04 2.5i Excessive Oil Consumption?

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04 2.5i Excessive Oil Consumption?

Postby t1m07 » Fri Oct 21, 2016 10:41 am

Hey guys, I purchased a 2004 Subaru Liberty 2.5i used at the beginning of the year. Ever since I purchased it I've had excessive oil consumption problems. It caught me off guard a couple of times where the level dropped far below the low mark on the dipstick (I've made it a habit to check the oil level weekly now). I've tried many different things to remedy this to no avail. The car is currently using approximately 1L/1000km of oil.

Things I've tried already:
- Fixed leaking valve cover (including leaking into spark plug holes)
- Switching between different grades of oil
- Replaced PCV valve

Since the car lives inside, I've never seen a single drip of oil on the ground nor have I examined any oil leaking from visually inspecting the engine. The head gaskets appear fine from external and internal leaks (no oil in coolant or vice versa). My only assumption is that the car is burning the oil even though no visible smoke clouds are observed. I'm starting to run out of options. A self claimed subaru "expert" told me that this kind of oil consumption is normal for a Subaru with 200,000kms. Is this true? I've had cars with more than 200,000kms and never drank more than ~750ml oil between a 10,000km service. Maybe just a Subaru issue?

My next step now would probably be to do a compression check on all cylinders. However, with a clutch change coming up in a couple of weeks, I'm considering replacing the valve stem seals when the engine is out. However, research has showed me that these rarely fail on the Subaru EJ25 motors. Has anybody actually had these fail before? Is it worth my time replacing them?

I'd appreciate any opinions or suggestions you guys might have. Thanks in advance!
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Re: 04 2.5i Excessive Oil Consumption?

Postby Lane » Fri Oct 21, 2016 11:58 am

I recently discovered my 07 GT burns oil too, seems all too common with these, regardless of km's.

To be honest it is a little disappointing to think that Subaru believe it to be normal and acceptable, fairly common response from most if not all dealerships however, I have always revered Japanese engineering but the EJ255 might not be their best effort to date.

Keeping our eye on our dipstick levels is easy enough to do so it's no biggie at the end of the day, I've owned several highly strung 2-stroke race bikes so regular maintenance is in my blood.

My 10 year old SS making 300rwkw and 190k on the clock didn't burn a drop over 10k services and we all know they are basically tractor motors.

I love my GT wagon though.
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Re: 04 2.5i Excessive Oil Consumption?

Postby teK-- » Tue Jul 11, 2017 2:21 pm

When u replaced the valve cover gaskets did u replace the spark plug socket gaskets too? They get all messed up by about the same time and u lose insane amounts of oil through the spark plug sockets (screws your plugs and leads too)
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Re: 04 2.5i Excessive Oil Consumption?

Postby Jake.h71 » Wed Aug 02, 2017 8:22 pm

depending on kms this could be a sign of worn piston rings?
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Re: 04 2.5i Excessive Oil Consumption?

Postby bigBADbenny » Thu Aug 03, 2017 9:19 pm

Sure, in which case perform a compression & leakdown test at a reputable workshop :)
My oil use increased with K's but I reckon most of it was escaping from the rear main seal.
I babied the car for 100k klm with that issue and a slipping clutch, now fixed :)
Looking forward to finding out how much oil the engine uses now at 250k klms :good:
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Re: 04 2.5i Excessive Oil Consumption?

Postby bigBADbenny » Thu Aug 03, 2017 9:20 pm

:good:
Last edited by bigBADbenny on Fri Aug 04, 2017 11:26 am, edited 1 time in total.
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Re: 04 2.5i Excessive Oil Consumption?

Postby bigBADbenny » Thu Aug 03, 2017 9:21 pm

:roll:
Last edited by bigBADbenny on Fri Aug 04, 2017 11:26 am, edited 1 time in total.
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Re: 04 2.5i Excessive Oil Consumption?

Postby bigBADbenny » Thu Aug 03, 2017 9:22 pm

:good:
Last edited by bigBADbenny on Fri Aug 04, 2017 11:27 am, edited 1 time in total.
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