0W-20, full synthetic.........

Beyond that, all what ever brand YOU prefer.

 

ANY oil that meets API SN spec in 0w20.

Bang for the buck, Quaker State Ultimate Durability is a great oil. Fairly low cost and meets a lot of specifications.

 

I picked up a used Outback last June. 2002 4 cyl EJ251 motor in it. It has 130K on it.

I was wondering what Oil I should use in it. Synthetic or Conventional? and the weight of the oil?

Thanks Rob

 

By the way the engine in this car is great. I mean as like new sounding as it can be. The carfax on this car was like 8 pages long with one owner who took it to the dealer like it belonged to God a king.

Strange thing is the carfax labeled it as "Government owned"

Wow I am still trying to figure it out.

 

hundreds of threads on the subject. (many hopefully following the owners manual).

5w30 full synthetic

 

Buy what's on sale or has rebates. It's not a racecar, it's not a 993 GT2, it's not a 300SL Gullwing. A good oil filter is more important if you ask me.



Not in 2002.

 

Any SN-rated 5W-30. Probably the most popular motor oil on the shelf today.

I would use conventional if you've found any evidence of oil leaks, because synthetic can leak more easily once there is a way out. Besides, if you're leaking, why pay to leak the good stuff?

Use synthetic if you want, but there aren't likely to be any measurable benefits for the average driver.

 

If you're just an average pavement pounder and slicing and dicing the roads, as others have said, head off to The Mart and any syn 5w-30 SN rated will serve you very well.

M1, AFE, M1EP, PU, PUP and others. It's like going to a Sunday buffet and realizing there's much more than just the waffle station.

 

Use synthetic as it will keep the engine cleaner and actually is a leak-stopper.

AMSOIL and then Mobil1 are the top rated synthetic oils. Mobil1 has a great high-mileage I use in our Expedition with 276k to slow loss.

Suggestion: 2002? Rarely do people change the brake fluid. BG makes a great product my mechanic uses. StopTech by Centric is an excellent product...race-grade for the WRX, tow-grade for the Outback.

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5w30 and 10w30 are fine. 5w30 preferred if you live in really cold areas.
Dino type if your car leaks or on original seals. I switched to synthetic when I had my OBW (sigh) and had completed replacing all the seals along with HGs and TB.

That being said, I also used Mobil1 0w20 synthetic without any issues in winter (5200 miles change interval) and in summer (4800 miles interval)

 

I don't think that in 2002 Outbacks were calling for synthetic oil (although I know many people swear by it). Don't you have a manual for the car? It should tell you in there what kind of oil to use.

 

0w20 in a 2nd gen will break stuff. Trust me, we've got a whole thread on a fiasco involving HG's, shite oil, and explosions.

I've got 175k on my 2001 H6 (supposedly ~125k on this engine), run around 3,000mi/month, and do Mobil1 5w30 on a 6-7.5k interval, still no issues.

 

0w20 will run just fine in a gen.2. It has absolutely nothing whatsoever to do with HGs or break anything in your engine. I live in a place with cold enough weather that I had 0 problems with. Would probably not use it if I lived in the Southern states. I can vouch for having ran ~10,000 miles on 0w20 with zero issues and a total of half quart consumption in those 10k miles.

At the end of the day, quality oil, strict maintenance interval and picking an oil grade that meets your driving requirements (climate, severity, towing, blah blah) is more key.

Running synthetic does no harm to the engine apart from leaking like a seive if the car still has original seals or is already leaking.

 

I run 5w40 Rotella T6 and have done so for the past 25k miles. Runs well

 

On my '97 Outback with 180k miles, I started to use Restore 4-cylinder additive with each oil change from 120k and up. It kept the car going. I did the same on my '05 and felt like the engine continued to run well. I have no proof because I was never able to look at the cylinders, but I didn't have any engine failures. Maybe some others members have opinions about Restore.

 

It's not necessary - but if you like it, run it.

people routinely run these for 250,000+ miles without adding anything but the cheapest oil on sale. you would need extremely compelling, quantifiable data to prove any product actually improves 250,000 mile reliability of an uncompromised Subaru block.

I plan on 250,000+ miles on the original engines using the cheapest oil on sale - does that mean "on sale oil" is better?
no.
it means oil choices aren't critical.

there's no need to look at the cylinders, they all look the same - minus the whack-mole-a-mole pistons your engine has - they all have the original factory cylinder crosshatching still present and looks perfect after 200,000 miles.

 

Service/Maintenance is more important that oil brand. Only reason to run Synth is if you desire extended oil changes with Oil Analysis. My usual method is to use Synth with oil analysis and monitor TBN. Once I get to the sweet spot for change interval I do away with the regular UOA and test it maybe once a year. IMO more people should do oil analysis and monitor TBN with a view to extended oil changes. I've wasted a lot of good oil (and money) from over servicing my previous vehicles. it can actually be detrimental to the health of an engine to change the oil too often.
https://www.edmunds.com/car-care/stop-changing-your-oil.html

My previous car, a VW Sportwagen TDI's oil service interval was 10'000 miles. Yes, that's 10'000 miles in a high compression turbo charged diesel engine where less than 100 miles after changing, the oil is black as soot with still 9'900 miles to go until the next change. I've owned 7 cars in my whole life. The first two were over serviced due to my misguided sense of over protectiveness.
IMO the bottom line is: If your going to stick to the recommended interval, run the cheapest mineral that meets the spec. If you want to extend the amount of time you lie under the car, then use Synth with UOA

 

Over 100,000 miles switch to 10W-40

No Matter Where You Go, There You Are.

 

Nonsense.

 

M1 0w-30 is acceptable and recommended according to their site.

Sleep well and worry about something else.

 

Just look for SN rating on back of the bottle and ensure you have the right grade (0-20 or 5-30 for example). In order to meet the SN rating, it's pretty hard, probably implausible, to find true dino oil. Most of what we now consider dino oil is in all actuality a semi-synthetic or blend. In order to meet SN standard you need to have some of the higher grade base oil in the blend.

I have chosen Mobil 1 for many years. It has done well by me and I trust it. BUT it isn't going to do anything for me that Pennzoil or Quaker State would or wouldn't do. Following a regular schedule is what's important. Heck, a very good, dependable synthetic oil out there is Walmart brand Super Tech. I used it for over 100k miles on an Explorer. That truck is now near 200k and still running strong. Sold it to a work buddy. For those that would ask (I would) why aren't you using it now? Bottom line, I know Walmart will change a vendor or formula and not tell anyone. Do't trust em.

Feel good with a SN rating and following the mileage recommended in the manual.

 

Use oil viscosity recommended for temperature range listed in owners manual.
Any main brand is fine ie castrol mobil etc which ever has the best oil / filter deal at the local after market motor retailer.
Agree Service interval (with filter changes) is more important than the make of oil itself - dependent on how the vehicle is used and what season it is (winter / summer).

In my opinion / experience fancy oils (synthetic etc ) are a waste of money particularly for short urban winter running.
More incomplete combustion occurs in these conditions and all types of oil used become contaminated sooner with a build up of these by-products - condensation etc.

The only benefit in using fancy (synthetic ) oils is to perhaps extend service interval in ideal running conditions ie warmer - with significant regular continuous open highway running.

There are lots of claims to the benefits of these fancy oils

Engine life is more dependent on regular servicing - interval dependant on use /season.

 

Use oil viscosity recommended for temperature range listed in owners manual.
Any main brand is fine ie castrol mobil etc which ever has the best oil / filter deal at the local after market motor retailer.
Service interval (with filter changes) is more important than the make of oil itself

Engine life is more dependent on regular servicing - interval dependant on use /season.

I couldn't agree more. I have driven many hundreds of thousands of miles on Subaru, Honda and Nissan vehicles and they have never burned oil or had a single engine problem. Part of that is luck of the manufacturing dice, but a lot is attributable to regular oil changes about every 4K. Yes synthetics last a little longer, but in the end the cost difference is neglible IMHO

 

I've been rocking the napa brand full synthetic and replacing in 5-6k intervals, way better than a overpriced oil at 10k intervals

 

Couple of thoughts. 10w40 is really not the greatest choice. 10w40 tends to degrade to a 30w oil somewhat quickly. It is extremely prone to shearing. That is why it really is not very popular any more. It works, but one has to really track how it is holding up to confirm if it will do the job properly for the interval they run it. That requires several used oil samples. One of the most stable oils is 10w30. Some top end synthetic 10w30 oils are actually a straight 30 and are very stout, but they meet the cold flow rate to qualify as a 10w30. 5w30, given todays improved viscosity modifiers would work fine in many applications. If one is bound and determined to use a 40w oil, one of the modern full synthetic 5w40 oils would be the best option.

Synthetic does not keep an engine cleaner than a conventional oil. it is the additive package in the motor oil that actually is responsible for keeping engine internals clean. And the add pack makes up 20% of any motor oil, synthetic or conventional. It is true that a synthetic generally will have a lower NOACK, or burn off rate than a conventional. But that tends to affect oil viscosity over time. Synthetics tend to be a little more shear stable and hold up under severe conditions better. And, of course, synthetics tend to flow better in extreme cold. But for most folks, it would really be a stretch to prove a synthetic is doing them something that a good conventional could not also do. I tend to straddle the fence and use synthetic blends. Best of both worlds and virtually the same cost as a conventional alone.

Personally, I have been a fan of 10w30 oils for quite some time in just about everything I own. From my John Deere zero turn mower on up thru the 12.7L Detroit Diesel engine in my semi truck. But, if one is going to be dealing with some very cold starts in the morning, a 5w30 would probably be a better choice. I do use a 5w30 in one of my engines, but that is primarily because it only gets changed once a year and that oil has to do a good job, both winter and summer. My personal vehicles are garaged (heated in winter), so using a 10w30 in them is of little issue. Even when the temps outside are down into double digits below zero, my personal vehicles are in 50F temps in the garage. And neither of them have to sit all day in the cold at some work location. Advantages of running my own business and using business vehicles.

 

In terms of keeping your engine clean for life without any gummy deposits, then full synthetic all the way!!! Remove your valve covers after years of using conventional oils and you'll see everything covered in sludge.

 

^^^ nonsense.

 

What type of oil to use?
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MOTER

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