2008 Legacy - New Engine. (for friend) - oil recc

[97tbird]

Asking this for a friend:

She has a 2008 Subaru Legacy - 4 cyl non turbo, so I am assuming it's a 2.5L SOHC EJ253 H4 ?

She recently received a new engine from the dealer due to unsuccessful repair of head gasket failure of the old engine by dealer.

She wants to use synthetic oil now, on the NEW engine and wants to start ASAP, and asked me for recommendations. I told her i would post here and let her know..

--She still has the factory fill (probably dino?) on the new engine. IDK if it's a reman. or a brand new engine.
(have emailed her to ask - will update if she can find out)
EDIT : ENGINE IS BRAND NEW
--How long can / should she keep the factory fill before starting with the synthetic oil?

--AFAIK recommended oil is a 5w-30.
Apart from Subaru synthetic (does that even exist?), what other oils can she use? Any OTC synthetic?

--She wants to be careful and not stretch OCIs. Can she do 7,500 mile changes with synthetic or is 5,000 "safer"?
(she tells me that had done roughly 7000 miles OCIs with DINO oil on the old engine).

Any help/Advice will be appreciated.

 

[NHGUY]

If the dealer paid for it,its gotta be a rebuilt not a new.Particularly going into a 2008 which is 7-8 years old.

 

[Bandito440]

Glad to help.

Run the factory oil for 1,000 miles.

5w-30 API SN synthetic is fine. This non-turbo doesn't need anything special. Subaru does have their own 5w-30, which is made by Idemitsu. Feel free to use that if you want and can find it at reasonable cost.

I've been using NAPA's synthetic, which is very similar to Valvoline Synpower. It goes on sale regularly for something like $3.49/qt. Any 5w-30 synthetic you find at Wal-Mart will do fine.

Start with a few 5,000 mile OCIs and consider a UOA after the third to make sure everything is behaving. If all is well, move to 7,500.

Have her keep an eye on the oil level.

 

[97tbird]

OK Thanks for replies so far. She says ENGINE IS NEW, although dealer paid for it.... But doesn't explain how she knows that...
She sent me a pic of the invoice... will that help determine if it was really a new one or a rebuilt one?

NM: It's a reman - invoice states "REMAN SHORT BLOCK"

 

[Merkava_4]

I concur with what Bandito said.

 

[97tbird]

Ugh - more info - she already got an oil change on the NEW engine - she kept the factory fill for 5k miles.
Got it done at some no name place - has no idea what oil (possibly castrol synthetic)/ grade / filter

charged her $58

 

[Bandito440]

Originally Posted By: 97tbird
Ugh - more info - she already got an oil change on the NEW engine - she kept the factory fill for 5k miles.
Got it done at some no name place - has no idea what oil (possibly castrol synthetic)/ grade / filter

charged her $58

That's fine. Just get her on a good schedule. Subaru or Wix filters are a good choice.

 

[slacktide_bitog]

Any 5w30 synthetic should be fine for 7500.

 

[Kuato]

Yup, 7500 on a synthetic should be fine. Agree with Bandito also...especially about watching the oil level.

 

[anl0109]

Oil section of the owner's manual for a 2009 Subaru Forester with 2.5L non-turbo EJ25 engine (which I might buy one day) isn't much different than that of a 2002 MY with similar engine (which I actually own). 2008 Legacy had a similar engine. It says that 5W-30 is preferred and the following are listed as acceptable also depending on some conditions... 10W-30, 10W-40, 30, 40, 10W-50, 20W-40, 20W-50. The major change is a sub-section dedicated to synthetic oil. It reads...

"Synthetic oil
You can use synthetic engine oil that
meets the same requirements given for
conventional engine oil. When using
synthetic oil, you must use oil of the same
classification, viscosity and grade shown
in this Owner’s Manual, and must follow
the oil and filter changing intervals shown
in the maintenance schedule."

No particular brands required. We have a forum member here who used Walmart's SuperTech synthetic and Subaru's synthetic with great results on 9k+ OCI's in his 2008 Forester with same 2.5L N/A engine. Both were 5w-30 oils.

If you need a 2008 Legacy OM, you can look it up on Subaru's Web site. They have a ton of PDF's available for free.

 

[Snoman002]

Did you tell her that the (costly) engine replacement she just had done had nothing to do with the oil she was using?

No offense, but it sounds like a gal who isn't too much into cars. Having dropped a bunch of money into it she might be trying to prevent it from happening again, not knowing that better oil wouldn't change anything in this case. Getting synthetic done at a quick change place every 7500 miles is going to cost a fair bit of cash.

 

[Phishin]

I think these boxers like a thicker oil.

You in NC.... I'd run any synthetic HDEO, like Rotella T6 5w40.

Couldn't go wrong with M1 0w40 either.

 

[sicko]

Valvoline SynPower and Valvoline MaxLife Full Synthetic were the two smoothest oils in my Subaru with the same engine in it. Kendall GT-1 is also pretty smooth, and Mobile Super 5k (conventional) was also very smooth in my Subaru. But the non-turbo Subarus are easy on oil, so just about any name-brand/quality oil should do.

As for viscosity 5w-30 is recommended, but 0w/5w-40 are also acceptable.

 

[97tbird]

Originally Posted By: Snoman002
Did you tell her that the (costly) engine replacement she just had done had nothing to do with the oil she was using?

No offense, but it sounds like a gal who isn't too much into cars. Having dropped a bunch of money into it she might be trying to prevent it from happening again, not knowing that better oil wouldn't change anything in this case. Getting synthetic done at a quick change place every 7500 miles is going to cost a fair bit of cash.


I did not tell her that, because:

--She doesn't think that the engine replacement had anything to do with brand of oil used previously.

--Her wanting to run synthetic oil in the new engine is a separate issue, due to her driving a lot and wanting a good quality oil for the engine. (I provided background info as to WHY she has a new engine, that's all)

--And it wasn't costly. Engine was replaced for free by dealer.

--yeah she maybe not into cars -none of my business. I am just trying to answer her questions.

 

[Snoman002]

Good man.

 

[901Memphis]

If you or someone is changing it for her, any of the top syns at Walmart will do the trick, Pennzoil Platinum, Castrol Edge, Mobil 1....pick your poison.

 

[MikeHigg]

THIS IS IMPORTANT. The type of oil on this particular engine isn't the real question concerning it, the oil change interval is the important question. Use any good oil meeting the spec. but change it at 3,000 miles or a little before. The reason is that you must keep the conductivity as low as possible on this engine, conductivity and thus electrolysis are a head gasket failure mechanism. Also make sure the ground wire to the battery stays very clean on this particular make of car. When Subaru finally discovered what was causing HG failure conductivity in the engine oil, coolant and transmission fluid were elements in this, so change coolant at or before 30 months, change trans fluid at or before 24,000 miles. But I wouldn't run high milage OCIs because I was running synthetic, so for me I'd blend a quart of syn with the rest good conventional oil because I was going to change it so often.

 

[anl0109]

Originally Posted By: MikeHigg
THIS IS IMPORTANT. The type of oil on this particular engine isn't the real question concerning it, the oil change interval is the important question. Use any good oil meeting the spec. but change it at 3,000 miles or a little before. The reason is that you must keep the conductivity as low as possible on this engine, conductivity and thus electrolysis are a head gasket failure mechanism. Also make sure the ground wire to the battery stays very clean on this particular make of car. When Subaru finally discovered what was causing HG failure conductivity in the engine oil, coolant and transmission fluid were elements in this, so change coolant at or before 30 months, change trans fluid at or before 24,000 miles. But I wouldn't run high milage OCIs because I was running synthetic, so for me I'd blend a quart of syn with the rest good conventional oil because I was going to change it so often.


Do you have a link to an article or a document of some sort on this? Would appreciate the help as I've never heard/read about this before.

 

[MikeHigg]

I spent time a while back getting up to speed on my girlfriends Subaru, if I come upon the links again on this I will post. There is a guy at: all wheel drive auto.com that might have something on it (I think this is the right address) he is an independent Subaru repair shop.

 

[anl0109]

Originally Posted By: MikeHigg
There is a guy at: all wheel drive auto.com that might have something on it (I think this is the right address) he is an independent Subaru repair shop.


Yes, familiar with him. He's an independent Subaru shop owner in Seattle or elsewhere in PNW. Very knowledgeable. Among other things, advocates short OCI. Didn't think it was to eliminate HG failure. Anyway, if you dig something up please post. TIA.