mikaleda Posted December 8, 2014 Share Posted December 8, 2014 Okay this is weird. So I recently put a low milage motor in my Subaru and it has been great. I've been driving it for about 6k now and haven't had any issues at all. Since this motor has under 100k on it (I think it has around 50k) I started running castrol gtx 5w-30 in it. At first I was estatic the lifter noise quit and it seemed to be using the normal amount of oil that it has been (about a quart per 3000 miles). When I checked the oil at about 1500 miles in it was a half quart down so I added the half quart I had left over after the oil change. Now fast forward to yesterday I go to check the oil on the dipstick and there was nothing! So I drive home (no ticking or oil light and parked it in its usual parking space and checked it again, still nothing! Its right at 3k now so I'm changing the oil and filter as we speak and again with caatrol gtx 5w-30 and a wix filter. There is no oil anywhere on the engine, no puddles under the car when I park it, it doesn't smoke, there is no blow by cold or warm, and the pcv rattles. Where the heck is my oil going? Do I have gremlins? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lmdew Posted December 8, 2014 Share Posted December 8, 2014 Search PCV Valve. Put a New Subaru PCV on and make sure the vent lines are not plugged. The cup seal on the back corner of the oil pan can also fail and cause high oil consumption. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mikaleda Posted December 8, 2014 Author Share Posted December 8, 2014 (edited) I'll try a new pcv first and see what happens. The oil pan is spotless so I doubt its leaking oil anywhere around the pan Vent lines are clean, that was the first thing I checked, since I've had that problem before. Edited December 8, 2014 by mikaleda Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bluedotsnow Posted December 8, 2014 Share Posted December 8, 2014 seems like your checking the oil very soon after shutting the engine off, for my car my owners manual states I have to wait overnight to accurately check my oil level. I always wait 10-15 minutes after shutting the engine down to check my oil "on the fly" and when I check it like that I NEVER fill it past half way between the full and empty marks. when I have I get abnormal seepage as I understand it EJ engines have LOTS of oil journals and places oil likes to hang around before draining back into the pan. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mikaleda Posted December 8, 2014 Author Share Posted December 8, 2014 (edited) I've had several first gen legacy's and I always check the oil imediatly after shutting it off and it has always been accurate. When I drained the oil I got just over 3 quarts so it was about 1 1/2 quarts low. I'm fairly sure the pcv is the problem, since I made a few trips to spokane in the last week and driving around town and avoiding idiots I did alot of romping on the gas. That is more than likely part of what caused the exsessive oil cinsumprion, weak pcv+high rpms= oil consumption I did reshearch pcv issues and found that only OEM should be used since aftermarket ones arnt weighted right I'm going to order one from Subaru of Spokane in the next couple days and install it. Till I do I'm going to be easy on the acceleration Edited December 8, 2014 by mikaleda 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rooster2 Posted December 8, 2014 Share Posted December 8, 2014 I replaced the pcv in my 99 OBW a couple of months back. It wasn't causing me any trouble, but looked really old and dirty. I simply bought one from an auto parts store. Seems to work just fine. I have never heard anything stating that only OEM should be used. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mikaleda Posted December 8, 2014 Author Share Posted December 8, 2014 The quality of parts I've been getting from my parts store has been going down hill rapidly lately. I'm not going to screw around, even though it would probably be okay I'm not chancing it. Unless the dealer wants an outrageous amount for a simple valve Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mikaleda Posted December 8, 2014 Author Share Posted December 8, 2014 I ordered an OEM one through eBay for $14 Even though it would have only cost $5 from my parts store I think its worth it Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Fairtax4me Posted December 9, 2014 Share Posted December 9, 2014 The only times I've run Castrol In my cars it has caused high consumption and lifter noise. I don't have analysis testing to back it up, but it seems to me that it breaks down faster than other oils. I've run the Walmart supertech cheapo stuff for the last couple years and have roughly normal consumption, about a quart in 3,000 miles, and have no problems with lifter noise. I've been run it a Lot of highway and interstate over the last few years, which I attribute the consumption to. Before I started school I had consumption of less than half a quart in 3,000 miles with my 96. The 95 Has basically only seen highway and interstate use since I started driving it, and it has 244k currently, so I think its doing pretty good to use a quart in 3,000. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mikaleda Posted December 9, 2014 Author Share Posted December 9, 2014 Every engine builder, mechanic and service tech I know likes running castrol. I've never seen it break down any faster than other oils. When I change my oil at 3k with cheap oil, its black, when I change my oil at 3k with castrol its still got a golden tint. That is just my experiance, I may be wrong. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Fairtax4me Posted December 9, 2014 Share Posted December 9, 2014 Maybe I've just had bad luck with it then. Different engines will react differently to different oils. If the PCV valve doesn't help, give another brand of oil a try and see if it does any better. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mikaleda Posted December 9, 2014 Author Share Posted December 9, 2014 Maybe I've just had bad luck with it then. Different engines will react differently to different oils. If the PCV valve doesn't help, give another brand of oil a try and see if it does any better. I will. it was working fine with federated chepo oil. so if the pcv doesn't resolve it I'll try switching back to federated and see what happens. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tbolt1003 Posted December 9, 2014 Share Posted December 9, 2014 We just started having this same issue on our 99 Forester. Oil was just changed about (2) weeks ago and when I checked it last night, there was no oil on the dipstick. Had to add (2) quarts for it to even appear on the stick. I changed the PCV valve today with a Subaru unit and added (2) quarts of oil. See if the consumption goes down now (fingers crossed). Great thread!!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dp213 Posted December 13, 2014 Share Posted December 13, 2014 My 98 gt is doing the same thing. But I noticed on mine if I really stomp in it, I get a lot of smoke. I think my rings are bad. I have changed everything else. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mikaleda Posted December 13, 2014 Author Share Posted December 13, 2014 Even at 4k+ rpms I see no smoke. I'm getting the pcv valve in the mail today hopefully this will help Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mikaleda Posted December 13, 2014 Author Share Posted December 13, 2014 My 98 gt is doing the same thing. But I noticed on mine if I really stomp in it, I get a lot of smoke. I think my rings are bad. I have changed everything else.That could be a problem with late valve timing, possibly timing belt or valve adjustment Good way to see if the rings are bad is to pull the oil cap off and see if you get blowbuy (white smoke coming out) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mikaleda Posted December 15, 2014 Author Share Posted December 15, 2014 Got the OEM pcv today and installed it. So of course murphay had to interfere and my drivers CV axle locked up and now I'm stuck waiting for parts When I pulled the old pcv valve it was sticking slightly so I'm thinking that it will be a fix for the problem Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mikaleda Posted January 2, 2015 Author Share Posted January 2, 2015 Okay I installed OEM pcv valve and have put some miles on the car. The problem is actually getting worse. At 1000 miles on the oil change it has gone through a half quart of oil. So now I am going to change the oil when it gets down under half on the dipstick and I'm going back to 10w/30 generic brand oil and see what happens Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mikaleda Posted September 23, 2015 Author Share Posted September 23, 2015 Sorry for the slow update, I've got the oil consumption back to normal again. I think the castrol didn't agree with subie. I switched back to federated cheapo oil and after the first oil change it started getting better. I also found when I'm giving it excessive rpms 5-6k it does burn a small amount of oil. I have changed my driving habits so I don't exceed 4k rpms during my normal driving. I think the problem is solved now Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mikaleda Posted November 26, 2015 Author Share Posted November 26, 2015 This is getting irritating, recently my oil consumption has shot way up. At 2000, miles I have gone through almost 3 quarts of oil and the oil is already dark. Obviously the oil on using is not of the quality I need for my usage. I'm going to try Napa's cheap oil, which I beleive is made by valvoline and see what happens. I also have been changing my oil at 2000 miles lately to clean out my HLAs wich seems to have worked. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Fairtax4me Posted November 26, 2015 Share Posted November 26, 2015 Id suggest Valvoline High mileage if you're looking something to keep lifters clean. I've used it in the past and stopped due to financial reasons/cost. About the same time I switched to Walmart Supertech oil I noticed increased oil consumption, but I'm only using maybe a quart in 3,000 miles. Running the Valvoline, consumption was less than a pint in 3,000. This is consistent with both of my current ej22s. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Loyale 2.7 Turbo Posted November 26, 2015 Share Posted November 26, 2015 (edited) I agree, I use Valvoline's "Maxlife" for High Mileage Vehicles in my "BumbleBeast" with Great Results; also, I've been using 20W~50 weight since the Subie was new in 1985; thirty years after and it still does Not consume oil. Kind Regards. Edited November 26, 2015 by Loyale 2.7 Turbo Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mikaleda Posted November 26, 2015 Author Share Posted November 26, 2015 Well Napa brand oil is valvoline IIRC so maybe it will work better. It is about a $1 a quart more than the federated oili was buying. I did get like 25 cents of a quart with my AAA discount though which would be another plus of this oil works good. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mikaleda Posted February 8, 2016 Author Share Posted February 8, 2016 (edited) Okay, after switching to napa brand oil my consumption went way down and now I found Valvaline max life 5w-30 on amazon for 15.88 for five quarts and I just bought three of them. I changed my oil with the max life oil 700 miles ago and I have no change in oil level, and my lifters have never been happier. I think I found the oil for my car. Thanks everyone for the help. Edited February 8, 2016 by mikaleda 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mikaleda Posted February 8, 2016 Author Share Posted February 8, 2016 https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00AM1Z67O/ref=ya_st_dp_summary Here is a link to the oil I'm using. If you catch it on sale its around $16, I bought a bunch while its cheap. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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