2003 forester burning oil.

Aeloesh

Forum Member
Joined
Sep 20, 2016
Messages
18
Location
washington usa
Car Year
2003
Car Model
Forester
Transmission
Auto
So the first time I changed my oil after owning the car it was low.I'm running penzoil platinum high milage full senthetic. I've noticed the oil level is at least a quart low. Anyone else have this issue? Is it normal and if not what might be some causes.
 
Need to know how many kms you did in this time. What viscosity?
 
I cannot remember how much a quart is! Also, what distance has the car done?
 
1/ - probably a bit thin for such an old beast. Try something thicker in summer (15w40) - how cold does it get where you are?
2/ - check your plugs and see if the oil is being burnt in just one cylinder (something's busted in it - eg: oil control ring), or they all look the same.

If all the plugs look the same -- then maybe its too-thin oil, general wear and tear, or you're loosing it somewhere else (leaks, blowby, faulty PCV Valve).

Some just burn a small amount of oil all the time.. best thing to do is regular changes (5k)
 
A quart approximates to a litre.
For comparison my MY03, 2002, Forester with original motor at almost 350000 kms uses "about" 0.5 to 1 litre between regular changes. I tend to use 10W40 synthetic most of the time. I change oil and filter "about" every 6000 kms.
I consider this pretty good for the age and distance.
 
@Rally: a US quarts is very roughly, approximately, a litre.

Good advice from Duncan. How many miles on the clock?

Does the oil change colour fairly quickly? i.e. start to go orange/brown fairly quickly? Say, within 500-1000 kms.

Wipe the inside of your tailpipe with your finger (watch out for sharp edges!). Is the residue 1) oily, 2) smell of burnt oil?

Get someone else to drive while you follow. Under moderately hard acceleration, does it blow smoke? At a steady speed? If so, what colour is the smoke in each case?

Even new, 5W-30 FS is a bit thin for here in Oz, IMNSHO. I run 5W-40 FS Shell Helix Ultra in both ours, and they are both under 120K kms. Neither uses any noticeable amount of oil between changes - 12,000 kms or 24 months ...

Perhaps avoid anything as heavy as 15W-40 at first, specially coming into winter! Look for the things Duncan has suggested. I would give 10W-40 FS a go first up. Check your oil when cold at least once a week. Keep a record of the usage!
 
Winter here gets mostly 30° but can get below that. I'll check the plugs as soon aso I can. It's had newith head gaskets and what not done before I bought it. I keep up with the maintenance. Right now it's setting below 4k since the last oil change. I suppose I could run a thinker oil and see what happens.
 
The last time I checked and added it was still really clean looking.
 
Just crawled under it and seems to be wet on the pan. Around the gasket and the plug. So I'm assuming pan gasket and plug gasket.
 
Sounds suspicious to me ;)

You have to fit a new plug gasket every time it's removed.
 
Well didn't know that. I'll pick one up and get that fixed. However it's wet around the top of the pan as well. May just swap the gasket whIle doing the oil change.
 
Yeah, a number of seals are like this in most (all?) modern cars. Crushable seal, one time use only.

Sounds very much like your sump gasket is leaking too. I'm not sure if a sealant is recommended for this or not. Back in the old days (think 1960s-1980s ... ), I used Silastic on most gaskets - obviously not on head, inlet, exhaust. It forms a good seal on slightly deformed surfaces. In an emergency, it can be used without a gasket at all in many places! Good stuff.
 
30F ? -- 15w may be a little thick, though its not much below freezing.

I'd check your owners manual and start by running the thickest recommended oil for your expected ambient temps.

Car manufacturers are being pushed into thinner and thinner oils for various reasons - like fuel economy. Not always the best for the engine or circumstances.

Sounds like you have a leaky gasket somewhere - but 'a bit wet' is much less than a litre of oil. If you lost all that through a leak, it'll be splattered all over the subframe, trans and floorpan from engine back.
 
First I've heard of changing the gaskets everytime you pull the plug. However that's not saying much. I'm aware of the what we call gasket maker. I've used it on things myself. Lookso like it's been used on my sump/pan so I'm assuming the pan gasket has been changed before. Pans a tad beat up but doesn't appear to be to bad. Going to grab a couple of the plug gaskets though so I have them.
 
From what I've noticed it is. I havent noticed any signs of burning though. No smoke smells or anything. However going to check all possibilities.
 
Silastic is great because it is only very mildly adhesive - i.e. it peels off very easily.

It was the only stuff that would prevent oil leakage from the rocker cover/cam cover gasket on every BMC/Leyland car I ever owned or worked on. Many other vehicle engines also used the same poor design for the cover/s and gaskets.
 
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