Hi Guys,
As the title suggests.....had the oil changed about a month ago (magnatec 10W/40 semi.) and I seem to be putting oil in all the time (about 3 litres since the oil change).
Don't think my turbo is capable of burning that much oil but there you go.
No obvious signs of any leaks as well.
Haelp guys,any ideas would be appreciated.
Paul

 

may seem like an obvious question but are you getting blue smoke out the back??

 

Can you smell oil when sitting at idle. Possibly a rocker cover gasket leak is contributing to the loss - although I wouldnt have expected to loose that much.

Pop the plugs out, if its burning that much it maybe obvious from the state of the plugs.

 

It's got to be leaking somewhere surely. 3 litres in amonth is a lot of oil. - Take the undertray off and have a look at it - I had a leaky rocker cover gasket and had no idea (mainly becuase I was losing very little oil) It collects on the undertray so you never see it pooling under the car.

 

If its done what I suspect alot of these engines do, You'll be needing a compression check to identify which piston has the holes melted in it. First check is to run it with the oil cap removed and placing your hand on the filler and feeling if the crankcase is being pressurised.

That much oil use on this car in such a short space usually means one of three things: Holed piston, broken piston ring(s), or a very leaky turbo.You can pray its going to be something less serious, but the odds are against you. They don't always smoke when this happens (depending on severity), but if it does, its a sure sign.

 

Hi,
Just started it up,removed the oil filler cap and placed my hand over it,there is pressure there.With the cap removed,it is puffing fumes or smoke out in time with the pistons going up and down.when I removed my hand,there is a ring of oil on it like the pressure is blowing it up.
Does not seem to be smoking too much either

Is this ok?
Paul

 

Sounds like broken piston rings to me. A holed piston will push oil out faster than you would believe as soon as you get some boost pressure (speaking from experience in an Esprit Turbo - 5 litres in 1/4 mile and enough smoke to obscure a dual carriageway)

Matthew

 

any way of checking if it is broken piston rings and if so, what is involved in changing them........
is this a case of taking it to A SUBARU garage and paying through the nose?

 

Aviod main dealer like the plague unless you have a big wallet!!

 

Any piston problem will result in a loss of compression on the affected cylinder. Any local garage with a competent mechanic should be able to perform a compression test on each cylinder for you, you dont need a subaru specialist for that.

As stated, dont take it to main dealer. Ask around on here, probably in the General forum, for a recommended specialist in your area.

When you or the garage needs to source parts API Engines ( Welcome to the API website ) comes with a good reputation and I've heard that David (who posts on here as APIDavid) is very good indeed and takes the time to offer advice.

Hope you get it sorted.