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My 1996 Subaru has a ton of miles on it (277K km's) and burns / leaks a bit of oil. As this car needs to continue to run well for the next many years, is there a specific engine treatment / oil additive that could be used (Slick 50, Duralube, Astroglide?) to help me out? (in addition to regular maintenance of course)
Any suggestions?
Where are the leaks? Some commonly leaky gaskets, like the valve cover, are pretty easy to change. I've never had much faith in the "stop leaks" type of additives.
Stop leaks don't work and they can contribute in plugging up oil passage ways.
You can try switching oil grades depending on the temp range.
Clean, new oil doesn't blow by rings and valve guide seals like old, dirty, thin oil will.
Everything is just a band-aid unless you "fix" the problem.
Just before you change your oil and its down a bit, 1 qt./ .25L or so. Put in transmission fluid, drive mellow read NO redlining the tach or BURNOUTS! for about 300mi/500k top off w/ tranny fluid if required. Then change as usual. Should free up sticky rings, etc. especially if the oil doesn't get changed as often as should every 2000mi/3000km or so. Oil is cheap and the life blood of an engine. :FIREdevil
Tranny fluid has more detergents in it but doesn't have the viscosity required for full time engine use.
ask at www.ultimatesubaru.net
STP oil treatment works well for higher milage engines, I had a Caprice that I drove around in the winter and beat the living hell out of that died at about 290K miles that was a shining example. That thing burnt a lot of oil, about 1/2 a quart per tank of gas... Like Keoni said, change the oil to match the temperatures.
I have a 95 Toyota Corolla with 385k km that has recently started burning oil. I thought about doing somethnig about it but it would end up be in the $2000 range to fix. I figure if I get 500km out of a tank and burn a litre of oil per tank at $1/litre that's a million km before payback so I bailed on the repair and am just adding oil regularly.
I don't know if oil treatments work or not but oil is cheap. Carry a few litres at all times and keep it topped up. I don't know why your car burns oil but if you decide on the tranny fluid to clean it out remember it will also clean out gummed up leaks and make them leak a little faster.
I'd take it to the car wash and wash the engine. Then watch for leaks over the next few weeks. If you can locate the leaks and they are in a fixable location (gaskets) then you can fix them.
Quote:
Originally Posted by Canuk
Your headgasket go yet?