maverick629 Posted April 17, 2017 Share Posted April 17, 2017 Hello! I have a 2000 Subaru Legacy L wagon with almost 99k miles on it. I bought it used with 86k miles on it and they said they did the headgaskets. I went from 10w-30 oil to 5w-30 conventional oil for the winter. I just went about 150 miles and the oil reading went from full to halfway in the drive. I looked under the car and took pictures of the engine because I wasn't sure if the headgaskets are going out. I have been doing oil changes myself every 3k miles along with the filter. Here are some pictures of the engine. It seems that the oil pan is leaking too. Thanks for reading and helping! Here is a link to the pictures: http://imgur.com/a/AhaVL Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RumbleRumble Posted April 17, 2017 Share Posted April 17, 2017 Always use 5-30 oil unless you live in a really hot region where it's like 90+ degrees Fahrenheit all the time. Fram filters suck you can buy 6pack of subaru filters online for 30$ Oil leaks are a little tricky to track. Grab some some degreaser and spray and wipe down all oil areas then recheck. Loosing that much oil doesn't sounds like head gaskets with out it over heating. I always check my oil on level ground with the engine cold. Make sure you replace the crush washer every oil change. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sara32013 Posted April 17, 2017 Share Posted April 17, 2017 You can't check the oil after the car has been running. You must check it when cold for an accurate reading. Looking at the pictures I would say your head gaskets are fine. Your oil pan gasket, and valve cover gaskets look like they maybe seeping a little. Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RustyRuu Posted April 17, 2017 Share Posted April 17, 2017 that oil pump may be seeping too. make sure its not in the timing belt cover just by removing the driver side access panel and seeing if there is any oily residue on the belt. it can cause expanding in the belt leading to bad timing or just corrode the belt so bad it breaks. both not so good. i doubt it though there are no drips from the timing belt cover drains. I saw them the last time my cover was off looking for just that. our timing belt covers have them on the low spots so they don't hold fluids. Brilliant. as for oil, did you check it cold and then after your trip when it was hot? or hot and then cold the next/ same day. I'm gonna be the devils advocate here and apologize in advance. I have always done. get the fluid out of the oil pan and into everything else for a accurate reading. check cold engine... yes there is oil... good... start it. run engine 30sec to 1min... check it, it will be different, true engine oil reading. hot engine. real oil running level. and our dipsticks have hot and cold level readings. the notch on the side is cold F and the hole "o" towards the top notch is the hot F. the point i'm getting at is there are two ways to reading oil. hot and cold. just what you prefer i guess, i do both, but never with the engine on, always off. but be consistent, you check it cold once and hot another time it'll be different. it is really hard to burn oil via head gasket, as in it would have to mix with coolant first then the combustion chamber, it would burn from worn rings more. your oil is just seeping and doesn't seem like you are losing much externally. have you changed your PCV (positve crankcase vent) lately? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
maverick629 Posted April 17, 2017 Author Share Posted April 17, 2017 Thanks to all who replied! I did check the next day cold engine on level surface. I have not touched my PCV since I owned the car. Also I could not find crush washers easily so I used a rubber one. Is there a general size for the crush washers I can find easily or should I order online? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sara32013 Posted April 17, 2017 Share Posted April 17, 2017 If the crush washers are for the oil drain plug, check Rock Auto. They are insanely cheap but you may want to wait until you need to order a few other things to justify shipping cost Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RumbleRumble Posted April 18, 2017 Share Posted April 18, 2017 Pep boys has them. Dorman makes them. Part# 059-159 You can buy five packs from the dealer but if your order the six pack of filters from subaru on Amazon they send you six oem washers. You can take your pcv out and clean it brake clean for now until you get a new one. There 10$? From the dealer. I buy cheap ones cause I change it every time in do the air filter. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
OLsubedrvr Posted April 22, 2017 Share Posted April 22, 2017 Check/replace your pcv & the tube, and the return tube, also air filter to see signs of oil Those can clog & suck oil. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Archived
This topic is now archived and is closed to further replies.