My new Outback 2004 burns oil

I have a New Outback 2004 2.5i (168CV) with about 20.000 Km and it burns

1 litre oil every 5.000 Km. I use a syntetic oil CEPSA 5-40. It is normal in this engine? There are somebody with the same problem?

The my brother's Subaru Forester X (2.0i), with 90.000 Km, never burns oil (with the same CEPSA 5-40)......

The Subaru service recomended use a mineral oil 15-40. I think that is not good for this engine !!!!

Tanks

Reply to
Joan Masoliver
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Reply to
Edward Hayes

Your burn rate is probably a bit highter than normal, but nothing to worry about. I concur with Edward in the use of Mobil 1 10w30.

Reply to
Jim Stewart

The manual does state that 20/50 is fine for extreme heat and towing. The poster is not in the US so oil grade availability may vary. In the US yes 10/30 or 5/30 is fine for most. I have noticed that Mobil

1 5/30 gives 1-2 mpg more than Mobil1 10/30 in my 04 OBW
Reply to
busterb

Well - the owners manual does state that there are a variety of oil weights that may be used for extreme temperatures of towing. Among these weights are 30, 40, 20W-40, and 20W-50. I haven't seen 20W-40 in years, but 15W-40 is very close and easy to find. I can't imagine everyone who tows will be doing so EVERY time. I'd think the people who make the recommendation for heavier weight oils for towing would realize this, and not make the recommendation if it's going to result in problems when NOT towing.

The engine should be tolerant of receiving any number of different oil weights, types, or brands. Granted, 15W-40 probably won't do wonders for fuel economy, but it's not going to destroy the engine either.

Reply to
y_p_w

Make it 3.

Barry

Reply to
Bonehenge

I too burn about 1 qt per 3000-3500 miles on my 2K Outback. It has done it since very early in the car's history and I have over 100,000 miles, now. The good thing is that the compression is very solid in all 4 cylinders. Even though the dealer has been unable to find any leaks while it was under warranty, I think it has a small leak somewhere. I regularly do 600 mile drives and at the end of the drive I can smell burnt oil on the Cat.

Jack

Reply to
Jack

Don't worry. By the time it's ready for a new timing belt, the leak will probably be obvious (:

Reply to
Jim Stewart

En/na Edward Hayes ha escrit:

Sorry Eduard,

but what is a quart, 250cc?

Thanks,

Joan

Reply to
Joan Masoliver

My dealer in Australia tells me that they did have some oil problems with the 2004 2.5l engines. They fixed it on the 2005 ones! this tells me that

1- they acknowledge that there was a problem, and 2- they know how to fix it. I recall him saying something about gadgets.

Reply to
td

En/na td ha escrit:

Thank td, I wait your recall

Joan

Reply to
Joan Masoliver

Ed, now while I agree that 15W-40 may not be appropriate for all climates or circumstances, I'd say it's a bit far to suggest that it goes against the people who designed it.

In fact when I consult my '02 manual I find this:

  1. 5W-30 for ambient below 100* F
  2. 10W-30 or 10W-40 for ambient above 0* F
  3. "If the vehicle is used in desert areas, in areas with very high temperatures, or used for heavy-duty applications such as towing a trailer, use of oil with the following grade and viscosities IS RECOMMENEDED" :

SAE 30 SAE 40

10W-50 20W-40 20W-50

I'm curious to know what your manual says.

Reply to
Danny Russell

More like ~950cc.

Back to your original question: I don't see ANY problem with your oil consumption rate. ALL engines use a bit of oil, even though people will tell you they don't. That's bunk, though there are conditions where the consumption's so low it appears to be non-existent. Some of our group who live in very cold climates may even report their engines appear to "make" oil due to condensation from short runs during the winter.

Many things contribute to oil consumption: overall condition of the engine (new, tight, old, loose, good or bad valve guides and seals, etc.), seating of the rings (I've seen engines that just wouldn't seat the rings properly at all until over 35k miles--rare, but it's happened), driving conditions (high speed will usually eat more oil than low speed), leaks (obvious or more hidden) and on and on.

Given my driving conditions, virtually all the engines I've had that started "new with me" used a quart of oil per 2000-3000 miles once well broken in. IOW, right about what yours is using. Few manufacturers will even entertain the thought an engine's using excessive oil until consumption exceeds 1 qt/1000 mi (~1 ltr per 1600/1700 km.) Check regularly (notice that every engine, no matter how sophisticated otherwise, STILL comes with a dipstick? Hint, hint!), keep topped up (I'm a bit fanatic--I try to never let my engines get more than a half quart down, but you can go to the "fill" line if you'd like) and drive happy!

Rick

Reply to
Rick Courtright

Hello Rick,

I had tree cars in 23 years driving before my 2004 Outback:

1) Peugeot 205GLD 1.800cc diesel : 250.000 Km driving, no oil consumation until 200.000 Km (0.5l every 10.000 Km)

2) VW Golf-II GTI 1.800cc 8valve injection: 380.000 Km driving, no oil consumation until 200.000 Km (0.5l every 10.000 Km), at 380.000 Km consumes 1litre every 1.000 Km of syntetic oil

3) VW Golg-III GTI 2.000cc 8valve injection: 290.000 Km driving, no oil consumation until 200.000 Km (0.5l every 10.000 Km), now consumes 1litre every 4.000 Km with sinteric oil 5-40

I check regulary the oil, every 2.000 Km, I'm a fanatic too and I try to never let my engines get more than a half quart down.

I think is "normal" oil consumation until 1litre every 10.000 Km, but I see that now all the engines consumes oil: Audi, BMW, Ford, GM(Opel), ..... The manufacturers says that the engines are design to reduce the consume of gas/petrol .... In Europe the manufacturers will even entertain the thought an engine's using excessive oil until consumption exceeds 1 ltr per 1000 km !!!!!!!!, like my 380.000Km Golf-II!!!!!.

BRRRRRRRRRRRRRRR, now it is necessary take always a quater of oil in a new car!!!!, I never take it in my old cars until 200.000Km !!!!

Joan

Reply to
Joan Masoliver

Hi, Joan

That's been about my experience, both with VW and Porsche engines, and folks I've known with a variety of other German makes have claimed similar consumption (once the engines have some miles on 'em.) A couple of old time German car mechanics (from the old country) have told me it's cuz of autobahn driving: a tight engine that DOESN'T use some oil will run hot and/or wear more quickly than an "oil burner" when run at near redline speeds for hours on end. I've had friends tell me they experienced that problem with earlier Honda and Toyota engines when they were over there. They didn't use much oil, but you couldn't open 'em up too long w/o heat related problems. OTOH, my Toyota V-6 runs VERY constant with respect to temps, and also uses approx 1 qt/2000 miles. The lady I got it from told me it uses NO oil... hmmmm, why did it instantly start using oil the day I got it? Gremlins? Turns out looking thru her service records, the dealer would overfill it by 1/2 qt at oil changes (instead of splitting a bottle of oil?), so by the time she had it changed at 3000, it was still at or above "Add." Hence, it "used no oil!" So a lot lies in definition of terms!

Remember the Boy Scout motto? "Be Prepared." Fortunately, a quart of oil takes little space, often fits in a spare tire well or other cubbyhole w/o even announcing its presence, AND give the peace of mind of knowing you've got the same thing on board for topping off that's in the sump. Where I do a lot of my driving, local choice CAN be pretty limited... and I always manage to be running whatever they're out of when I need it!

Still, I think you'll be ok!

Rick

Reply to
Rick Courtright

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