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Amsoil, Blackstone, etc. Many options out there. In general a single test is about $20. If you use quality oil, which is expensive, you can absolutely pay for the analysis by not changing it more often than needed. And I'm sure you can guess at the cost of a replacement engine. All branches of the military, virtually all government agencies, and most corporate fleets do regular analysis. Why? Because it saves money and effort. Do you hate money and love effort? Then by all means just wing it. No one here can answer your question. We aren't you, and your car isn't in our driveway. Your engine is subject to ENVIRONMENTAL CONDITIONS which are unknown to us and probably to you as well. Without that data the best anyone here can do is a blindfolded dart throw. As far as expensive racing engines go - we don't do analysis on those. They get what's called the "maintenance rebuild" when the power drops, they start using fluids, or they go boom. They are purposefully loose, burn oil as a necessity, and run REALLY EXPENSIVE oil that doesn't last for $hit in terms of TBN and detergents, etc so it gets changed every event regardless of condition. Oil is WAY cheaper than a race engine so that stuff gets dumped long before it is ever "worn out". GD

I have 40+ years of experience as a certified advanced level Master Tech and I am still employed in the field full time. I own a 1989 GL10 Turbo wagon (EA82T / 4EAT) in good shape along with a pretty good stash of extra parts. I own 2 other EA wagons as well. One is a lifted 1983 GL wagon with an EJ22, custom built 3.9 full time dual range trans, and a clutch style LSD rear diff. The second one is an AWD 1992 Loyale with an EJ22, EJ 5MT transmission, and a 5 lug conversion. Both cars have 4 wheel disc brakes. According to some people I must be an idiot too. Do I care what other people think about me, my cars, or what I do? Don't think so. I do what makes ME happy. I still hang out here and enjoy the USMB a lot. In my opinion this is one of the best resources online for older Subarus. I still check in here almost every day but I rarely post here anymore. Some people that post here seem to have moved on from EA Subarus and are down on our old cars for some reason. People world wide are restoring cars every day that are way harder to get parts for than an old Subaru. I say do what YOU want and what makes YOU happy. Will you make mistakes? Yes. Will you learn from them? Yes, without a doubt. I know I have. I am following your thread and enjoying it. Please keep it updated

well the rear end was alot more alive than its felt in a long time i do believe it is working now and not just kind of working like before

Yes the fuel pump is only powered for a short time when you first turn the key on. Once the engine is running it's always powered. Sometime your meter may lie to you. If you have no load on the circuit you can read voltage but still not have what you need. You Tube search Load Pro. You might want to try the relay under the dash. If you can back probe the connector and leave it hooked to the pump that would also give you a better voltage reading. Check the circuit under load! When this happens you could also pour a little gas in the intake. If it fires you have confirmed it's a fuel issue. Gas water Free?

He uses Amsoil. And says run from the 0W oil as your warranty allows it. You can get a fluid extracting pump made to extract oil from the top maybe - from the dipstick or oil fill hole. Don’t know if they work on Subaru’s but I use one on CVTs and know people use them on cars low to the ground. Battery operated, very slick.

@GD. Just became the owner of a 2019 OB 2.5 that uses synthetic. What brand do you recommend? In the past, with my porous 05, I used the cheapest Dino I could find as it spent little time in the engine before fouling my driveway and undercoating the engine bay. As an aside, as I near 70 years on my personal odometer, I am thrilled that the oil filter now sits atop the engine for easy access. If only the drain plug was relocated to the front bumper...

No , not everyone loves Amazon. subarupartsforyou.com is one of the best you’ll find for online Factory Genuine Parts. Couple of your west coast dealers also not bad for online sales. Enjoy !

Hi all, New to this BB, Suby guy in Vancouver BC. My main ride 2010 Outback Limited, 200K KM's. Since retiring, been doing a lot of the work myself, easier on the pension. I also have a 2014 Impreza Sport, a Dodge 2000 Leisure Travel Van, and a lot of time on my hands. Hoping to gain some knowledge from a bunch of knowledgeable Subaru fans. Looking forward to contributing and a big hello to everyone on board.

Nobody here gets out of hand (that I can see). It’s not a zoo like FB with wisebutts. Enjoy your time here. And your posts don’t get sucked down into oblivion. Cheers!

Welcome to the USMB! In my opinion this is one of the best resources online for older Subarus. Your projects sound interesting. Perhaps you might be interested in starting a thread or two about your cars? Hint - we all like lots of pictures

Blackstone is a common provider. Go to their website, they make it easy. Car101.com is a great unofficial subaru reference point for maintenance intervals/oil changes and more by a Subaru dealer staff member. I like 5,000 miles for convenience - it’s easy to remember - change it on every 5k multiple - 160k, 165k, 170k. And it’ll be conservative enough to be under any lab tests for synthetic and is generally in reasonable (IMO) ballpark of factory recommendations. The only extreme here is the original question. Oil change intervals are common knowledge, documented in the owners manual of the vehicle, and infinitely available free online. Opinions on oil changes are usually terrible or not well versed, even from car people. I don’t think I’ve ever heard well versed oil comments from someone in person, ever. It’s amazing how oil discussions just break out the tinfoil hats and dunce caps even from professionals. Use the owners manual or get it tested. A question about something this easy and ubiquitous suggests maybe there’s a specific reason for the question? In which case a lab test is a really good, if not the only, answer. most other forums would give an endless supply of anecdotal opinions if you’re just looking for chatty banter over dinner kind of stuff.

an oil analysis from Blackstone or Polaris labs, etc. can tell you how far you can stretch the oil change (and also offer you a heads-up on 3-4 kinds of 'trouble'.) Blackstone is quite popular. To read more about oil than you ever wanted to, you could also visit www.bobistheoilguy.com Otherwise, it's just a guess. personally, I think synthetic is good for 5K miles or 1 year, w'ever comes first. But, only an analysis could give you actual data. Your car, climate, and driving might be good for 8500 miles??? who knows? certainly extreme use like racing, towing, offroad, etc. could change that.

So the "new" battery fixed the issue. The newer drive by wire setups must be more sensitive to voltage/amperage drops. I took the battery out of the 06 and dropped it into my 02 forester S and havent had an issue. Thanks for the support and answers

A slow leak will slowly introduce air into the system, and the smaller the bubble, the smaller the symptoms. So it's possible. I'd definitely pressurize the system and look for other leaks.

Yep that’s what I thought. It’s pointless then. The covers usually ride against the pulleys if the mounting points are damaged. Cobble together a repair with JB weld or creative plastic welding or using some mounts and not others, or find used covers.

im an idiot, dont mind me

Greetings everyone. I'm fairly new to posting, been reading and researching for a while now. Wanna be a part of the community.. Working on a 84 GL, doing a EJ swap with EA82 5 speed D/R trans swap and 6" lift.

did a bunch of clay bar on the body, put the permanent wheels on her

yay my parts all showed up! i mean, dang my parts showed up, lol

im okay with lower boost for now while i still sort the car out. there was a ton of bad air leaks and corroded sensors, it was not treated well by the PO. so far all you've done is criticize, though that's helpful in its own way, its still not very nice. its basically going to be stock parts, good sensors, no leaks, cold air, and heat management. keeping it light and keeping all the fluids clean, i don't see the problem

now what to do with the hood scoop.... i kinda went ocd with how many fins were damaged and bent so i went over the whole top and bottom and removed the damaged fins and straightened the rest... oof bout 6 hours total, lol

finnaly got some parts in, finished up the intake manifold and its ready to go on the car now! hopefully that will keep intake temps slightly lower, we shall see!

Really? Don’t let GD get you down, just stick with your plan and go for it. Everything you’re doing is reversible so if there are some unforeseen issues you can review and return to stock if needed. I love the L’s, has mine for 15 years now. Unfortunately I haven’t driven her all of last year due to work needed to be done and no shed to work in. Needless to say, she’s highly modified - EJ22, custom gearbox, lift, and other mods for off-roading and living out of the vehicle. Deep down if you’re keen on the vehicle you’ll find your motivation Cheers Bennie

looked over the wire harness and cleaned up all the connectors with a couple welding tip cleaners adjusted the pins a little bit so they would have a little more clamping force and covered in dielectric greese, did this for every clip

its 160 C not F , so if its that hot the plastic would be far from the biggest concern

Check the rear diff and make sure the half shafts are fully seated. I had more than one Subaru where the half shaft uncoupled from the rear diff, but was only about a 1/4" out. Felt like the clutch was slipping in the manual trans.

maybe try quizzing him some more about what has been done to the car - swapped engines/heads/cams/etc. Even a broken tab on the rear of the crank sprocket can cause ignition problems. or maybe a swapped ECU from an incompatible model??? I dunno, but the fact it was purchased in this condition makes it very unlikely it was running 'correctly' when it was parked.....Or, maybe God is trying to tell you to buy a Tesla.