Got a question for you all.

I have around 94,000 miles on my 02 WRX Sedan. Recently (last 15,000), I've noticed that I'm either loosing or burning oil. After an oil change, within 2,000 to 2,500 miles, there will be no oil on the dipstick. Now the dealer can't find anything wrong and says it's normal for a turbo car to burn oil. I know that, but I think it's loosing oil too quickly. I have not noticed any oil dripping from the car when parked for a long time though I live in an apt so I don't always park in the same spot. Are any other 02 owners experiencing the same problem? Any ideas what my be causing this?

Thanks!

 

Sounds like you have a oil consumption problem just like
I have in my 04 WRX but,I only have 60,000 miles on my
vehicle.The only thing I notested that will help or aid this
problem is useing a thicker viscosity quality dino motor oil like
10W30 compaired to the 5W30 I was useing before.
I too have found my dipstick bone dry before and oil levels
considerably low too.I change my oil normaly every 2500-3000 miles
also.If you let your engine oil run low alot you have a great chance
that scoring of your camshaft and crankshaft can and will happen
witch will be devastating to the life of your engine.
With my Subaru WRX I've concluded that bad valve seals or bad
piston rings are the possible source of my problem.

 

The turbo is oil-cooled, so it is quite possible to consume oil by burning it off on the hot side of the turbo; no oil will ever hit the driveway, but the leak still exists. Look at the hot side of your turbo and the heat shield for black, oily residue. The oil line to the turbo is soft metal and can crack over time.

 

I too was told that it could be burning it off on the hot side
of the stock turbo.I also notest abnormal oil levels and Subaru says
that it is normal but,I don't think it is though.
I am looking for more insight on this subject and can't seem
to find much.I try my best to keep tabs on my oil and do all
my oil changes on time.My car will consume one to one and
a half quarts of oil every 1K miles or so.

 

Wow, 1 1/2 quarts per 1000 miles, that is severe consumption -- you've got a bad piston ring and are burning oil in the cylinder, if you can't find an actual leak. Even my dad's Porsche 911 turbo with a cracked head gasket didn't eat that much oil...

 

Yeah Meilers you are correct I think I have bad piston ring/s.
I can't belive this happened at such low of mileage because I
am not at all hard on my vehicles either.I think it's kind of a
catastrophic failure since I have seen these engines go 200-300K
before needing a rebuild or parts start failing.All my engine does
is consume oil but it runs just fine.I am going to run this engine
until it bits the dust and then upgrade to a 2.5L later.
Thanks Meilers you are one of the most knowledgable/intelligent people on
this forum!

 

Do not take my word for it, get a leakdown/compression test to confirm it. With an engine that young, see if you can get it fixed as warranty work, a good dealership might even buy you a new motor if you aren't too far over 60k and you have a good maintenance record.

 

Guys this may be beating a dead horse here, have you given a thought about the quality of the oils being used in your engines.

I came across this a few years back and found out why I was eating cam lobes
on my other car.


http://www.ttalk.info/Zddp.htm

 

i have a 02wrx with 65k and i took it to the dealer to ask a question about the 60k service and they said if i switch from synthetic to conventional it will burn oil and if i change from conventional to synthetic it will burn, i wasnt sure what the previous owner used so i used the castrol syntec blend 5w 30 and it works great.

 

use thicker oil..... thats what i was told by S&Sautoconcepts....

 

I didn't read all the replies, but to the OP, Go to the dealership ASAP and have them take a look at your Turbo. I would be willing to bet that the bearing in your turbo is starting to go out, and is causing oil to leak into the exhaust. If your car is smoking out the tailpipe, then I am sure that is the problem.

That exact thing happened to my car recently and the bearing material that wore away got into the engine oil, thus causing catastrophic failure. My car only had about 67,000 miles on it. My Turbo had about 1/8" of shaft play, and the exhaust housing/downpipe were dripping in oil...that is about the most I have ever heard of without causing a complete destruction of the components.

I waited too long, and at first glance the car looked normal, Didn't leak a drop of oil, but burned a crapload of it. It wasn't until they actually took the turbo and the oil pan off the engine, when they realized how bad it was. At first they thought it was only a turbo failure.

My advice is to take your car to a dealership ASAP and have them inspect your turbo(shaft play) and oilpan(for metal shavings). But do NOT wait to take care of it.

 

i have an 02 bug eye wrx/sti i had 120,000 miles on the motor and it just blew yesterday... luckily i have a new one on the stand

 

OP, what brand of oil are you using and whats the oil weight?

 

i use 0-30 castrol syntec and it doesnt burn a drop. its actually a thicker weight oil thats closer to a 40 weight. so you can beat on it in the summer and it won't breakdown and shear like say mobil one, which used to start burning off in my car around 3k, while i take the castrol past 5k and like i said it doesn't burn a drop.

 

This fast dropping of the oil level has been bothering me, too. I have an '02 WRX wagon, with 70K on it. At 35K a bolt holding the cam belt tensioner broke and caused a catastrophic melt down: valves, etc...... As the engine was being rebuilt the tech assured me that pistons et al were ok. Gradually, the oil level started to drop more and more quickly. It now takes 1-2 quarts between 3-4K changes. The tail pipe is heavily carboned, unlike my other Subie, an '06 Outback wagon with 30k. I will invesitgate the turbo bearing issue, also. I would also appreciate any other thoughts on this matter. Please pm me at bytewerksjpf@optonline.net