flashgordon666

My mate who is a mechanic is doing my oil tomoz, now ive read through the post and its all over my head, its a wrx 1994, so do i remove crank + plugs or not????

Also should I buy 5W40 or 10W40?

joz8968

iTrader: (13)

YES! Crank sensor though... not the crank


10W-40

dj219957

just disconect the crank sensor. no need to pull the plugs IMO. use 10w40

i dont see the need to pull the plugs? all you need to do is prevent it firing whilst the pump purges the extra air and builds oil pressure.

joz8968

iTrader: (13)

Yeah, plugs not necessary really, but defo the crank sensor.

Make sure you pre-fill the oil filter too, as explained earlier by Flat Eric.

dj219957

for those that dont think there is any point of priming the engine after a oil change see this thread started today and many many others like it here on scoobynet over the years


https://www.scoobynet.com/general-te...ilure-39k.html

SunnySideUp

What about the bore wash with all the neat petrol being squirted into the cylinders?

All the fuel being sent down onto the Catalytic Converter?

I assume that the injectors are still supplying fuel with no spark being delivered during the churning on the starter?

ryan_fong

I'm so glad that I've read this thread 'cause my car's next service is due soon.

Could someone advise me which oil is the best I can get from Opie Oils (https://www.opieoils.co.uk)? What brand, what grade? My car is MY04 JDM STi.

Thanks very much.

SunnySideUp

Oil is as per Handbook.

Remember to tell your Service Mechanic what he has to do at the end of the Oil change - or you won't get it.

FLAT ERIC

iTrader: (1)

You assume wrong.

As if any proof was needed that you haven't got a clue what you are talking about regards Subaru engines you have been outed by yourself.

The whole point is that when no reading is detected by the crank sensor (because it's dissconected) the ECU shuts down the spark & the fuel .Which you would have realised had you read my very informative guide & not been so up yourself.

You don't happen to have this weeks lottery numbers do you?

It is a roll over.

SunnySideUp

No need to be rude!!

I did put a ? ... that's a question mark ... after my question, indicating that I didn't have the answer to hand.

That doesn't prove that I am wrong about churning the engine over at cranking speed without firing is damaging.

There is a fellow member on another thread who may need your assistance, as a Main Dealer didn't do the disconnect, now he has been told that his Big End Bearings have gone - you can be his expert witness to help him get paid for the damage?

The Rig

iTrader: (13)

without airing towards any method.

i use magnatec 10/40 but my oil filter is remoted behind my headlight.

i havnet disconnected any sensors on the 4 oilchanges ive done and touches wood all o.k

maybe the big ends were fooked on all these cars and the 1 second lack of oil pressure was enough to chocolate them ?????

i cannot pre-fill my oil filter either,as i i did it was just all run out being mounted behind the headlight

FLAT ERIC

iTrader: (1)

Sorry but you have been consistently posting advice to people that are relying on "reliable" information. Not just what has worked for you up till now. You have flown in the face of well respected sources of technical help (API David for one) and then you post that you don't know all the answers.

So if we have discounted the bore wash & the spark plugs are not going to be sparking themselves & their coils packs to an early grave. What damage is being done other than to the size of your next repair bill?

Some light reading on Bearings Part 1

Some light reading on Bearings Part 2

Jonc1

Hi

Was just about to get my local garage to do my third year oil change on my 06 WRX. I Have now decided to do it myself as I have in the past on my other cars . Where do I find the correct procedure for my Impreza on this site.

Thanks in advance.

John

joz8968

iTrader: (13)

It actually in this tread! - post # 12...

SunnySideUp

Hmmmm, let me see who is standing full square behind me?

Yes, that will be the 100 or so Subaru Main Dealers .... and that group stood behind them are the Subaru Designers, Manufacturing Engineers and Production Specialists ..... yeah, I'm all alone in the type of advice I offer to the table

joz8968

iTrader: (13)

If only it were that straightforward to have that faith... Explain any given manufacturer's/main dealers' recall notices? They don't necessry build a perfectly reliable car first time. Sometim!es some of the items cars are recalled for are quite elementary and, frankly, shocking.

SunnySideUp

Subaru, as you may be aware, make exeedingly reliable machines ..... they are up there with the very best - look at any survey. Subaru only fall down on price of parts/servicing.

Can you point me to the recall/service bulletin which warns us owners of a possible Big End failure if we follow the servicing procedure of their Main Dealers?

chocolate_o_brian

iTrader: (22)

Pete, can I ask you a genuine question. You do the oil change your way (the way you say main delaers recommend you too). thats fair enough and your choice.

But if there wasn't a gain for it, why do respected Subaru Specialists on here (like API for example) do it differently. May I ask for your thoughts behind this please

As said, genuine query...

joz8968

iTrader: (13)

SSU, I'm not saying that Subaru have specifically had callouts, etc - I was siting ANY car manufacturer.. I'm merely using that as an example to challenge your, "If it's good enough for the manufacturer, it's good enough for me"-type 'blind' faith.

What's wrong with established specialists' advice/procedures, etc. too? After all, they handle the engines day in/day out and very quickly build up a profile of it's characteristics/foibles/traits/faults...

SunnySideUp

Genuine answer coming up .....

No, I do not do the Oil change the way the Subaru Main Dealers do it. I pre-fill the filter, it can be screwed in full and I see no reason not to do it.

Main Dealers do not pre-fil the filter, now, I know that it makes no difference in the real world (my car had about 9 services via this method and suffered no ill) ..... but I do pre-fill if I do it mayself.

But pre-filling the filter has no downsides whatsoever, disconnecting sensors is NOT good practise .... ask any Electrical Engineer what goes wrong most and they will answer that it is dodgy connectors!

Therefore I certainly would never, ever, mess with connectors unless there was a powerful arguement to do so ...... I have not heard one on this, or any other, Oil Change thread.

As to why API do it ... that's because they re-build Engines ... I, too, would not have the connector connected when contemplating bringing a Engine into service after a major strip down ... in fact, I would turn the engine over by hand quite a few times first (no spark plugs installed). But, of course, in this case the connector is disconnected in any case ... so the issue of breaking the connection is not an additional risk factor.

If they do it on a simple Oil change then I am staggered and can offer no explaination as to why - maybe they want to foster the belief that these engines are somehow different to any other engine in the world? As I say, the thought that they do this and the Subaru Main Dealer network laugh at me when I mention it does puzzle me somewhat.

That's my genuine answer, thanks for asking and giving me the chance to speak as I feel.

SunnySideUp

I would challenge you as to why you choose to ignore what Subaru say about the car they designed, built and service in huge numbers across the world? Why do you have blind faith in specialists who didn't have any input whatsoever in the design and build?

I respect the specialists and would use them for stuff I cannot be 4rsed to do, but - why do most use specialists? I would suggest that it is because they are generally cheaper in most cases?

A fully stamped service book - stamped by Subaru - is worth £££££££'s more to the buying public than a book stamped up with 'A.N.Other Scooby Specialist' ..... that's the brutal truth.

Now, you and I may think that a specialits 'may' be better ... but that's not how the world sees it.

chocolate_o_brian

iTrader: (22)

Firstly, thanks for the answer you gave me to my question. Your answer being you don't know why specialists do it diffently. Thats fair enough.

Secondly, I disagree with your last paragraph above. A Subaru is more of a enthusiasts car over a run of the mill ecobox type car like a Mondeo (just an example). So enthusiasts generally make up the populus that buy them, I hope you agree.

So I whole heartedly disagree that an enthusiast bunch of Subaru would place more value on dealership stamps (where lets be honest many horror stories are told on enthusiast forums such as this - far more than specialists in all fairness). Imo, the simple truth is Subaru specialists are enthusiasts themselves while my experience of dealerships is that of just a business to run.

So in conclusion, I, and I expect the majority on here would far prefer to have a service book full of specialists stamps (where 99.99% of the time the car is cherished as if their own) over a dealership where "it's just another car" is the general mentality.

Remembering, dealerships sell cars and parts primarily so their servicing could be "lacking" as it were. They wouldn't go bust as they sell car and parts for a profit also. But a specialists generally work on servicing and repairs, with a few cars for sale, thus having the emphasis for excellent service alongside a love for that particular brand. Probably not worth mentioning, but dealerships also tend to run on commission, specialists do not.

If the above doesn't make sense you have my apologies. I know how I tried to word it

joz8968

iTrader: (13)

Just because they built it doesn't mean to say that a specialist doesn't get to understand everything about it over time e.g. API. I bet if you asked Subaru's engine designers, "Why did xyz fail, etc.", you wouldn't necessarily get an answer that was 'more correct' than the diagnosis offered by a specialist. After all, this is what your question boils down to.

I'd personally go with a specialst's advice everytime - to me, they just care more! Plus you have more access to the proprietor and workers to really get across your problem, unlike a dealer's service desk. I don't like the idea of the people working on it getting the info passed onto them in a "This is just another job, make sure it's finished by..."-like manner, rather than explaining to them face to face.You can really get across the 'anxiety' of a hard-to-nail-down problem in this way.


The labour costs will be a factor for many for sure - but I genuinely don't think that's the overiding factor.


Mr and Mrs Non-enthusiast, maybe. But most enthusiasts of a marque are aware who the specialists are, so is not a problem for them. Indeed many'd welcome it! Most Subaru performance cars are, after all, bought by enthusiasts who, to a lesser or greater degree, will invariably be 'in the know'... due to the fanatical/cult following, IMO.

SunnySideUp

Choc o brian ... I understand your points.

I am sure you would agree that it is the Subaru Impeza Turbo which has the Enthusiast following in the main?

I do not follow that an Impreza buyer is an Enthusiast when they buy, they become one later on in the ownership cycle - so, therefore, the Subaru stamps in the book when they were buying would have counted far higher than a specialist which they are only about to hear of once they actually own the vehicle. I think owning an Impreza messes with the mind and turns us a bit mental?

But, the same boxer design is used in the Legacy to the Forester ..... where people buy and own who are not an Enthusiast, in the most part.

This sensor disconnect would - clearly - apply to those other models too? I'm sure that it is not carried out by owners or the servicing agents either and we hear nothing of the mass failure of the Big Ends?

I conclude that it is, actually, a non event in the vast majority of cases?

I appreciate the debate on the matter as I genuinely am searching for the reason why this urban myth (my word) has come about.

chocolate_o_brian

iTrader: (22)

Think we're reading from the same page - i.e. TWO Subaru enthusiasts.

99greenwagon

iTrader: (39)

ive done 5 or 6 oil changes on mine,never diconnected crank sensor and i havent had any probs. (touch wood).im hoping that it will stay that way.i find it a little difficult to believe that these engines are that delicate?

joz8968

iTrader: (13)

Yeah, but did you do the spark plugs (sorry, it was too much of a carrot).

NOTE: the spark plug thing is an on-going 'in joke' between 99green and me, and nothing to do with the oil change procedure. LOL

SunnySideUp

And did you remove the radio, seats and bootlid?

If not you stand the real chance that your gearbox will have mixed up all the cogs as if by magic

Sorry - off to bed now

PIant

Ssu you have to much faith in subaru and main dealers.
If they are so good why would they put a jdm sti v map in to a uk car P1 and put use 98 ron on the fuel flap, go figure..

I service my own car by the sensor method, wounld'nt go any where near a main dealer they are crap imo.

SunnySideUp

Hi Newbie ... welcome to SN.

I'm glad that the Sensor method works for you ... I hope the connector doesn't fail on you.