Oil recommendation for 2002 Subaru Outback 2.5L

[tired]

Hi guys,

I need an oil recommendation for the wife's 2002 Subaru Outback 4-cylinder 2.5L.

- Owner's manual says 5W-30 recommended, API SL or SJ.

- It has had Quaker State 5W-30 run in it since it came from the dealer. It's been changed regularly every 3000 miles. Now that I'm taking over maintenance I want to put synthetic in it and lengthen the OCIs to 5000 miles, maybe 7500 miles if the oil can take it.

- This is probably the most important point: we live in southern Minnesota. HARD, cold, wet winters are the norm. It will have several days to a week of sub-zero degree (-18 C) starting temps. It will be below freezing for several months a year. This is the main reason I'm asking. I want to run something in it that will lengthen the life of the engine and keep it running for 200K miles plus. It is garaged but when we're leaving work it will be started inside a parking deck so the engine will be at ambient temperature (-5F, -20C is not uncommon in the winter).

- It's driven pretty soft. It's a daily driver. 6 mile commute daily. About 85% city driving 15% highway.

- No known issues with the car. Had the engine replaced under warranty at 30,000 miles due to a dealership error. Hopefully this will head off some of the head gasket issues. Car has 80K on it, current engine 50K miles.

I'd prefer to put synthetic in it just for better cold starting. I don't mind buying online vs. in-store, whichever has a good price. I have bought Castrol Syntec and Mobil 1 at Advance Auto Parts and Autozone in the past with a filter for about $30. I like this deal. I think they have Pennzoil Platinum plus PureOne filter for $27 right now.

What do you guys recommend? Do you think I should drop down to a 0W-40 for better cold starts?

 

[Oregoonian]

Suggest using M1 0w30....for better starting.....and an OCI of 6000 miles.

 

[Eddie]

I prefere PP in the 5w30 wt. Either will go to the max of 7500 miles easley. I had my 2000 Forester running PP5w30 and Blackstone labs said I should go out to 8,000 miles based on my 6,000 mile UOA.

 

[Xstang]

This car sounds like a candidate for German Castrol 0w-30. It's kinda hard to find though.

Rotella T6 5w-40 is my favorite for almost any Subaru EJ motor for being a very robust oil, but GC is going to flow better and still have good viscosity when warmed up.

Quaker state ultimate durability might be fine. A 5 quart jug of 5w-30 is $19 at wally world-it's one of the better cheap synthetics out there.

 

[Hollow]

I'd go with Quaker State Ultimate Durability 5w30 or Pennzoil Platinum 5w30.

Rotella T6 is good for the summer months.

That being said, I've been running Formula Shell or Pennzoil for 5k OCI lately. Started right up in -5F this winter, just let it idle while I dug it out and cleaned it off and it gave me no complaints.

 

[saberz]

So you have been running QS dealer bulk. Why bother switching? Many of todays conventional can provide more than adequate cold weather starting and unless you live in sub -32* weather it won't make to much of a difference(notice i said "to much"). Why change what has been working?

If your stuck on the synthetic thing, go with 0w30 year round. M1 Green cap is a good deal.

 

[subiedriver]

I'd go with M1 0w-30 also, the new formula is improved, the mrv spec is down to 13,000, which is great.

 

[tired]

Anything I should bear in mind when switching from conventional to synthetic? Do I need to do anything different?

Mobil 1 has a nice rebate going now (http://www.mobiloil.com/USA-English/MotorOil/Promotions/Promotions.aspx) for $15 back when you buy 5 quarts of M1 plus a filter. I can get 5 quarts plus filter for $32 at Advance Auto (plus rebate). PP plus filter for $27.

Is it really okay to run 5W-30 in it year round? What additional protection does switching to a 0W-30 or 0W-40 oil provide?

What about the difference between 0W-30 and 0W-40?

 

[sicko]

Non-turbo Subaru engines are pretty easy on oil. You can run any quality oil for 5k miles in there (including conventional oils).

Pretty much any synthetic oil will work for you, just get it in the right weight (5w-30, or 0w-30 for better cold performance....though some Subaru owners like going with an Xw-40 bc they like thicker oil). Any of the name brand oils will protect your engine just fine. If one you like is on sale, use that

 

[sicko]

Non-turbo Subaru engines are pretty easy on oil. You can run any quality oil for 5k miles in there (including conventional oils).

Pretty much any synthetic oil will work for you, just get it in the right weight (5w-30, or 0w-30 for better cold performance....though some Subaru owners like going with an Xw-40 bc they like thicker oil). Any of the name brand oils will protect your engine just fine. If one you like is on sale, use that

 

[Eddie]

To answer the second question. No, there is nothing special you need to do when switching from dino to synthetic. Just change oil & filter as usual. Ed

 

[fdcg27]

Our Forester seems to do well with GC, and cranked right up on the coldest morning we had here last winter, a -14F Saturday, after a night outdoors.
The old Impreza was also quite happy to start with PP 5W-30, so I think any quality 5W-30 would work.
A syn with decently low cold numbers might be the best choice for winter.
WRT a 0W-XX, I don't know how much difference it would really make.
The '99 Accord was on M1 0W-30, while the '97 was on PP 5W-30.
Both started fine with no unusual noises.
The AFE might have done noticeably better at colder temperatures, as might the GC.

 

[tired]

Just wanted to follow up with you guys. Thanks for the help. I ended up going with M1 5W-30. It was on sale for $32 including a filter. I really wanted to get it in 0W-30 or 0W-40 but they were out of both. Engine sounds great. I'm definitely getting less piston slap than I did with the Kendall conventional 5W-30.

I think I'll run it for 5000-6000 and then try to put a 0W-30 or 40 in it before/during winter. O'Reilly is selling Pennzoil Platinum buy one get one free so I'll go check out their stock. I also need to pick up oil for my VW, and I've liked PP in the past in it.

 

[fdcg27]

Try the PP.
Cheaper than the M1, and seems just fine at low ambient temperatures in the cars I've used it in.
I am wondering whether I should use PP or G-oil 5W30 for the Forester this winter.
It will get one or the other, although I do have one more change of GC stashed, so I could use that.
I'll drain the VR1 10W-30 in late November/early December, and will then use whatever I choose in it until reasonable weather returns in March or April.

 

[Bill in Utah]

Originally Posted By: tired

- Owner's manual says 5W-30 recommended, API SL or SJ.

- It has had Quaker State 5W-30 run in it since it came from the dealer. It's been changed regularly every 3000 miles. Now that I'm taking over maintenance I want to put synthetic in it and lengthen the OCIs to 5000 miles, maybe 7500 miles if the oil can take it.

- It's driven pretty soft. It's a daily driver. 6 mile commute daily. About 85% city driving 15% highway.


Let's see. -5f below is not that cold. The engine does not know or care about if its a wet -5 below or "normal" -5 below.

Engine is EASY on the oil. VERY EASY. a 5w-30 has and will work with no problems. The QS that has been running is a excellent oil and will protect it just fine.

More important is the 6 miles a day. 30 miles a week. Lets double it just for giggles. So 60 miles a week equals 240 miles a month (I do that in 2 days easy)

240 miles times 12 months is a grand total of 2880 miles. (remember that I DOUBLED the miles so it could be LESS) Guess what you ARE the poster child for TIME BASED oil changes. So no matter what type of oil you use or how much you spend you NEED to CHANGE the oil quite often to get the moisture and byproducts of combustion OUT of the engine.

Even if you drove a 1000 mile trip EVERY MONTH (which would be nicer on the engine than short trip usage you are describing) your still below 15,000 miles a year.

With that all said, I'd recommend changing the oil every 4-6 months using ANY 5w-30 API SM/SN rated oil and all will be fine. I've had my Subaru in much lower temps with 5w-30 and it ran fine. Just sold it but the new owners will be driving it for a long time as most Subarus are operated.

I agree that the HG issue is prob NOT a issue with your engine but Subaru still requires (suggests) the conditioner for the coolant along with a change every 2 years or 30k miles.

Take care and enjoy the new ride!

Bill

PS:

 

[oggb]

HG issues: Use the "conditioner" (aka Bar's Stop-Leak, no joke) with every coolant change.

Cold starts: Use a good synthetic 0w-30 if you're super concerned. Otherwise, a good synthetic 5w-30 will work just as well.

Extended drains: This car obviously doesn't see much mileage (80k in 9 years) and your commute isn't long enough to get the oil up to operating temps. I'd stick with 5,000 mile oil changes.

 

[subiedriver]

I've been running M1 10w-30 HM in summer and M1 5w-30 HM in winter, in my '04 Legacy. Both oils are excellent for older subie's.

My mileage is 95% highway and I change the oil every 6-7K miles, I know its conservative, but 30 dollars worth of oil every 6 month's is cheap.

 

[AWDfreak]

Originally Posted By: JRed
HG issues: Use the "conditioner" (aka Bar's Stop-Leak, no joke) with every coolant change.


The "Subaru Cooling System Conditioner" is rebranded Holts Radweld. They're the same bottle:

http://s7.y77.us/se/img01/SUBARU-cooling...Radweld2-md.jpg

 

[tired]

Originally Posted By: Bill in Utah
Originally Posted By: tired

- Owner's manual says 5W-30 recommended, API SL or SJ.

- It has had Quaker State 5W-30 run in it since it came from the dealer. It's been changed regularly every 3000 miles. Now that I'm taking over maintenance I want to put synthetic in it and lengthen the OCIs to 5000 miles, maybe 7500 miles if the oil can take it.

- It's driven pretty soft. It's a daily driver. 6 mile commute daily. About 85% city driving 15% highway.


Let's see. -5f below is not that cold. The engine does not know or care about if its a wet -5 below or "normal" -5 below.

Engine is EASY on the oil. VERY EASY. a 5w-30 has and will work with no problems. The QS that has been running is a excellent oil and will protect it just fine.

More important is the 6 miles a day. 30 miles a week. Lets double it just for giggles. So 60 miles a week equals 240 miles a month (I do that in 2 days easy)

240 miles times 12 months is a grand total of 2880 miles. (remember that I DOUBLED the miles so it could be LESS) Guess what you ARE the poster child for TIME BASED oil changes. So no matter what type of oil you use or how much you spend you NEED to CHANGE the oil quite often to get the moisture and byproducts of combustion OUT of the engine.

Even if you drove a 1000 mile trip EVERY MONTH (which would be nicer on the engine than short trip usage you are describing) your still below 15,000 miles a year.

With that all said, I'd recommend changing the oil every 4-6 months using ANY 5w-30 API SM/SN rated oil and all will be fine. I've had my Subaru in much lower temps with 5w-30 and it ran fine. Just sold it but the new owners will be driving it for a long time as most Subarus are operated.

I agree that the HG issue is prob NOT a issue with your engine but Subaru still requires (suggests) the conditioner for the coolant along with a change every 2 years or 30k miles.

Take care and enjoy the new ride!

Bill

PS:

Thanks for the great advice. I suppose I'll stick with the M1 5W-30 then. O'Reilly has a sale for 1 gallon jug at $19.99 right now. I still have 800 mL left over from the previous change as well.

It's actually a 12 mile roundtrip commute. 6 miles each way. I should have been clearer. So far (at least in the summer) it's at operating temp for well over half the trip so hopefully that is a little better for the car.

What's this about an HG issue? What's HG? Looks like I'll have to find a DIY for a coolant flush now too. I'm used to my VW which claims that the coolant is a lifetime fluid.

Thanks again. Glad I found this great community.

 

[AWDfreak]

The EJ25 Phase II engines (the first of the SOHC EJ25 engines) are known to have external head gasket leaks. It is highly recommended you run the Holts Radweld/"Subaru Cooling System Conditioner" to seal the minor coolant seepage.

If you do put it in, read the directions carefully. Once you put it in, you shouldn't have to worry about head gaskets.