You people worry way too much about oil!

[JOD]

Subtitle: Subaru 2.2 I4 is probably the best engine ever...

And by "you people", I mean, me.

A buddy of mine asked me to look at his car; '95 Legacy Wagon, the most stripped car I've ever seen. Power nothing, 5 speed MT, no tach?? His check engine light was on. I pulled the code (P0170), then for laughs opened the hood. First thing I noticed: weird plastic tube with some threads. Looked like some sorta emissions tubing on my old Volvo. The threads looked reasonably clean, cleaner than the rest of the engine? "Hey, what's that yellow cap sitting over there?". Hmm...says "oil" on it. Oops...

So, I pulled the dipstick to see if there's any oil at all in there. Sure enough, there's about 1-2mm registering on the dipstick. It has roughly the constancy of a medium maple syrup. I grabbed two quarts of MC5W20, and that got it to the 'full' level. I know it's thinner than spec'd, but given that the oil in there now is about a 50W100, I figure it'll balance out.

Next, I look at the odometer: 178K, and running strong. Wow.

I asked him when he last changed the oil. He thought for a bit and said "a while". "So, weeks, months, years??". "A couple a years--but it uses oil so I top up once a month or so".

I guess the saving grace is that he does keep it topped up, though given the fact that there were about 2.5 qts in there, who knows how often he actually tops it up?

I'm going to change it for him this week. I'll cut the filter open when I do, it should make for some awesome pics. I'd ask for a recommendation for oil, since I know nothing about this car, but at this point, does it even matter? I can't think of anything that would be worse than what's in there! Lastly, does anyone know what the biggest oil filter is that will fit on there? I assume it's going to be holding a lot of junk on its next OCI. I'm thinking I'll do one short, 1.5K OCI with the cheapest oil I can find, then changing it again. That should take him up to 250k or so...

 

[SLCraig]

Haha great story.
As for oil, nope, it probably doesn't matter because the EJ22 is awesome.
It was also probably a Brighton edition which is a base model. I almost bought one myself. (5MT trans too)

 

[Lead Shoes]

Its reasons like this that make me cringe when I buy used cars..

 

[VK56VD]

That engine is tough. It's a H4 boxer engine, not a I4. Put in a quality 10W-40. My '92 EJ22 called for this as factory spec.

 

[oggb]

Run cheap dino through it. Anything is better than nothing. Supertech for $cheap.99 would get my vote.

Oversized filter? No idea.

^-Agree with the above idea of cheap 10w-40 dino. Sounds like a plan, stan.

 

[JimPghPA]

Look for a few spots under the hood to store a few quarts of oil. If you find any, stock it up for him when you change the oil.

 

[XS650]

Just remember that when a good Samaritan makes a change to anyone's car (for his car, an oil change is a big deal), anything that ever goes wrong with that car will be the good Samaritan's fault.

 

[ahoier]

Originally Posted By: Brenden
Its reasons like this that make me cringe when I buy used cars..
yea......but then you got the "smart" ([censored]) few, who will do multiple oil changes every couple days, until the day they sell their craigslist-ed car off to some chum....as they sit back laughing as they sit back, money in hand, and chug a couple beers, "oh I got that dude good".....lol.

No, I hope this doesn't happen, but I wouldn't doubt it if it DID....to an extent lol.


Honestly, if it's been that long, I'd go with the OEM filter and just run 1.5k mile OCIs with some HDEO oil. ST 15W-40 comes to mind.....if you're "scared" of "going heavy" then mix half and half, 15W-40 and say, 5W-30.....or somesuch....the heavy duty "Diesel Oil" is high in detergency and will help slowly clean up the engine.


Or go the MMO (1 pint added to the crankcase), Seafoam (1.5oz. per quart of oil capacity), or Kreen (follow the directions).

 

[chet2]

the 50-100 oil, haha...he is only one who doesnt give a rats a about car maint...my bil vw turbo just died from sludge and yet he wont flinch in his "just add oil" routine in his 04 subie but i think he might change oil every 5 k w/ syn on VW cuz my sis drives it

 

[JOD]

Originally Posted By: Spartuss
That engine is tough. It's a H4 boxer engine, not a I4. Put in a quality 10W-40. My '92 EJ22 called for this as factory spec.


Huh, that's where those other cylinders are!

Actually, I knew that--really!

OK, 10W40 it is. The local AZ and O'Reilly's both have some oil change specials w/filter, so I'll have him grab something.

I wouldn't avoid buying used cars because of this clown; I pretty much only buy used cars. But if there's no documented service history (or the owner has actually kept a log/receipts), then I'll keep looking.

Just to add to the fun, the car was stolen about 6 months ago, and it seems some guys took it out in the woods to re-enact some Camel Trophy videos... They also learned to drive a MT on his new clutch. OUCH! After I added the two Qt. of oil, I gave it a good run after it got up to temps, mainly to see if the trouble code came up again (it didn't). This engine still pulls strong! It's a hearty little beast.

 

[Bottom_Feeder]

There aren't any larger filters that will fit the Subaru boxer engine correctly. They have a unique thread mounting depth, a high bypass valve pressure rating, and no ADBV.

A standard-sized Purolator 14460 (or it's clones, including the Bosch 3310) or Champ 2869 (or it's clones) is the one you'll want. They are decent-sized filters for this application and there really is no need for them to be any larger.

Fram and Wix do not make the correct oil filter for older Subaru engines regardless of what their application guides say. They sell Honda-style filters that just happen to fit.

 

[fdcg27]

Subies seem to be pretty hard to kill.
Probably a good thing for many of the granola crunchers who seem to favor them.
Oil?
It don't need no stinkin' oil.
Per the OMs for both of our Subarus, use a starburst 5W-30, or just about any grade you can think of.
The Forester even recommends SM, but allows the use of SL.

 

[JOD]

Originally Posted By: XS650
Just remember that when a good Samaritan makes a change to anyone's car (for his car, an oil change is a big deal), anything that ever goes wrong with that car will be the good Samaritan's fault.


HA, so true. I knew his maintenance habits going in, so I made a big point of telling him that the sludge could be the only thing keeping it running. He still thinks changing it is a good idea..

But yeah, that's going to be my extent of it. When I looked at the battery and saw what looked like 2 blue tennis balls, I wanted to reach for the battery terminal cleaner. I resisted the urge, figuring there probably were no terminals left, and the corroded mass was servicing to transfer electricity. I'll risk the oil change, but that's it.

 

[fdcg27]

Okay, but this thing is not a cherished and cared for proto WRX.
It's a neglected old crock.
ANY fresh oil with ANY new filter (that fits) would be a quantum leap for this car.
Subaru apparently builds pretty good engines, judging by this things ability to soak up neglect and just keep on barkin'.
I have always been fond of Hondas, but I am coming to really like Subarus, since either maker seems to build engines that will survive all sorts of absurd abuse, not that I would ever neglect something as simple as oil level or an oil change on one of our cars.
Still, there are not many engines out there that would still be cranking along after 178K of blissful ignorance.

 

[steve20]

Honda owner getting to like the Subie's too-but the crowd that usually drives them, drives me crazy. Same story with Saab-some of them are nice looking, but Iwould hate for anyone to think I was in that crowd either

 

[JimPghPA]

It is good that you are going to change it for him soon. 5W20 in it now might burn off (via the combustion chanber due to slopy valve seals, piston, and piston rings) in a much shorter time than a thicker oil.

 

[hattaresguy]

Yeah most people here do.

 

[SLCraig]

Originally Posted By: steve20
Honda owner getting to like the Subie's too-but the crowd that usually drives them, drives me crazy. Same story with Saab-some of them are nice looking, but Iwould hate for anyone to think I was in that crowd either

We're talking about an old, cheap, daily driver. Crowd hardly matters like when something is new.
Subaru's (especially Legacy wagons) are so freaking practical. I love them.

 

[caterpill]

I guess the above discussion about Subaru engines explains why my 94' impreza 1.8L is still running strong. I'm the third owner (according to carfax) and even after running without oil for at least 30 seconds, (front end collision, long story) I still drive the car to work. MPG for the 1.8L is wayy down at 23MPG without using A/C, but I know the bearings are gone.

It has about 150k miles now but I refuse to do a compression check because it'll probably be bad. The Rotella Syn is probably what keeps it alive. lol.

 

[teambeechstreet]

Originally Posted By: XS650
Just remember that when a good Samaritan makes a change to anyone's car (for his car, an oil change is a big deal), anything that ever goes wrong with that car will be the good Samaritan's fault.

hahaha I learned that the hard way! oil change and spark plug change on father in law's Rav4 ended up turning into me doing a free wheel bearing replacement.

back on topic. these subie motors go forever! I posted up about a couple that had a wrx with over 400K!