Did I wreck my legacy?

Hey all,

 

I have a thread on here showing everyone the legacy I purchased this summer. Its a 95 LSi with 196k miles, it has the 2.2. I bought the car in July and only put about 70 miles on it up until this month. It sat in the garage all summer until I just put my summer car into storage a couple weeks ago. Since Ive been driving the subaru Ive put about 880 miles on it in the last few weeks. It runs good but I do sometimes notice a bit of carbon flies out of the tail pipe on a startup where it hasnt ran in a couple days. I also changed the oil in it back in August and filled it up to the top notch on the dipstick.

 

Fast forward to today driving to work the check engine light comes on, so I took it to the auto parts store to get the code but they didnt have the right adapter. Naturally I checked the oil, and it turned out to be over a quart low. It didnt even register on the dipstick untill after I started pouring the second quart in. It took one quart and about a 4th of the next quart to get it back to full. This means it blew through over a quart in just under 900 mi, because I couldnt identify any leaks. I religiously check oil levels every 1k as my civics turboed VTEC engine likes to use a bit. And my old 1997 legacy 2.2 burned some too. But this one went through a over a quart in only 900 mi.

 

Who thinks that the engine is toast now? Im assuming the check engine light came on because the oil level fell below a certain threshold?And if thats the case I have no idea if any damage was caused by driving it with such a low amount of oil. Could the head gaskets be about to go? Maybe thats why there's an initial blast of sooty carbon out of the exhaust on some start ups?

Basically I'm concerned I did irreparable damage to the engine by running it so low on oil:(

Also just to clarify I never saw the oil light so much as flicker.. Just the check engine. Would the check engine light even come on for low oil?

 

I will be checking the oil level every 200 miles now.

Who thinks that the engine is toast now?

only you! it an ej22, its what makes a subaru a subaru!!!!!

 

Im assuming the check engine light came on because the oil level fell below a certain threshold?

no, that would be the oil light.

you have a trouble code, get it read at the parts stor.

go to a different store and tell them it is a 96 and they will read it.

it does not need an adapter.

I have no idea if any damage was caused by driving it with such a low amount of oil.

its an ej22, the best engine suabru ever made.

it will take an amazing amount of abuse,

is very reliable and is easy to work on,

will go over 300k miles if you keep oil and coolant in it.

 

Could the head gaskets be about to go?

very doubtful.

again, it is an ej22.

 

wellcome to the wonderful worrld of subaru.

 

look at the underside of the engine,

it will be coverd in oily dirt.

you have a leak, they all do after a while.

it only means it need some seals and gaskets replaced.

common leak points:

valve cover gaskets

cam seals

cam cap o-rings

crank seal

oil pump o-ring

power steering pump reservoir o-ring

sometimes the oil pressure sending unit but pretty rare

 

and ALWAYS the oil separator plate on the rear of the block. (unless already replaced)

this one is a bitch since you have to pull the engine to replace it.

 

a dirty PVC will also cause excessive oil consumption.

does it smoke when you start it?

Who thinks that the engine is toast now?

only you! it an ej22, its what makes a subaru a subaru!!!!!

 

Im assuming the check engine light came on because the oil level fell below a certain threshold?

no, that would be the oil light.

you have a trouble code, get it read at the parts stor.

go to a different store and tell them it is a 96 and they will read it.

it does not need an adapter.

I have no idea if any damage was caused by driving it with such a low amount of oil.

its an ej22, the best engine suabru ever made.

it will take an amazing amount of abuse,

is very reliable and is easy to work on,

will go over 300k miles if you keep oil and coolant in it.

 

Could the head gaskets be about to go?

very doubtful.

again, it is an ej22.

 

wellcome to the wonderful worrld of subaru.

 

look at the underside of the engine,

it will be coverd in oily dirt.

you have a leak, they all do after a while.

it only means it need some seals and gaskets replaced.

common leak points:

valve cover gaskets

cam seals

cam cap o-rings

crank seal

oil pump o-ring

power steering pump reservoir o-ring

sometimes the oil pressure sending unit but pretty rare

 

and ALWAYS the oil separator plate on the rear of the block. (unless already replaced)

this one is a bitch since you have to pull the engine to replace it.

 

a dirty PVC will also cause excessive oil consumption.

does it smoke when you start it?

It will smoke a lot at start up especially when cold but when it warms up it does not. Also if its been sitting and you fire it up you can see the sooty carbon being shot out of the tail pipe. Im assuming oil is getting into the combustion chamber in small amounts?

 

Think I should switch to a thicker oil? Im running 5w30 in it now.

I have another question if anyones willing to answer that has me somewhat confused.

 

 

Yesterday when I checked the oil I had gotten the car up to running temp on my way to the parts store. I then parked the car and checked the oil approx. 10 mins after the engine had been turned off. That's when the dipstick came up bone dry. After dumping a little over a quart in I was able to see the oil level very clearly on the dipstick, and had no problem bringing the level up to the proper full notch.

 

This morning when I checked the oil (engine dead cold) it was all over the diptick, and difficult to read. Now the oil is reading way over the full line. But its only partially covering the dip stick. The only part of the dipstick fully covered in oil is inbetween the full and low mark. But the dipstick is partially covered in oil way above the full line. This is of course after wiping it off and reinserting multiple times. Now I'm concerned I may have over filled it :$

 

When should I check it to get the most accurate reading?

 

Ill try to post pics of the dipstick and my exhaust on cold startup tonight

i would check it dead cold .

no chance of oil being ''up in the engine'' then.

 

the dip stick guide is kind of ''J'' shaped, or backwards L shaped.

and the tip enters the oil sump more horizontal then vertical.

so when you check the oil , regardless of when, ALWAYS look at both sides of the dip stick.

the lowest reading is the correct reading.

there is NO WAY to insert a dip stick in to oil and have one side stay dry.

 

"it was all over the diptick, and difficult to read" is usually oil that lines the dip stick tube as you pull it out.

next time pull it out wipe it , and then wait a bit so the oil will drain back down.

or pull the dip stick the night before and leave it out.

 

unless you live in mexico, use 10w30.

if you are burning oil at start up. it is probably your valve guides.

but until you figure out just how much oil you are loosing,

there is no need to panic.

 

right now it sounds like you need to drive it and keep an eye on your oil level.

get to know your car.

burning oil is not a very common problem on these engines,

but i could happen.

i would change the oil again and add a pint of MMO or similar and drive that for a few hundred miles.(not thousands)

then change it again.

 

but it sounds like you really do not know how much oil you are loosing.

how much oil did you add at the last oil change.

they take about 4.3 qts., i think.

and the level will drop if you used a new filter.

so filling to ''full' and then starting the car will result in lower reading.

 

my 95 lego L ej22 engine leaked oil.

but it was great about ''telling'' me it was low.

these engine have HLAs, hydraulic lash adjusters.

they operate off of oil pressure.

and they NEVER need adjusting.

but if the oil level / pressure gets low,

my engine would start chattering, valve lash chattering.

if you hear it you may think you have a real problem.

but not really a problem as long as you add oil.

 

i drove the engine from 75k to 208k miles,

oil leaked and HLAs chattered some times, a qt. low is nothing.

i over heated more than once due to a coolant leak.

but it always started and ran great when i sold it.

these are great engines.

and they are non-interference.

 

depending on where you live,

''exhaust'' at start up, this time of year,

may not be ''blue smoke'' due to burning oil.

if you were burning a qt and a half in 900 miles

you would doing a smoke screen like in the movies.

Hello;

Always check the oil in the morning before starting the car! Your oil capacity should be 5.3 quarts. Check the sticker on the drivers door for the manufacture date! This should give you an indication if you have a OBD1 or OBD2. Have the codes read, this should indicate why you are running so rich on start up. My guess is the two prong coolant sensor on the crossover pipe (passenger side). My first gen is 190k on the clock and no oil usage unless I am towing a trailer and fully loaded. Do not freak out until you have some miles on the car, Steven.

Exhaust defecation by color....

 

Black - sooty, un-burned fuel from excessively rich air/fuel mixture

Blue - oil, on an N/A motor its probably slightly warn valve guides or seals.

White - billowy clouds, water in the combustion chamber, blown head gasket

Greyish - on start up in the morning, normal exhaust condensation, goes away

Thanks for the replies gentlemen.

 

I guess I was freaked out that even tho the engine was still warm and some oil may still have been seeping down from the top end after only being off for 10 min, that the dipstick was completely dry. Ive never had that issue before.

 

I believe I added about 4.5 qts total on the last oil change. I dumped a little oil into the oversize Wix filter I bought, and there was about 1/2 a qt left in the 5 qt jug when I changed it. I used Mobil 5000 5w30. The engine had been off for about an hour after the last oil change and I was getting a spot on reading right at full on the dip stick. That was just under 900 miles ago.

 

I know these engines are great, I used to have a 97 legacy 2.2 5 spd and besides a few minor issues it was awesome.

 

I'm gonna watch my oil level very closely now!

Exhaust defecation by color....

 

Black - sooty, un-burned fuel from excessively rich air/fuel mixture

Blue - oil, on an N/A motor its probably slightly warn valve guides or seals.

White - billowy clouds, water in the combustion chamber, blown head gasket

Greyish - on start up in the morning, normal exhaust condensation, goes away

http://tapatalk.imageshack.com/v2/14/11/18/327e5db5315fdfc36bd0e16908b2921a.jpg

 

I took that picture when I fired it up after the car had sat for a few days. It wasn't coolant, appeared to be water with a little carbon mixed in. I havent noticed it recently, but I do remember it doing it occasionally

Don't freak out junior....exhaust condensation. That's totally normal and not even worthy of a pic.

15 40 rotella t3 diesel oil is a good oil for these cars. I use the 10-30 t5 right now because I also use it it my Chevy 6.5 TD. Lucas oil stabilizer is also suggested. Haven't tried it yet. I'm not sure what the deal is but I drive about 500 mi a week so I generally know to check it every week or so because it eats about a quart that fast.

 

I basically pour anything wet and clean I can find in there after the initial oil burns down. Atf, sae 30, cheap Walmart oil, old sketchy bottles from the 80s with the labels peeled off. Its kind of fun. I haven't tried gear oil yet but I have a couple 5 gallon buckets from the 80s or 90s that might go in in the summer.

 

Yeah I hate it it really sucks. Generally you can start to hear it when it gets about 2 quarts low. It will kind of piston slap at idle when its warm.

 

Because of the oil burning you might start to get cat efficiency codes (p4020) and another one I can't remember... just drop a gear on the highway and hold 3-4k rpm once or twice a week for about 10 min this will burn the oil residues out of the cat. Then you clear the code and regularly drop a gear and burn out the cat and the code won't return.

Update: It appears to be losing at least a quart every 500 miles. Im not seeing any oil spots in my driveway or haven't noticed any at work where I park. If it is a leak, its a couple drips over the course of a week. In the 1300 mi since my first oil change, Ive added 2 qts of oil and its at the Low marking on the dipstick. Losing 2 qts of oil in 1300 mi seems crazy, especially if Im not seeing any obvious leak... The car is meant to be my winter beater so I may experiment with some 'stop leak' additives. If that doesnt work then Ill probably be buying another beater, since there's no use paying for costly repairs on a car that cost 2k with nearly 200k miles

try 10w40 first.

if it is burning / leaking as bad as you say,

the risk of running 40 weight is not much greater.

 

if you have bad rings or valve guides 40w should slow it down.

 

buy several cans of ''brake clean'' and spray of the under side of the engine.

clean everywhere it is oily and dirty.

wipe it down till clean and dry.

then check it every day and see where it is leaking first.

try 10w40 first.

if it is burning / leaking as bad as you say,

the risk of running 40 weight is not much greater.

 

if you have bad rings or valve guides 40w should slow it down.

 

buy several cans of ''brake clean'' and spray of the under side of the engine.

clean everywhere it is oily and dirty.

wipe it down till clean and dry.

then check it every day and see where it is leaking first.

Thanks for the reply, I'm gonna try some valvoline maxlife 10w40, as I heard it helps with leaks/burning. It does get super cold where I live (below zero most of the time December thru February) so Im hoping running a heavier oil will be okay.

Just warm up the car a little longer in the morning and drive it easy to get it to normal operating temperature before you start driving it like you stole it.

Just warm up the car a little longer in the morning and drive it easy to get it to normal operating temperature before you start driving it like you stole it.

I did find that the car has a block heater so Im hoping that will help out too. Im currently running Mobil 5000 5w30 but I hear some people run 10w30 in these cars all the time with no issues.