Beginning to hate scooby ownership now. Seems i spend all my spare time
either spending money on it or worrying about it breaking again!
I have already had 1 rebuild.

Story goes:

I was changing the oil the other day....... the **** way!
I could not get the oil pressure light to go out with crank sensor disconnected. So i just fired it up. The light went out.
I went round to front of car for a few seconds, came back round and the oil pressure light was on. Quickly shut the engine off.
Checked the level and it had gone off the stick! gulp. Yet i had filled it to level before? Maybe i had a false reading?. Did not want to measure it in for risk of over filling. Wish i had nowL. Anyway topped it up again (took about another 0.5 litres)
Re started and light went out. Now im paranoid ive done damage to the big ends?
Engine seems to run fine and its done 60 miles with no noises. What are the chances of bearing damage?

Is it just imprezas that carry this awful cloud of bearing problems. I never used to worry like this before with my old cars and I used to thrash em and abuse em with no probs. Seems Ive been sucked in by Scooby myths and need a lesson from his majesty PSL! ……maybe not eh?!

 

The longer you stay on here, the more paranoid you can get.

Just use it like any other car.

It is not made of tissue paper, its one of the most reliable car you can get!

Ted.

 

Its also stuff like "ooohh i wouldnt trust a after market filter" Jesus is the engine really gonna die just cos i use a halfords filter. I only use these cos halfors are closer than subaru and are open sundays.

 

The fact your car is running fine shows that the **** method is a waste of time and it didn't work according to plan. Use it as you would any other car, treat it with respect and don't let the scaremongerers get to you again...

 

It probably only seems that theyre unreliable because whats a more likely post name:

"Oil pressure low, Big End Damage?"

-or-

"just been out in me car, all's well thanks, she's running fine"

oh god, I hope i havent started anything here

 

I have always had Ford's and my Sierra Cosworth had its engine rebuilt to 400 bhp at a cost of Ł7000 (absolute madness). The car was very quick but uncontrollable on the road. The engine always had oil leaks and generally the car caused me problems. I then changed to my Impreza. Paid Ł6k for the car and have had it two years now without any problems and I drive my cars very hard indeed. BUT I do use genuine Subaru parts, and ALWAYS use genuine oil filters every 3k miles. PLEASE DONT USE HALFORDS JOBBIES!! You are asking for trouble. The Subaru ones only cost about Ł5 and are made for your car, to Subaru's tight tolerances. I love my Subaru and will never go back to Fords, infact i'm just about to buy another one - possibly a P1 if I can find a decent one!

Andy

 

i dont get it, whats the **** way....

i have got a funny feeling im going to regret asking that lol


John

 

Had my scoob 2 years and modified it from day 1. It gets plenty of stick but is well maintained and it has never let me down.

 

CALLING PS LEWIS!

 

The **** Oil Change:-

Well its basically where you remove the crank sensor and crank it over until pressure builds (yes, I know, it does MORE damage cranking at such a low speed for longer, but the ***** won't have it!)

Some REAL ***** actually soak their oil filters overnight - yes, I know!! But apparently its true

Anyway, the old women that do the **** Oil Change have now developed a procedure and it is, as follows:-

The **** Oil Change:-

1. Remove Oil Filler Cap, 'gently' - take at least 5 minutes or the threads will strip and the exhaust will fall off in a weeks time.

2. Carefully jack up the front of car, make sure that only the 'special' car jacking points are used or the steering wheel will be upside down next time you see it (the special jack points are only known to a select few, not the main dealers!)

3. Locate the Sump Plug, do this using an Inspection Lamp with a 100W bulb - do not, under any circumstances, use a bulb of lower wattage or the splash cover under the engine will melt and pieces will be sucked up into the MAF and then immediate engine failure will occur.

4. Undo Sump Plug whilst humming 'Oil Be Home For Xmas' - do NOT sing any other song or the Radio will never tune into any local stations again and the aerial will need to be replaced at the next service.

5. Allow Oil to drain into a Tupperware Perspex Jug - use only perspex as other plastics react with the old oil and particles travel back through the draining oil and attack the Big-End Bearings.

6. Whilst Oil is draining run around car 15 times in a Morris Dancing Outfit with the special Subaru bells attached to shoes.

7. Remove Oil Filter by unscrewing anti-clockwise 5 times, then clockwise 2 times, continue until filter is free ..... failure to do this will result in the new Filter not filling up with Oil on start-up.

8. Fill Oil Filter with Oil and screw new Oil Filter on and replace Sump Plug - there is some discussion about the order that these need to be replaced, many an evening in a B.O. smelling corner of a dark pub has been spent mulling over the merits of both choices ..... there is a 'special' way, but we are not sure what it is yet.

9. Start filling the engine with Oil - Synthetic only please!! and of course, Subarus need 'special' Oil - Mobil made a 'special' Oil just for us!!

10. Now it gets complicated, the engine start procedure ...... remove the spark plugs, coil packs and battery - remove the seats and rear boot/tailgate - ensure Octane Booster is removed from tank as it might spontaneously start the car when you are not ready - take the drive belts off - turn engine over, s....l....o....w....l....y - engine should be turned over at least 67 times to ensure adequate Oil film coverage.

11. Return all components and start engine whilst whistling the theme tune to TITANIC ................ if you are VERY lucky the engine will not shoot a con-rod through the block (this normally happens to MY96 cars which are MicaPink in colour) - but ALL Model Years can be affected equally as bad.

12. If the engine started without any problems, then don't be smug as the MAF sensor will blow up your engine within 3 days in any case!!!!!

------------------------------------------------

Do NOT do what Subaru Recomends and ALL the Main Dealers do:-

Change Oil - start engine - check for Oil drips - return to customer!!

Or hell will come to supper!!

Pete

 

cheers pete, you are the ledgend people say you are lol


cheers

John

 

What a complete load of crap....



















Tupperware do not make Perspex jugs

 

Is that the only error you spotted???????????????????????????????????????????

Pete

 

Well that and the fact that Mobil is sh*t oil

 

Agreed, why buy MOBIL at silly prices when COMMA sell the same much cheaper??

Pete

 

I had my oil changed at Powerstation and Thames Valley Motorsport and neither of them used the "**** method". Both places prefilled the filter (just once), and then filled the engine with the right amount of oil, then left it to stand for 30mins or so while they did other service jobs. Then checked it again before starting the engine.

 

perspex jug, i thought most of that was a bit iffy... lol

why are people so serious these days,

 

you guys make me laugh!

 

P S Lewis.

 

brilliant Mr Lewis as ever!!! Your posts always bring a smile to my face.

 

No no, don't worry......the dip stick only measures up to the last half(ish) litre

You can still have 4litres of oil in the sump and see NOTHING on the diptick...This WILL NOT damage your engine - there is still 4 litres in there, just you can't see it(or measure it) - 0.5litres will make hardly any difference ....If you had to add another 4litres to bring it back the MAX level, then you'd have a serious problem But you didn't need to, so it's not a problem.

I am getting rather tired of pointing out to people that the dipstick does not go to bottom of the sump, and people run round like mad when they see nothing on it, when there is still plenty of oil in there...nearly all cars on the road are like this - always have been. Sorry, it's not personal, just far too many people makes a song and dance when they find the level is below minimum and only have to add half a litre to bring it back.

If you put 4litres in...As long as you have put the sump plug back in, there is still 4 litres in there. Regardless of what the dipstick says.

It is also very common for the engine not to build up pressure whilst cranking the "****" way - especially with the sparkplugs still fitted. This is why I don't bother. Put simply, in my opinion, the engine doesn't spin over fast enough to purge any air and prime the pump. 30+ seconds of cranking, fried starter motor and drained battery vs 2 seconds of idling before the light goes out (which equates to roughly the same amount of total revolutions for both procedures ), it's a personal choice...where I go for the latter option.

As for the light going back on. This is NOT an issue of lack of oil, by your own admission you said you added 0.5litres to go back to max, so there is at least 4litres in there....No problem!

As a note (and don't take this too seriously and get paranoid, just keep it in mind)... An engine with worn bearings will struggle to prime and produce good oil pressure, if it does have a big end fail - be in the knowledge that your engine was most likely was in this condition BEFORE the oil change.

It however could be just a slug of air, or your oil pressure sender is a bit dodgy - So keep a watchful eye....If your that paranoid, then get someone to properly check the oil pressure both hot and cold with a gauge.

Many people blame thier shagged engines on the oil change due to it being so close to a engine failure. Truth is, the engine was knackered before and the oil change finished it off - its not just Subarus this happens to.

 

sorry but I do not understand why you need to disconnect a sensor to change the oil. When Subaru mechanics here change my oil they undo a nut on the bottom of the engine and all the old oil falls out, once they replace the nut on the bottom, they then undo a cap on the top of the engine and pour new oil in! job done!! no lights no problems no engine failures! so what is the difference between my MY00 Classic sourced in Germany and your MY00 Classics sourced in the UK??

 

Nothing, its like pslewis says, too many people feel the need to adopt the **** oil change procedure instead of being sensible and doing just what's required. I would **** myself laughing if any of my techs adopted this policy, they never have and never will and we've been servicing impreza turbos since 1994!

 

The experts of Scoobynet have spoken, do not question them!

 

The **** way?? You fannied around with all that other guff and you didn't even bother to measure out the correct amount of oil before adding it??

HOW THE HELL is that ****??

There are so many people on here going on about cranking the engine, filling the oil filter etc.. WHAT KIND OF DRUGS ARE YOU ON??

You simply drain the oil, remove the filter, replace the filter and sump bolt then look up how much oil is required and make sure you put that much in!!

It really is that simple! You don't need to get a bishop round to bless the engine before you start it, you don't need 7 virgins to tighten your sump nut, you really don't!

 

Pity

Like hens teeth round here anyway

 

Some people do it to allow the engine to turn over without firing. The idea is that it allows the engine oil to get around the engine before the loads involved with running are applied to the bearings.

However, the engine needs to be spinning at speed to create the oil wedge that it actually runs on.

The only bit of the change procedure that maybe worth it, is to put some oil in the filter first, the spillage at least stops the O'ring from picking up and displacing as you screw it in.

 

That makes no sense? Turning the engine over the the starter or by hand puts load on the bearings, the pistons are still creating compression (pushing back against the crank) so there is wear on the big and little ends exactly as there would be under normal running, the only difference being the oil pump will be generating no where near enough pressure at this speed of revolution to circulate the oil so in fact you will be placing more wear on the engine if anything.

 

wonders if i can have seven virgins to help me change my oil

 

Thanks Ali B. Prob was just a glug of air or sticky sensor.


hhmm.... how low in the sump does the pick up pipe go to then?
i.e how little oil would have to be in there for the pick up pipe to miss the oil causing a loss of pressure/oil flow?