2003 Subaru Forester Oil Change

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Okay so we have had this car for a year now, but last time the oil was changed was at an Oil Can Henry's.. we were busy and it NEEDED done.

So now it's my turn. The car has 5W30 castrol in it... no clue which castrol though. Im guessing GTX.

Now the vehicle, even though it is a 2003 model, has only 19,500 miles. We bought from an old woman who had gotten alzheimers shortly after her purchase. Either way.. I want a good 5W30 oil for this thing. I was thinking SHELL ROTELLA T5 5W30... as I know all rotella oils are excellent and that they will give a long OCI... which is want my Mom wants.

SO Rotella 5W30 is what I am thinking. Local Autozone has 5 quaarts and a filter for $30 on PP... but I dont know.

As far as filter, I think I will just go with a Wix or Bosch Distance plus. Thoughts? I personally run a OEM Mann (black can) on my BMW. I better stock up on them actually... before they are NLA!

- Andrew
 
i would take PP over T5 any day!! its about the best you can get for the money, accept maybe QSUD
if cost is an issue any good dino would do well. i like the qs alot, good price and a stout add pac!

sounds like you got things figured out on what filters are good. bosch, wix, napa gold, fram extended guard and purolator are my favs.

btw T5 is 10/30
 
What if I find Mobil 1 on sale? We have about 3000 miles on the last change (last change was overdue so stupid place set next OC much sooner).
 
First off, Rotella T5 comes in a 10w-30. Should not be a problem though. Was about $16 a gallon at wally world last time I checked. Yes, it's excellent. Just remember it takes 4.2 quarts though.

Mobil synthetics seems to cause bearing failure in turbo'd subaru engines. My friend has run Mobil clean 5000 in a '96 legacy from 150k-220k, so you be the judge. UOA's of M1 in subaru EJ engines show pretty high iron levels.....

Wix? I like their filters, but the bypass pressure is not high enough-I'd stick with OEM (Honeywell) or purolator. No experience with Bosch.

electro-I think I saw a UOA on a 2.5x forester on here that ran PP and gave good results, so that's not a bad pic either.
 
Originally Posted By: 5Toes
What if I find Mobil 1 on sale? We have about 3000 miles on the last change (last change was overdue so stupid place set next OC much sooner).


mobil 1 is a good oil and it has many oem on its side, very respected here. the iron levels are a little high sometimes on the UOAs.....

And in my opinion a couple short (3k) ocis would not be a bad idea with this car. just in case it has some kind of build up from short trips and missed oil changes.
if it were mine i would run PP with two 3k ocis and then move up to 5k and then a little higher if thats what your looking for. i wouldnt push it past 7k with out a UOA

T5 should have no problem going 5k or farther either, it is a very good oil. Im just a PP fan.
smile.gif
 
Originally Posted By: 5Toes
Okay so we have had this car for a year now, but last time the oil was changed was at an Oil Can Henry's.. we were busy and it NEEDED done.

So now it's my turn. The car has 5W30 castrol in it... no clue which castrol though. Im guessing GTX.

Now the vehicle, even though it is a 2003 model, has only 19,500 miles. We bought from an old woman who had gotten alzheimers shortly after her purchase. Either way.. I want a good 5W30 oil for this thing. I was thinking SHELL ROTELLA T5 5W30... as I know all rotella oils are excellent and that they will give a long OCI... which is want my Mom wants.

SO Rotella 5W30 is what I am thinking. Local Autozone has 5 quaarts and a filter for $30 on PP... but I dont know.

As far as filter, I think I will just go with a Wix or Bosch Distance plus. Thoughts? I personally run a OEM Mann (black can) on my BMW. I better stock up on them actually... before they are NLA!

- Andrew



oil can henry`s?? what the [censored] is that?
 
Oil can Henrys is a oil quicky lube that carries castrol as their main oil. They are all around here in WA and they are expensive. 45 bucks for a gtx oil change. And of course they will try to up sale you to a syntec oil change for 100 dollars. Not a good place to do business.
 
Rotella T5 only comes a 0w-30, 0w-40, 10w-30, and 10w-40. I haven't seen the 0w varieties around here.

Use whichever oil is cheaper. I use T5 in my WRX during the winter. Works great.
 
An NA Subaru is not a BMW.
It doesn't need any special oil.
Any oil will do, and Subaru even allows the owner a wide selection of grades.
Anyway, our Forester seems fine on any oil I've had in it, while the Impreza seems fine on PP and would be just as fine on anything else.
PP or M1 would be good choices in either 5W or 10W-30, although any synthetic would be okay, if that's what you prefer.
The Subaru probably doesn't need it.
I would probably go at least 5K on a change with either oil.
For a filter, there are good deals after MIR on Purolator Classics, P1s and Bosch D+ oil filters.
Any of them would be fine for the car.
Finally, if you've never changed the oil in a Subie, you're in for a treat.
You can probably change it yourself in less time than it took for you to drive to and wait for the job to get done at Oil Can Henry's.
You may need a special wrench to get to the oil filter.
You don't with the Impreza, but you sure do with the Forester.
 
I'd go with the Shell Rotella T5, it is a excellent HDEO oil, perfect for a car that might need a little more than average cleaning due to some severe service operation or slight neglect.

Maybe do a couple of OC with the Shell Rotella then go back to a regular oil, any major brand on sale will do perfectly.
 
Originally Posted By: fdcg27
An NA Subaru is not a BMW.
It doesn't need any special oil.
Any oil will do, and Subaru even allows the owner a wide selection of grades.
Anyway, our Forester seems fine on any oil I've had in it, while the Impreza seems fine on PP and would be just as fine on anything else.
PP or M1 would be good choices in either 5W or 10W-30, although any synthetic would be okay, if that's what you prefer.
The Subaru probably doesn't need it.
I would probably go at least 5K on a change with either oil.
For a filter, there are good deals after MIR on Purolator Classics, P1s and
Bosch D+ oil filters.
Any of them would be fine for the car.
Finally, if you've never changed the oil in a Subie, you're in for a treat.
You can probably change it yourself in less time than it took for you to drive to and wait for the job to get done at Oil Can Henry's.
You may need a special wrench to get to the oil filter.
You don't with the Impreza, but you sure do with the Forester.


I have a 2010 Forester X no special wrench needed to expose filter, perhaps on turbos only?
 
Oh and the change is a piece of cake, you can get subaru filters by the case online 5.75 shipped. Good filters, made by Honeywell in Canada.
 
You can get your hand up between the exhaust headers to remove the filter?
I know I can't, especially when the thing has been run and is ready for a drain.
 
Oh yeah I can reach but I get it loose first with a wrench, wear gloves to hand turn it, avoided that burn...and be quick to turn! I thought you meant a cover over it of some sort.
 
Yep, run any 5W-30 that you want. I had always run MaxLife or Penzoill HM in a 00 RS and a 99 Outback, but the RS just got PP. I was doing 5-6k intervals on both cars with conventional or blends.

-Dennis
 
Originally Posted By: fdcg27
An NA Subaru is not a BMW.
It doesn't need any special oil.
Any oil will do, and Subaru even allows the owner a wide selection of grades.
Anyway, our Forester seems fine on any oil I've had in it, while the Impreza seems fine on PP and would be just as fine on anything else.
PP or M1 would be good choices in either 5W or 10W-30, although any synthetic would be okay, if that's what you prefer.
The Subaru probably doesn't need it.
I would probably go at least 5K on a change with either oil.
For a filter, there are good deals after MIR on Purolator Classics, P1s and Bosch D+ oil filters.
Any of them would be fine for the car.
Finally, if you've never changed the oil in a Subie, you're in for a treat.
You can probably change it yourself in less time than it took for you to drive to and wait for the job to get done at Oil Can Henry's.
You may need a special wrench to get to the oil filter.
You don't with the Impreza, but you sure do with the Forester.


Well my BMW doesn’t get any special oil… just cheap [censored] Rotella Triple Protection 15w40. Thanks for the tips.. and yeah Im not looking forward to doing this for the first time. My car… the oil is very straightforward.. and the filter is directly under the exhaust manifolds. My car is a 1989 BMW I6 325i by the way..


Originally Posted By: merdog
Oil can Henrys is a oil quicky lube that carries castrol as their main oil. They are all around here in WA and they are expensive. 45 bucks for a gtx oil change. And of course they will try to up sale you to a syntec oil change for 100 dollars. Not a good place to do business.


Yes, a very over-rated place. My Dad likes it there, because of their retarded camera [censored]. He isn’t too car savvy.. though is compared to most men.

Originally Posted By: nepadriver
Oh yeah I can reach but I get it loose first with a wrench, wear gloves to hand turn it, avoided that burn...and be quick to turn! I thought you meant a cover over it of some sort.


I got gloves… and I believe the filter wrench I have will do great if I hear this right. I have an old, high quality, valvoline wrench with the claws that operate like a pair of pliers.


So I will likely do this over the weekend, and I think I will go with CASTROL Edge and a Mobil 1 Filter from O reilly for $30. I have always admired Castrol products, and it is a good deal.

Its either edge, PP, or Valvoline Synpower. I like castrol most
smile.gif
 
That wrench will work, its a tight fit and you cant get a horizontal hold around the filter on your Subie, but a tight grip on the bottom and a twist will make it loose enough.
 
Well [censored]. Just remembered we have about a case of PYB in the garage in 5W30... old stuff from likely about 2003 ish. Guess Im using that up!
 
Originally Posted By: fdcg27
You can get your hand up between the exhaust headers to remove the filter?
I know I can't, especially when the thing has been run and is ready for a drain.


OP's Subie is a N/A 2003 - I don't think they wrapped the N/A exhaust around the oil filter until later. But then I've never been under a 2003 Forester, so I don't know for sure.

Get a disposable plastic cup or cut off the bottom of plastic bottle, one that is a bit larger in diameter than the filter. Crack the filter loose with a wrench, then put the cup over the filter, squeeze and turn. Repeat until the filter drops into the cup. The oil drains into the cup instead of running down your arm.
 
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