Oil Issue Opinions Needed Please

[0LGT5]

Just got my oil changed 2,700 miles ago on my 05 LGT with 167xxx miles on it. The thing has a brand new turbo and oil lines because after certain mileage these cars are known to get oil build up in the lines due to a screen that blocks it which caused the turbo to catch on fire and blow. My close friend who owns a body shop for over 40 years (was his fathers first) bought this car at an auction and replaced the turbo and oil lines. He also did compression test, leak down test, and couple other tests for me to see if the cars motor was good to go with no other issues besides the turbo. That being said everything checked out good.

So heres my issue.. after changing my oil 2,700 miles ago my dipstick was just about dry. I had no oil on the carboard I left under my car once I added oil and had no blue smoke coming from my exhaust to resemble burning oil (was driving when my friend drove behind me to see if he could notice any blue smoke), had that issue with my 97 M3 cuz I was burning oil and holy blue smoke!

I know that Subaru of America stated that it's common for Subaru motors to burn a quart of oil on it's own. But should I be concerned that 2,700 miles after an oil change my dipstick was almost dry? I wasn't sure if it was normal for this to happen and I just need to keep topping it off or if I should consider engine issues? Also I was told that Subaru motors like to burn royal purple oil and I've been using Royal Purple synthetic 5w-30 oil and planning to swith back to Mobil 1 and experiment a little more. Another thing to note is I put this stuff in with my oil (cant remember what it's called) so the oil didn't get watered down and kept it thick.

Any ideas or past experiences please reply.

Thanks for taking the time to read

[TSi+WRX]

If the car is mechanically sound, you could get a UOA ([U]sed [O]il [A]nalysis) to gain further insight as to what's going on.

It's not uncommon to go through 1 quart per ~3K miles, particularly if you do a lot of harsher driving.

Try oil without the aftermarket additive, and try some of the top-tier stuff. Rotella T6 and "German" Castrol (often called "GC" in the Subaru world) 0W30 are both considered near-magical in the Subaru community, but individual vehicle's "preference" for oil tends to be quite unique.

My LGT saw better UOAs on GC than on Mobil 1 5W30, but I had a reliable 1/4 of a quart consumption over a 3K miles/3-months OCI with the GC, whereas she never drank a drop of the M1. My wife's WRX and FXTs (now our second FXT, first was an '09, the current one a '13) also all did/are doing quite well on M1 5W30, with no noticeable consumption over their recommended OCIs.

In your shoes, before you starting to upgrade the car, I'd like to find out where that oil is going.

[0LGT5]

Originally Posted by TSi+WRX

If the car is mechanically sound, you could get a UOA ([U]sed [O]il [A]nalysis) to gain further insight as to what's going on.

It's not uncommon to go through 1 quart per ~3K miles, particularly if you do a lot of harsher driving.

Try oil without the aftermarket additive, and try some of the top-tier stuff. Rotella T6 and "German" Castrol (often called "GC" in the Subaru world) 0W30 are both considered near-magical in the Subaru community, but individual vehicle's "preference" for oil tends to be quite unique.

My LGT saw better UOAs on GC than on Mobil 1 5W30, but I had a reliable 1/4 of a quart consumption over a 3K miles/3-months OCI with the GC, whereas she never drank a drop of the M1. My wife's WRX and FXTs (now our second FXT, first was an '09, the current one a '13) also all did/are doing quite well on M1 5W30, with no noticeable consumption over their recommended OCIs.

In your shoes, before you starting to upgrade the car, I'd like to find out where that oil is going.

Def agree I want to get it checked again before I start upgrades. I almost didn't even consider doing anything to the car besides looks because of how high the mileage was. I drive about an hour to work and an hour home plus all the other driving I do so I'd say over 100 miles a day. Thats def something I didn't consider before asking if the oil issue was common. Whats your opinion on the matter considering how consistantly I drive the car?

Also do you think it would be stupid to do any upgrades with a motor at 167xxx?

If you think I can do some possible upgrades without any concern (considering the oil problem I have isn't really a problem) what upgrades should i consider?

[TSi+WRX]

Originally Posted by 0LGT5

Whats your opinion on the matter considering how consistantly I drive the car?

I honestly don't know.

Some cars just drink more than others, and given that your car already has over 160K miles on the odo, it could be very normal.

Given that mechanically it checked-out with your friend - which included a compression check - then it really should be OK, but I'm just wondering if it's something that can't be "seen" easily, which is where the UOA comes into play.

Also do you think it would be stupid to do any upgrades with a motor at 167xxx?

Not necessarily.

"Stage II" is a very conservative power level for these vehicles, and we've got many examples in the community of daily-driven 4th-generation LGTs that have accrued many, many trouble-free miles while at this level of upgrades.

Being sure that the car is mechanically sound before starting is critical, but given the vehicle's age, I also think it would be smart to have a backup form of transportation available if this car truly is your daily-driver.

If you think I can do some possible upgrades without any concern (considering the oil problem I have isn't really a problem) what upgrades should i consider?

Wheels and tires - this instantly makes the vehicle perform significantly better.

Look at the suspension as well. Springs and shocks are probably pretty tired by this point, and while you're down there, you can also tinker with things like the anti-roll bars and mounts (especially reinforcing or repairing - or both - for the rear).

Get the brake-line recall taken care of, if you're a part of that demographic. After that's sorted out, replace the brake fluid and look at upgrading the brake pads to something appropriate for your needs.

[0LGT5]

alright TSI+WRX today I checked out my car underneath to see if it was leaking and still no sign, but I was able to crawl a little under the car. I noticed the heat shield to my oil filter was covered in oil sludge and the bottom of the oil filter was all wet of oil so my assumption is thats why I'm losing so much oil. My guess is the o ring is shot and has a crack of some sort thats slowly allowing oil to escape. So instead of waiting until the 5,000 oil change I'm just gonna do it at 3,000 switch to Mobil 1 and get a new oil plug and washer I believe is with the plug? Do you think my assumption that it's the o ring is correct considering that the filter is covered in oil?

[TSi+WRX]

^ That's certainly my first thought. If whomever serviced the car last was over-aggressive screwing-on the filter, that certainly could have caused a slow leak.

Hope that's really all it is!