tntkenny0927 Posted July 18, 2012 Share Posted July 18, 2012 so i hit 222k miles on my leggy so far i used penzoil at first now mobil 1 fully synthetic 1030 high mileage. every oil change i at a quart of lucas stop leak. i recently seafoamed the entire car deep creep and everything my issue now is i need some advice on how to keep her alive the oil burns alot and is dark at basically 1000 miles so i need something stronger and more protective to her if any one has any advice it would be greatly appreciated thank you... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
porcupine73 Posted July 18, 2012 Share Posted July 18, 2012 HDD, heavy duty diesel oil. The engine will tolerate even up to 20W50 even in cool weather. Personally I would skip the 'stop leak' and just add makeup oil as often as needed, unless it gets really really bad. If you're budget minded, something like the gallon jugs of Rotella 10W40 are usually reasonably priced. If it's burning oil, the extra phosphorous may hasten the spoiling of your cats thoguh. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
1 Lucky Texan Posted July 18, 2012 Share Posted July 18, 2012 don't slow up on oil changes either as you may be getting a lot of fuel blowby into the oil. Synthetics will always be darker than traditional oils as they keep 'varnish' in suspension better. maybe even cleaning varnish from inside the engine. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ricearu Posted July 18, 2012 Share Posted July 18, 2012 I live in Texas and I have always had good luck with rotella t 15w-40 in my high mile ej22's. If it gets cold, you may use 10w40 diesel oil. All of them far surpass API specs. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rooster2 Posted July 18, 2012 Share Posted July 18, 2012 Are you seeing any blue smoke coming out the tail pipe, particularly upon hard acceleration? If so, you have significant "blow by" of oil past the worn piston rings. When I have owned old cars that did this, I went to 20W-50W thick oil to curb the oil burning during warm weather. Even if it is just light blow by, I would still recommend the heavier oil. Since you live in the North, use 10W-40W oil in the colder months. Keep up frequent oil changes. It is cheap insurance to keep your engine running beyond 300K miles. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tntkenny0927 Posted July 19, 2012 Author Share Posted July 19, 2012 i appreciate the responds the car has no problem getting up and going on hard accelerations and no blue smoke car is amazing just trying to keep it alive without doing a swap (ej 2.5) the temperatures lately have been hitting 100+ here in maryland which is weird because we usually hit 90 for the highest its been 105 103 102 the oil burning is the oil leaking to the exhaust manifolds and smoking so i need a solution for that since my budget is kinda rough with my 5 month old daughter but will definately look into the rotella. My personal choice was going to be castrol gtx high mileage like 10w30 or something but it is my first subi and i love the thing so i will go hunting for the 15w40 rotella thanks again... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
porcupine73 Posted July 19, 2012 Share Posted July 19, 2012 (edited) Sounds good, I think even Walmart has the gallon Rotella jugs, I think they were around $15 last time I saw them. Autozone has them too. I believe the lowest weight the manual recommends for that engine is 10w30 anyway. They only went to 5w30 in the mid 90's for fuel economy reasons, following suit with other manuf's, though I don't think they've gone so far as the 0w20 yet like Ford. Assuming that's got an auto trans, probably the only other main thing to watch for is the condition of the ATF, especially in the hot weather driving. The AT will usually last if the fluid is kept fresh. On those years I think they added the external filter in the front left fender area, could be an idea to check that/replace it/add it if it doesn't have it. It keeps the cooler in the rad from getting plugged up with shreddings come out of the AT, which then results in the AT overheating. Edited July 19, 2012 by porcupine73 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ricearu Posted July 19, 2012 Share Posted July 19, 2012 the oil leak on the exhaust is from your oil separator plate most likely. rear mains rarely go bad, it's possible though. Either way, it should slow up with the thicker oil. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rooster2 Posted July 19, 2012 Share Posted July 19, 2012 the oil leak on the exhaust is from your oil separator plate most likely. rear mains rarely go bad, it's possible though. Either way, it should slow up with the thicker oil. The oil leak could also be from the valve covers. I have noticed mine leaking for several years now, and dripping oil onto the exhaust, which I can smell burning off the exhaust pipe. It also leaves oil spots on my driveway. I just add an oil stop leak additive product at each oil change. The additive swells the gaskets to reduce the oil leakage considerably. My Outback has close to 200K on the odo, so it is to the point that I am not going to put $$$ into redoing the valve cover gaskets. I just keep an eye on the oil level, and add some oil when it is needed. Just don't let your engine run low or out of oil, that is certain death to a Subie motor. It is a very good idea to change the ATF fluid in the auto tranny, if you have an auto tranny. There is a drain bolt on the bottom of the tranny to do this. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mikaleda Posted July 19, 2012 Share Posted July 19, 2012 (edited) your problem is you switched to synthetic, penzoil has alot of perifin in it wich makes sludge. when you put synthetic in it cleaned the sludge out makeing your gaskets leak. try snugging your oil pan and valve cover bolts and if that doesn't work replace your gaskets oh and don't waste your money on stop leak it rarely works. i don't really see the point in using synthetic it does last longer without breaking down but the problem is you still have to change your oil every 3000 miles even with synthetic because your oil filter will still get clogged. i have a legacy with 210k on it and i put 5w-30 in it and it didn't use any oil at all its pretty rare to see a subaru that burns oil. Edited July 19, 2012 by mikaleda Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bluedotsnow Posted July 19, 2012 Share Posted July 19, 2012 ALTROM CHEMICALS FTW! www.lubromoly.com I used to use their 15w40 in my impreza and after using their "oil saver" product for leaky piston rings and an oil change with their 10w40 with mos2 anti friction, separately, I am very impressed! lets pause and remember what molybdenum is used for in current production vehicles.... and..... cylinder walls, gun barrels.... GOOD STUFF. I do find that after using heavy oils AND additives it does sludge up the engine. I would go on but I'm going to go read up on the oil separator plate as I'm hoping thats where my leak is coming from instead of the rear main. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
porcupine73 Posted July 19, 2012 Share Posted July 19, 2012 Another interesting product I've seen is Schaeffer's #132 Moly E.P. oil treatment. Schaeffer's has a somewhat odd distribution method though making it tough to find sellers of some of its products. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ricearu Posted July 19, 2012 Share Posted July 19, 2012 or george tesla's liquid ring. its damn expensive but was developed by the germans for tank wheel bushings because bearings were too expensive to blow up on world war ii tanks. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tntkenny0927 Posted July 20, 2012 Author Share Posted July 20, 2012 (edited) once again thanks guys i will go ahead with the rotella 15w40 i did change the top oil filter but weirdly the leggy has like a back up oil filter at the bottom of the driver side under the car close to the anti-freeze resevior. back on topic i need a good engine flush before i do this oil change and if i was going to use a stop leak what should i use? it's not that it's burning oil it's the oil thats leaking onto the exhaust manifold... Edited July 21, 2012 by tntkenny0927 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bluedotsnow Posted July 20, 2012 Share Posted July 20, 2012 I have had decent luck with lucas stop leak. back up oil filter??? can you take a picture of this. if I were in your situation as I have been before I would dump the maximum amount of stop leak in your current oil run engine for a few days then get a lighter weight oil like a 5/30 or 0/20 drain fill and start your engine DO NOT DRIVE just let it idle for a while 10-30 minutes. I was told that as long as you don't put the engine under load its ok to run a light weight oil through it. this should clean out some varnish and sludge. the refill with your choice of oil and filter with some stop leak. please let the subaru forum gods quell my post if I'm off base here. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
porcupine73 Posted July 20, 2012 Share Posted July 20, 2012 I have a feeling that 'back up oil filter' might be the ATF filter as pictured above. It's also possible someone added something aftermarket such as a bypass oil filter at some point. I would think before using a flush on that engine. If it is already leaking using a flush is likely only going to make it worse. Subaru engines don't normally sludge up too much even if neglected, unlike some of the other japanese engines where they routed the oil passages through hot areas in the heads, those sludge up quickly if not given synthetic oil. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ricearu Posted July 20, 2012 Share Posted July 20, 2012 Rotella is a high detergent oil and will clean the engine as you drive it. If you feel that the engine is "sludgy" then change the oil at 1500 miles for two changes. Use a wix, purolator pure one or Napa gold filter. They are made by wix. No stop leak. Fix the leak. Stop leak can stop up oil passages up if there is enough. Also, stop leak will leave behind sludge. Just using the heavier oil should help. Check the valve cover gaskets for drips. They are stupid simple to change. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
porcupine73 Posted July 20, 2012 Share Posted July 20, 2012 Carquest filters are also made by Wix. I can't remember I think Carquest has a 'white' and a 'blue' style filter I think but it's been a long time since I've been there. One of them was made by Wix iirc. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ricearu Posted July 20, 2012 Share Posted July 20, 2012 yeah it's the more expensive one, just like the regular cheap purolator filter isn't made by wix but the purolator pure one is. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tntkenny0927 Posted July 21, 2012 Author Share Posted July 21, 2012 (edited) like i said i'm new to subaru's that filter at the bottom is actually the atf filter i will do a complete transmission flush and change the oil filter and atf filter and the rotella 15w40 with a purolator pure one NO STOP LEAKS THIS TIME hopefully she keeps her legacy on... Edited July 21, 2012 by tntkenny0927 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mikaleda Posted July 21, 2012 Share Posted July 21, 2012 if it is leaking onto your exhaust manifolds it would be your valve cover gaskets more than likely. i would change those and see what happens and it wouldn't hurt to snug your oil pan bolts. they will work loose after a while i acctually stopped a leak on my gl buy snugging valve cover bolts. easy to do and doesn't cost anything Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ShawnW Posted July 22, 2012 Share Posted July 22, 2012 The GL series came from the factory with a cork gasket. The Legacy comes with factory silicone sealant and snugging oil pan bolts could actually snap one off. They are only to be torqued to like 3.5 foot pounds. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Fairtax4me Posted July 22, 2012 Share Posted July 22, 2012 What Shawn said. Don't bother with retorquing bolts. You have oil leaks, fix them properly rather than trying to cover them up with stop leak. The separator plate leak is an affliction to every Subaru engine. It drops down the back of the block and right into the middle of the y-pipe. It requires pulling the engine or dropping the transmission to fix but isn't all that hard to do if you have a basic set of tools and some ingenuity. Check out beergarage.com for a walk through and pics of the separator plate repair. Oh and get the idea of swapping to a 2.5 out of your head, if anything they're less reliable because of head gasket and rod bearing failures. The 2.2 in that car is one letter short of bullet proof. Change the oil every 3000 miles, fix the oil leaks, and you're golden. Might want to look into changing the timing belt and idlers of that hasn't been done, but that's the only major maintenance item the 2.2 ever really needs. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mikaleda Posted July 22, 2012 Share Posted July 22, 2012 (edited) The GL series came from the factory with a cork gasket. The Legacy comes with factory silicone sealant and snugging oil pan bolts could actually snap one off. They are only to be torqued to like 3.5 foot pounds. i said snug not wrench on it. all it takes is a little bit they work their way loose after a while and if you are smart you only put a very small amount of torque on it other wise you will damage your gasket. if you are tightening enough to snap a bolt than you shouldn't be working on cars. no offense ment, but i have worked on cars since i was ten and the first car i worked on was a 67 chevy. they only use cork gaskets for oil pan and valve covers on older cars and if you periodicly snug your bolts it will keep your gaskets from leaking. when i say snug i mean less than one foot pound of tourqe. i am also familier with legacys i periodically snug the bolts on all of them that i work on they do work their way loose just like any other car. if the bolt doesn't want to turn easily than DON'T TURN IT it is that simple. the only reason i am stressing this point is the average joe can't just pull their engine just to fix an oil leak. like i said before i don't mean to offend any one but it just upsets me when you guys talk about pulling an engine like it is a simple process. it may be for you since you are in a shop and have all the tools and stuff you need, but it is not easy for the average joe. Edited July 22, 2012 by mikaleda Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bluedotsnow Posted July 22, 2012 Share Posted July 22, 2012 engine hoist or shop crane - priceless! please santa may I have one! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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