club.liberty.asn.au

Just hoping someone can help me out with answers to the following:

- I checked the oil levels on my Liberty 3.0r-b and was surprised to notice that it was below the 'low' level on the dipstick. Five months ago when I had it serviced it was full. I've only done around 6,000kms since. Is it unusual for this much oil to disappear in this time? What could be the cause?

- I understand that when my car was serviced last by Subaru, Castrol Magnatec FMX 10w-30 was used. However, this cannot be bought at shops - only the Magnatec Professional 10w-30 can. Is there a difference between the FMX and Professional versions?

I'd like to be able to top the engine oil up but don't want to run the risk of using a different oil.

Any advice would be much appreciated.

somethings not right. cars shouldnt burn oil especially that much.

10w-30 is the right grade so i would say its not that what is causing the oil use.

The motor you have has been prone to excessive oil use. Some have the issue others dont..

luck of the draw but i would be reporting it.. what year car is it..

Car is a 2005 model.

Engine oil down below the low level mark on the dipstick after 5 months? That is acceptable usage. You won't get any traction from Subaru on the issue.

One should be checking fluid levels and such regularly anyway. Subaru even makes it easy by using yellow caps and such on the areas you should be checking at least once a week.

our 3.0r doesnt use any oil..

Yeah our 2005 model hasn't gone through any engine oil since the word go touch wood.

The volume of oil between LOW and FULL is not much at all, it's around 800ml from memory. The 3.0R holds 5.5L, so low to full that is only around 15% of your total oil capacity.

I'd say 800ml to 1L of use in 6,000Kms isn't huge (well within manufacturer spec anyway) and it depends on how well the engine was worn in in the first place, and how you are driving it. High loads and using engine braking a lot consumes more oil. You haven't said how much mileage the car has done in total.

Mixing those two oils isn't a problem they are the same viscosity and even the same brand/series which is a lot better than what I have had to do when in a pinch.. I believe FMX may be the bulk oil that stealerships purchase in drums.

p.s. you should be checking your oil much more often than every 5 months. General rule of thumb is every time you fill petrol. Don't rely on the oil pressure warning light as it does squat and it won't save your engine blowing up if you run the oil very low.

my 3.0r barely uses any oil at all. its been 4,000kms since service and its still sitting on the full marker. it may not necessarily be that its using a lot of oil, it could be leaking some as well. i had the privilege to see a completely disassembled h6 this morning that had suffered from no oil and killed itself. speaking to the mechanic, the replacement engine (which has 11,000kms) is leaking oil as well.

Check the oil wasn't overfilled when your car is serviced. No matter where I go for servicing it always happens.

Tek, mate any advice on the best procedure for checking the oil?

I have heard people say that you let the engine run for 10 seconds to let oil fling around then take a measurement, any help would be great.

From page 11-18 of the owner's manual:

Check the engine oil level at each fuel stop.
1. Park the vehicle on a level surface and stop the engine
2. Pull out the dipstick, wipe it clean, and insert it again.
3. Be sure the dipstick is correctly inserted until it stops.
4. Pull out the dipstick again and check the oil level on it. If it is below the lower level, add oil to bring the level up to the upper level.
If you check the oil level just after stopping the engine, wait a few minutes for the oil to drain back into the oil pan before checking the level.
Just after driving or while the engine is warm, the engine oil level reading may be in a range between the upper level and the notch mark. This is caused by thermal expansion of the engine oil.
To prevent overfilling the engine oil, do not add any additional oil above the upper level when the engine is cold

Cheers Smythie, easier than I thought.

generally speaking, the boxer engine will use more oil than the straight or v config. i remember hearing or reading (possible in another thread) that the amount of oil the car will use depends on how it was run in. The harder the engine was run in the less oil it uses.

I service every 10,000 and have to top up the oil at least twice, sometimes three times. i do 50,000 a year though.

Another thing i remember is that it will burn more when the car is engine braking. i do this alot which accounts for most of the burn.

sounds like the engine might havebeen run in incorectly

Subaru class anything below one litre every 2,000 km as "acceptable".
My engine was using more than that before they swapped it under warranty.

It till uses oil, but well below that figure now. 800 mL over 6,000 km is perfectly normal.