October 1, 200718 yr I've put about 4,000 miles on this interval and I've managed to burn an entire quart of Mobil 1 High Mileage (which is super robust by synth standards). Is this considered normal. I try to keep my oil constantly topped off and it feels like I'm always pouring a little in. I've read about leak down test ect... If this is abnormal, how much should one of these tests cost. I've never had a car burn synthetic. EVER... Well... The one exception would be a couple of Chevys, but they suck.
October 1, 200718 yr I looked at your other threads, and think I have this right -- You bought the '96 Brighton in March '07 with about 89k miles on it. It was previously owned by someone who didn't maintain it particularly well. Assuming that's correct, I can think of a few possibilities. The first thing I would do is make sure that the PCV is working correctly; that is, valve clean/operating, tubes clean. A malfunctioning PCV can cause oil loss in more than one way. Clean the tubes, and replace the valve (it's inexpensive) if there's any question. Next, is the oil consumption internal, external, or a combination of both? If all internal, a quart in 4,000 miles is somewhat excessive for a Subaru engine in good shape, but perhaps the previous owner didn't do oil changes at reasonable intervals and there's some wear. (However, I believe you said that you're getting 30 mpg, which usually indicates that the engine is in reasonable condition.) Do you see any smoke at the tailpipe, under any circumstances? It doesn't take much external leakage to lose a quart of oil in 4,000 miles, so if there's a sign of an external leak, that might explain things.
October 1, 200718 yr First thing is change your PCV valve. All engines use oil, no matter the oil. It is burned not in the cylinder, but in the crankase cooling the piston. More of an evaporation. Normal consumption is a qt every 3000 miles, normal consumption can be as low as 1qt to 800 miles. This is one of the things with synthetic oil that people tend to forget. You still need to pop the hood and check the oil level at the very least once every two weeks, to once a month depending upon your driving habits (once a day on a road trip). I do my oil changes at 3500-5000 miles ( i start thinking about it at 3500). The 7500 mile makes me uncomfortable ( i can hear the engine getting a little noisey at 5000), and the 10,000 plus of synthetic would just make me paranoid. But thats just me. Synthetis oil still means that at that 7500 mile interval one needs to look at the car and make sure everything is still in one peice. nipper
October 1, 200718 yr Author Well, there was a Subaru filter on the car when I performed the first change, leading me to believe it was dealer maintained. The oil, which doesn't really change color in any of my other vehicles, turned dark VERY quickly. That leads me to believe it is quite a bit in the way of deposits being cleaned off. As far as leaking, I have a mini-lift system in my garage that lifts the car 2 feet off the ground and I can't find a single leak anywhere. Are factory rubber seals orange? I think the cam covers may have been re-sealed. I'm not a gear head, the lift came with the house. I'll have to have the PCV checked out. I appreciate the feedback. P.S. I usually just go the normal factory interval on my vehicle w/ synthetics. At least I know that the filter will perform for the 7,500 miles in question. I drive mostly highway miles anyway. 107K on the clock. I got everything else fixed. 2 CV joints, 4 wheel bearings, 1 clutch, 1 flywheel
October 1, 200718 yr I'm not a gear head, the lift came with the house. Next your going to say the garage is airconditioned...... i hate you :-p nipper
October 2, 200718 yr Author Next your going to say the garage is airconditioned...... i hate you :-p nipper Actually..... Yeah it is. It's just a window unit though. :cool:
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