2005 Forester

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I tried doing a search but didn't find much. Any advice based on data for dino vs syn OCIs for a 2005 Forester? Driven about 80 miles per day, mostly highway. I typically run a Subaru filter and PP or Napa syn for 7-8k. Anyone going farther? Also found some dino on sale (Chevron) and might try a 5-7k interval with that. Opinions?
 
I believe that some Subaru's had a problem with some of their vehicles on the 7500K OCI and have dropped them back to 6K. But there is a lot of good synthetic out there on sale I would pay the hundredths of cents a mile more and stay with the full synthetic.
 
Originally Posted By: JohnnyJohnson
I believe that some Subaru's had a problem with some of their vehicles on the 7500K OCI and have dropped them back to 6K. But there is a lot of good synthetic out there on sale I would pay the hundredths of cents a mile more and stay with the full synthetic.


Agree. Especially if on sale. Only way to know is whether u do a UOA, if not keep it at 7500.
 
Yeah, it doesn't say syn required and says 3750 or 7500. I've thought of the 15k M1 Extended Performance. I'll probably do 6 month changes and about 10k miles with PP or M1EP. Not sure I'd trust others for that mileage. It already had the new head gasket and the AWD is acting wonky.
 
Originally Posted By: HowAboutThis
Yeah, it doesn't say syn required and says 3750 or 7500. I've thought of the 15k M1 Extended Performance. I'll probably do 6 month changes and about 10k miles with PP or M1EP. Not sure I'd trust others for that mileage. It already had the new head gasket and the AWD is acting wonky.


At what mileage did you have to replace the head gasket and what is the current mileage?
 
Originally Posted By: HowAboutThis
Yeah, it doesn't say syn required and says 3750 or 7500. I've thought of the 15k M1 Extended Performance. I'll probably do 6 month changes and about 10k miles with PP or M1EP. Not sure I'd trust others for that mileage. It already had the new head gasket and the AWD is acting wonky.


Don't let certain Subaru fans hear that! I mentioned head gaskets issues in another thread and the mob promptly called for my lynching.
 
I bought my wife one a few years back..since my 2001 has been drop dead reliable. Hers developed a piston slap that is common to those EJ25s and we just couldnt bear it anymore and sold it.

It sounds like this vehicle is somewhat new to you so i would ease into extended drains till you see what you have.
 
I'd make sure that I used the Subaru brand head gasket sealer that Subaru dealers sell. It might minimize the risk of another head gaskets replacement.
 
Have a good friend that has a 2005 Baja 2.5L NA with approx. 80 thousand original miles that I have serviced since 2007 with oil/filter changes. We have found that running a synthetic 5W30 paired with Fram Ultras running 4000 mile intervals has treated this motor great. We do use the FU for multiple oil changes I wanna clarify. Initially we were running conventional 5W30 oil & it consumed half to a quart of oil between 4000 mile interval changes. When switched to synthetic for some reason -- consumption stopped immediately?? This car is short tripped 90% of the time & thats why the oil change interval of 4000 miles is sufficient we find. Actually running ST.Synthetic 5w30 at this moment that I purchased for $12.00 a 5 quart jug months & months ago at Wally World on sale. She was actually thinking of trading in the car on a new Subaru here lately & I told her that she is crazy & would just be wasting her money. Her Baja is garage kept, pretty rare, & we know just what & how maintenance has been performed since day one. She bought the car brand new & with its low mileage -- I want her to save her money until it becomes a problem or money pit for her.
 
With some google searches, you may be able to find some old n/a EJ Subaru uoa's here. There were some on conventional running to about 8k, IIRC, and there have been some synthetic uoa's anywhere from 10-15k miles. BITOG user Al has some 10-12k (IIRC) oci's on Wal Mart Super Tech in an n/a Forester.

Personally, I used Pennzoil conventional High Mileage or Valvoline Max Life in a 1999 Outback and 2000 2.5RS anywhere from 6-8k mile intervals. I only did one or two random uoa's and they were fine. Regardless of the uoa, the max that you should run the OEM filter for is 7,500 miles.
 
I like the Baja too but I would sell it for a Forester. For some reason, Baja's sell for waaaay more than they should be worth, for a 12-year-old chick-up truck.

NA Subaru EJ25s are fine on dino or synthetic, and do not have the 3750 or 6k recommendation. Some do consume less oil on syn, so your choice there. If you are looking for ultimate inexpensiveness and live near a Rural King (or partner), pick up the Harvest King full synthetic (Dexos1 approved) 5W-30, a Fram XG3593A, and change the oil every 5k and the filter every 10k. These engines with decent oil and maintenance will make 300k easy with timing belt changes on time. My 01 Forester is at 220k and will still get 27.5mpg over a full tank, and uses maybe 1/2 cup over a 5k interval. Other than the long-ago-resolved HG issue on 1998-2003 EJ25s, the NA versions are anvils.

Subaru Coolant Conditioner is the official name of the additive, it is a rebranded Holt's Radweld.
 
With this type of driving, an EJ253 will live a long happy life on 7500 OCIs with conventional 5w30. Will it be better off on full synthetic? Who knows. Maybe for extreme cold starts. The drop to a 6000 mile OCI recommendation was for the newer FB series engines where oil consumption was more prevalent.
 
I like the chick-up truck comment. I will have to tell Bev that one, she will laugh. Its due for an oil change again & I think im gonna run the Quaker State Syn Blend High Mileage 5W30 in it this run; I see they have it priced at my Wall World for $15.44 plus tax for the 5 quart jug. We run the Chevron Techron Fuel System Cleaner every 3000 miles also for routine maintenance due to her running strictly cheap 87 octane gas at "all" times.
 
Where do you live?

Based on my own experience and research, I always suggest some form of 40 weight for these cars. I use a 15W-40 HDEO in ours, but if you're in a particularly cold climate, a 0W-40, 5W-40, or 10W-40 would work well.

I'm sure there will be those who disagree, but as someone who has owned numerous high-mileage (150,000+ mile) Subarus of this vintage, I'd steer clear of resource conserving 0W-30 or 5W-30 oils.

As others have mentioned, also use the Subaru Cooling System Conditioner and an appropriate coolant (currently using Pentofrost A2 in ours).
 
I live in a moderate climate (relative to where I grew up). Winter highs 30-65 and summers 75-100. It has close to 180k. Head gasket done at about 125k. It's the GF's car so new to me. Just fixing some maintenance stuff up on it. I used to run my Honda 10k intervals and Toyota does 10k. When I Googled many Subaru forums saying 4-6k on synthetic. No chance for that. Those people are throwing money away for the miles this one gets on it. Just looking to see what people on here with those cars have done for a baseline. If it was city driving I'd probably do 5k or so. It's had quick lube changes every 6-8k since about 80k miles.
 
Originally Posted By: Rolla07
Originally Posted By: JohnnyJohnson
I believe that some Subaru's had a problem with some of their vehicles on the 7500K OCI and have dropped them back to 6K. But there is a lot of good synthetic out there on sale I would pay the hundredths of cents a mile more and stay with the full synthetic.


Agree. Especially if on sale. Only way to know is whether u do a UOA, if not keep it at 7500.


You could do 6K not do a UOA and your next OCI would be free!
 
I know this doesn't apply directly to the vehicle in question, but Subaru abruptly cut the recommended standard OCI for Foresters from 7500 to 6000 miles. I suspect that a big driver behind this was oil consumption issues in earlier models not being caught by owners who weren't pulling dipsticks on their own and topping off during the longer OCIs and causing damage...seems like the oil consumption issue was really starting to blow up in the media around then and even Consumer Reports ended up publishing an article about it. I suppose that fuel dilution in the new 2.0l turbo could have also been a factor, but they cut the OCI recommendation for the NA 2.5l, too.

If you stay on top of your oil level and/or don't have consumption issues, I don't see why you couldn't stretch the OCI a bit with a quality oil in this relatively mild NA engine.

A far the head gaskets, that was a well known issue with earlier Subarus and I don't see many people denying that. The thing that is in dispute is how much of an issue it is in newer Subaru engines...I think that evidence suggests that Subaru has improved the situation quite a bit. I still get people online telling me online that the HG in my FA20DIT is sure to blow early, even though that engine doesn't necessarily have much to do with a 2000 era EJ25X.
 
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Especially if the vehicle is getting primarily highway miles, and quite a few each day. Those problems that have cropped up and required backing off the OCI, most of those folks were short tripping around town compared to extended highway use. That is a lot more brutal on an oil and engine.
 
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