March 17, 200620 yr The oil level in my engine drops quite a bit and I'm forced to add between oil changes. I don't think the car is burning oil because it doesn't spew smoke out the back. My driveway doesn't have any oil stains. Any idea of where is this stuff going? 99 Automatic Forester L, 140,000 km.
March 17, 200620 yr I also have a 99 Forester that now has 125,000 miles. I check the oil at least every second fill up and add a small amount about once a month. I think a small amount of regular usage may be fairly normal for a lot of these 2.5s as they age. I also have no leaks and do not see excessive smoke. Consumption increases a bit as the oil gets older and on longer trips. The trip consumption may be partially due to the oil being a bit thinned by fuel and having it evaporate when hot.
March 17, 200620 yr First off do you use synthetic oil?The reason I ask is that you cannot see synthetic oil being burned out the exhaust pipe.(A trick I learned that dealers do to sell a oil burning car is to put synthetic in it and you will never see it burn). The oil level in my engine drops quite a bit and I'm forced to add between oil changes. I don't think the car is burning oil because it doesn't spew smoke out the back. My driveway doesn't have any oil stains. Any idea of where is this stuff going? 99 Automatic Forester L, 140,000 km.
March 20, 200620 yr Author First off do you use synthetic oil?The reason I ask is that you cannot see synthetic oil being burned out the exhaust pipe.(A trick I learned that dealers do to sell a oil burning car is to put synthetic in it and you will never see it burn). Nope! I'm too cheap to put in synthetic! Interesting piece of information though.
March 20, 200620 yr i have a 92 legacy 197k, which uses a little oil, after a long coast down a hill when i hit the gas again i get a large puff of smoke, valve guides i suspect--i'm using synthetic--it smokes just like the dino stuff
March 20, 200620 yr According to Subaru, 1 quart every 3,000 miles is the spec limit for oil usage. So if you are using that much or less you are within factory specs. Bad PCV valves, or clogged hoses can suck oil into the intake where it will be burnt. GD
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