[TheBrian]

Before you spend money on it, try a thicker oil, especially since it's hot out. How thick of oil do you put in it? 10W40 should be fine in the summer. I've heard you can go as thick as 20W50 in hot weather.

[Setright]

Yes, please tell us which oil and how long between changes?

 

Off hand, I would suggest trying some 5w-50 Mobil 1.

[The Dude]

At the very least check for external leaks. That's a great deal of oil, I would guess that you have an oil leak. Put some clean pieces of paper (I like flattened corrogated boxes) on your driveway or garage floor. Take the car for a drive long enough to fully warm up the engine. Park the car car with the engine compartment over the paper. First thing next morning check the paper for oil spots. Easy, right?

[idosubaru]

if you're loosing that much oil - you are positive it's not leaking? no oil under the car anywhere?

 

2.2 or 2.5 liter? huge difference, 2.2 should not have head gasket problems. did this car ever run hot or overheat?

 

if there are definitely no oil leaks you need to have a compression test done before going any further. quotes of thousands of dollars with no testing come from people hoping to make lots of money and take advantage of someone else. they aren't helping you at all without doing further testing. a compression test takes only a couple minutes and is very easy to do. i would not return to this dealer.

 

have a compression test done and post the results back here.

 

if you can verify the headgaskets are bad i would have them replaced (should not cost over 1,000 dollars). some people have even gotten the 2.5 headgaskets replaced for free or at a very discounted rate since it's a known issue on 2.5 liter motors. but that takes persistence and a little luck from what i hear. if it's not the head gaskets then it may be internal (like piston rings)....but my goodness that would be very strange to have a 2000 subaru with 73,000 miles have a bad piston ring???? if it was the block (pistons or something serious) i'd install a used motor which can be done for under 2,000. (but not by the dealer). just found some used good 2.5's by me for under 1,500.

[mwatt]

I have a 2000 Outback Wagon with 73,000 miles. It has always needed a quart of oil between changes but in the last two changes it has needed 3 or more. There are no visible leaks, no smoke, no smell. The techs at my dealer have been watching it and now say that I will have to have the engine torn down to see what the problem is which will cost thousands. Has anyone had this problem? Could it be due to the head gasket trouble that this age of car has (with recall). I am looking for any advice you may have for me.

 

Has the PCV valve ever been replaced (with the correct Subaru part--not any aftermarket)?

[jib]

Yes, please tell us which oil and how long between changes?

 

Off hand, I would suggest trying some 5w-50 Mobil 1.

 

Knowing the change interval and oil used are great questions, but why suggest synthetic? If there is any kind of leak or marginal gasketing the synthetics will leak far worse.

 

Don't get me wrong, I have run Mobil 1 in almost all of my cars since 1981, but when you have a leaker it leaks much worse than dinosaur juice.

 

Also, is there any smoking, either at startup, normal running, acceleration, deceleration; white, blue, black?

 

Jack

[Setright]

Because Mobil 1 5W-50 won't burn off so easily.

 

Poster says there no external leaks. Even there are, they have to be quite large to lose that much oil. I suspect burning - maybe through the PCV as suggested.

 

Good idea to replace the PCV and flush all the related hoses.

[RallyKeith]

As for your issue at hand, there are a few things the mechanics can do before tearing the engine apart. Two common test that should be run are a compression test and a leak-down test. These will give you an idea of how well the piston rings are sealing. If for some reason your engine has low compression or does not hold pressure in a cylinder well, you could be getting oil into the cylinders and burning it off.

 

Because Mobil 1 5W-50 won't burn off so easily.

 

 

I'm not sure I understand your reasoning on this and I might be thinking along different lines than you. Can you explain further?

 

Here is what I'm thinking. If she has a valve seal leak, or blow by (Oil from the sump getting past the rings and getting into the cumbustion chamber) or oil getting into the cumbustion chamber for any reason, then it doesn't really matter if it burns or not. It still in there and once it is in there it will either burn or be blown out the exhaust. In fact, I would think it is better for it to burn then to be blow out raw into a catalytic converter. As for a thicker oil being less likely to leak in the first place I would agree. But at that point why spend $3-4 more a quart just to have it leak. I'd try it with a standard oil first. I'm curious on this.

[Setright]

With the oil hanging about on the cylinder walls, it discourages more oil from slipping past the pistons. It provides a sacrificial seal so to speak.

 

As well as being less willing to slip past the pistons (or valve stems) in the first place

[edrach]

Not the same car, but similar problem (except for the miles)....our '86 GL wagon with 245K on the odo was losing oil to the tune of 4 to 5 quarts between oil changes (every 2500 miles). No smoke out the back, no oil on the garage floor, but lots of oil on the underside of the car. Seems that the oil was being pushed out of one (or more) of the seals. A timing belt change along with a re-seal of the engine and all was well again.

 

Consider getting another dealer; you can add a lot of oil between changes before you'd even approach the cost of a major engine tear-down and "exploratory" work to determine the source of the lost oil. PCV is also a good item to replace.

[RallyKeith]

With the oil hanging about on the cylinder walls, it discourages more oil from slipping past the pistons. It provides a sacrificial seal so to speak.

 

As well as being less willing to slip past the pistons (or valve stems) in the first place

 

 

Ok, I see what you mean now. Thanks

[MaryCarHunter]

Gary---It is a 2.5 Liter engine--I am going to try the paper under the car to see if it catches anything. The dealership said that the car would be running rough if it needed a compression test--any thoughts?

if you're loosing that much oil - you are positive it's not leaking? no oil under the car anywhere?

 

2.2 or 2.5 liter? huge difference, 2.2 should not have head gasket problems. did this car ever run hot or overheat?

 

if there are definitely no oil leaks you need to have a compression test done before going any further. quotes of thousands of dollars with no testing come from people hoping to make lots of money and take advantage of someone else. they aren't helping you at all without doing further testing. a compression test takes only a couple minutes and is very easy to do. i would not return to this dealer.

 

have a compression test done and post the results back here.

 

if you can verify the headgaskets are bad i would have them replaced (should not cost over 1,000 dollars). some people have even gotten the 2.5 headgaskets replaced for free or at a very discounted rate since it's a known issue on 2.5 liter motors. but that takes persistence and a little luck from what i hear. if it's not the head gaskets then it may be internal (like piston rings)....but my goodness that would be very strange to have a 2000 subaru with 73,000 miles have a bad piston ring???? if it was the block (pistons or something serious) i'd install a used motor which can be done for under 2,000. (but not by the dealer). just found some used good 2.5's by me for under 1,500.

[MaryCarHunter]

They use 5W30 when they change the oil at the dealership. I have the oil changed every 3,000 miles

Knowing the change interval and oil used are great questions, but why suggest synthetic? If there is any kind of leak or marginal gasketing the synthetics will leak far worse.

 

Don't get me wrong, I have run Mobil 1 in almost all of my cars since 1981, but when you have a leaker it leaks much worse than dinosaur juice.

 

Also, is there any smoking, either at startup, normal running, acceleration, deceleration; white, blue, black?

 

Jack

[MaryCarHunter]

Thanks--I am going to try your suggestion.

At the very least check for external leaks. That's a great deal of oil, I would guess that you have an oil leak. Put some clean pieces of paper (I like flattened corrogated boxes) on your driveway or garage floor. Take the car for a drive long enough to fully warm up the engine. Park the car car with the engine compartment over the paper. First thing next morning check the paper for oil spots. Easy, right?

[MaryCarHunter]

They use 5W30 when they change the oil at the dealership. I have the oil changed every 3,000 miles

There is no smoking at all.

[Slegacy96]

My old Legacy, which was a 2.5, used alot of oil too. No leaks or problems, just gotta make sure you dont let that chamber go dry.