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Oil Gets Low Regularly, and no Leak- 10' Legacy


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I have a 2010 Legacy 2.5i with 137,000 miles on it.  For last couple of years, I noticed that i would get my old changed and the regular oil would get low about 1000 miles or so short of when my next oil change was due so i'd need auto ad a quart. I thought that it could be that valvoline was not giving me enough oil.  I switched to Jiffy Lube and the same thing was happening.  I suppose it's possible that all these places put the bare minimum oil in it and shame on me for not making them show me the dip stick every time they change it. 

There is no noticeable oil leak.  

Last time I went to a synthetic because I thought that might be it.  It seemed like the synthetic ran out even sooner than the standard.  

Has anyone else experience this?  Any fixes?  Is it just common practice that you need more oil in these things once they get higher miles on them?  Any Additives to help?  Open to your thoughts on this...

...and while i'm at it, do any of you all put seafoam in your oil to clean things?  I'm sure that doesn't impact my issue but I've come across folks doing this to help performance and thought I'd throw that out while I'm at it! :)

Edited by gduerson
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On 9/20/2020 at 6:58 PM, gduerson said:

I have a 2010 Legacy 2.5i with 137,000 miles on it.  For last couple of years, I noticed that i would get my old changed and the regular oil would get low about 1000 miles or so short of when my next oil change was due so i'd need auto ad a quart. I thought that it could be that valvoline was not giving me enough oil.  I switched to Jiffy Lube and the same thing was happening.  I suppose it's possible that all these places put the bare minimum oil in it and shame on me for not making them show me the dip stick every time they change it. 

There is no noticeable oil leak.  

Last time I went to a synthetic because I thought that might be it.  It seemed like the synthetic ran out even sooner than the standard.  

Has anyone else experience this?  Any fixes?  Is it just common practice that you need more oil in these things once they get higher miles on them?  Any Additives to help?  Open to your thoughts on this...

...and while i'm at it, do any of you all put seafoam in your oil to clean things?  I'm sure that doesn't impact my issue but I've come across folks doing this to help performance and thought I'd throw that out while I'm at it! :)

Reread what GD said, it is spot on.  It needed consistent synthetic oil and to *never get low* from mile 0. 

Check oil and topping it off needs to happen more frequently.  Never let it get low and just keep driving it is probably your best bet

It's no sign of imminent failure or issues, but sometime in the future a P0420 code is likely.  If emissions are an issue you'll need to address that which means clearing the code and hoping you pass, replacing the catalytic converter, or trying a stop gap measure. 

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Here is my only experience with Full Synthetic. In my 68 F100 with a 360 I used Valvoline 20W50 Racing Oil. I read an article in a car or racing magazine in the mid 70's that a German company tested every Racing Oil on the market at that time and Valvoline was the only one that did not break down using 5 different tests. They developed 2 more tests before it "started" to break down.

A friend that sold AMSOIL talked me into trying their synthetic. My truck had over 100k miles on it at that time. After the first 2 tanks of gas the oil was on the full mark. After the third tank the oil was down a quart. The next tank it was down a quart. I noticed the oil looked dirty, so I changed it. I used a white rag to wipe the dipstick and I noticed that when it got dirty it would go down a quart. I changed back to the Valvoline 20W50 Racing Oil and now the truck has 221k miles on it. I quit driving it years ago when it started to smoke out one of the dual exhaust pipes.

Once the piston rings are seated that is the time to switch to full synthetic.

Our EJ22's have well over 200k miles on them. I use Federated synthetic blend. I was told they add chemicals to regular motor oil so they can call it a blend. In the summer I run 10W30 and in the winter I run 5w30 in them, but with both I substitute a quart of oil with a quart of Lucas engine oil treatment. It does help with oil consumption. I don't keep track of the mileage. When the oil looks dirty, I change it and the filter.

For your car I see the FSM Recommends 5W30 synthetic for non-turbo and 5W30 Synthetic "Required" for turbo models. It does not mention 10W30 so, you may not be able to use it.

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I really appreciate all this information guys.  Thanks. 

I'd be interested in learning more about cleaning out the piston skirt if anyone knows of tutorials or videos on this job.  I'm not sure i'd try it, but i'm really enjoying learning about this stuff.  Really wish i'd had a auto mechanic class when i was younger...

Meanwhile, I'm going to just keep rolling.  I've had no issues with my subaru engine.  I'm going to start using full synthetic oil and changing it myself to save on the cost of it.  I'm also going to ry adding some seafood to the oil prior to change.  I'm seeing some folks elsewhere saying that stuff can do a lot of cleanup. I'll let you all know if i notice my oil lasting longer.  Funny thing i'm hearing from some folks that subarus generally need a lot of oil... probably because full synthetic wasn't used from day one.  

Thanks again for the input!

 

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some folks I've read used Marvel Mystery oil to 'clean out' stuck hydraulic lifters.

just using a synthetic - cheap walmart or w'ever - 'could' eventually clean out old gunk. One of the reasons synthetic looks very dark on oil changes is because it keeps varnish in suspension better than conventioal oil. It can clean, then keep things cleaner.

 

just some ideas thoughts on the issue.

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5 hours ago, gduerson said:

I really appreciate all this information guys.  Thanks. 

I'd be interested in learning more about cleaning out the piston skirt if anyone knows of tutorials or videos on this job.  I'm not sure i'd try it, but i'm really enjoying learning about this stuff.  Really wish i'd had a auto mechanic class when i was younger...

Meanwhile, I'm going to just keep rolling.  I've had no issues with my subaru engine.  I'm going to start using full synthetic oil and changing it myself to save on the cost of it.  I'm also going to ry adding some seafood to the oil prior to change.  I'm seeing some folks elsewhere saying that stuff can do a lot of cleanup. I'll let you all know if i notice my oil lasting longer.  Funny thing i'm hearing from some folks that subarus generally need a lot of oil... probably because full synthetic wasn't used from day one.  

Thanks again for the input!

 

Pull engine. Remove all timing components and front and rear timing covers. Remove valve covers, intake manifold. Remove heads. Remove pistons and clean and reassemble with new rings. 
reassmble.  Get the Subaru FSM if you’re serious, this is a huge job most DIY folks don’t do and you’d want the Subaru specs and steps. The FSM are great and easily found free online.  

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I believe the idea of using Seafoam in the oil is to put it in shortly before changing your oil.  I put some in my '99 with an oil change and then had to have all of the oil seals replaced due to leaks, apparently the Seafoam removed the sludge that was prevening the oil seals from leaking or at least thats what I was told when I took my car in to have the oil leaks checked.  It didn't have visible oil leaks before I put the Seafoam in it. 

I'm sure others have different experiences with Seafoam.  I know I have used it in the gas tank and have used it in the intake manifold to remove carbon from the valves?  Pretty sure it doesn't do much for the piston ring issue.

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Seafoam will likely cause external leaks as Mike104 mentions. It will wash the non synthetic sludge out of gaskets and seals and create leak paths due to the shrunken seals that are only now sealed due to build up. 

Additionally, it will do exactly nothing for oil control ring carbon build up. Insufficient amount of it will reach that area and the carbon is so tough we have to use a drill bit to remove it from the skirt drain back holes. Seafoam won't touch it even if you removed the piston and soaked it directly in pure seafoam for a month. Waste of time. 

GD

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So I changed the oil today and put a Mobil-1 20,000 mile / 1 year filter on it and full synthetic oil.  My plan is to probably change it in after 10,000 miles because I figure nothing every lasts as long it suggests and just monitors the oil, checking color and level until then.   I'll let you all know if the seafoam causes any trouble.  

Thank you all for commenting on this thread.  I've just started working on my cars and I highly value all the input you guys have taken time to write.

Edited by gduerson
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