Subifreak

Ok here's the deal,

I am picking my 06 XT up on Wednesday (May 3)......The car has 8,200 miles on her & I got the Subi dealer to do an oil & filter change before I take delivery (it has also had 2 other oil changes during it's life).

Once I pick the car up, I was thinking of doing another immediate oil change & put Castrol GTX 5W 30 in the car with an OE Subi oil filter (to flush out any crap in the engine from the previous owner)....we are taking the car to Washington DC on May 6th for our vacation.

When I get the car back, I think the car should have enough miles on her to safely switch to synthetic oil (Amsoil ASL 5W 30 & Amsoil oil filter will be used).

My question is, should I still use the Amsoil Engine flush when I return from holidays before switching to synthetic or is that 'overkill' & the extra oil change I am doing is more than enough? I am worried about the engine flush taking off any coating that is already on the pistons & such if I do or doing more harm than good. As you can see, I am quite 'anal' about this stuff (or is it OCD? :shock: ) lol

http://www.amsoil.com/storefront/aef.aspx

Thoughts & opinions are appreciated.

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Bren

Proud owners of a 03 XS & 2005 Lexus ES330

sschmelcke

there really shouldnt be any crap in there with only 8200 miles on it. i wouldnt do the flush. in fact the car has probably had too many oil changes done to it since its so new.

Peaty

I would not use a flush either, not sure that's a good idea at anytime myself. Just change the oil and call it good :)

I think you are getting what I like to term "Analysis Paralysis" Just drive it and enjoy. Too much thinking can never be a good thing, it usually gives me a big headache

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Peaty

2010 Legacy 3.6 R - Limited

2006 B9 Tribeca - Limited

1999 Miata - MX5

Black98

Exactly. Lexusfreak, don't take this personally, but as an anal person myself - I KNOW anal and you are going over the top. :spinnasmiley

Now repeat after me..."it's just a car...it's just a car...It's just a car..."

GIT-R-DONE

Dont use any engine flush in a suby engine I've heard of horror stories, if they change the oil before u pick it up drive it home and drain the oil when its still hot, this is a cheap engine flush, then put the oil of your choice in. I do something like this every 3 oil changes, I buy the cheapest oil and filter drive it for 1/2 hour then drain it, then put my oil in

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GIT-R-DONE
2010 Dodge grand caravan SE
2002 S sport 5spd SOLD
1996 L Legacy AWD

Subifreak

Thread Starter

Thanks everyone!

And Black......It's just a car, it's just a car! :spinnasmiley ;-)

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Bren

Proud owners of a 03 XS & 2005 Lexus ES330

GIT-R-DONE

my wife says that all the time..... its more than a car :spinnasmiley

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GIT-R-DONE
2010 Dodge grand caravan SE
2002 S sport 5spd SOLD
1996 L Legacy AWD

rab

I assume the dealer is planning on installing a OEM Subaru oil filter before you pick the car up Wed. But what oil is the dealer planning on using, if not Castrol GTX? It would seem kind of a waste to immediately dump whatever oil the dealer installs, especially since it's almost assuredly going to be Subaru recommended, regardless. :?

Assuming the dealer has no Castrol GTX 5W 30 in stock, but that it's your unequivocal oil of choice at this juncture--why not just bring in 5 liters of the stuff yourself and have them (the dealer) install it before you drive it away? This would save your having to redo something they just did.

Subifreak

Thread Starter

I would have done that, but before I could arrange it, the sales guy said they had already did the oil change (they used 'Subi 5W 30 oil' & the Subi OE oil filter). Maybe I should just run with that to Washington & switch to synthetic on my return. :think: I doubt I will have 2,500 miles on that oil when I get back.

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Bren

Proud owners of a 03 XS & 2005 Lexus ES330

Subifreak

Thread Starter

Anybody know what brand Subaru used for their bottled oil?

Toyota as an example uses Mobil dino oil even though it says 'genuine Toyota motor oil' :roll:

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Bren

Proud owners of a 03 XS & 2005 Lexus ES330

kona9

Have you been hanging out at BITOG by any chance? My advice to you is to enjoy the car on your vacation as is. The oil the dealer serviced the car with is *perfectly* fine. Some time after you reach 10k miles, drain the Subaru oil and refill with whichever synthetic you choose. Once you switch to synthetic you can go a minimum of 5k miles before changes. A car is a major investment, but don't worry so much about it. Enjoy your vacation.

Subifreak

Thread Starter

Thanks kona......I am a regular (Amsoil) synthetic user & have been since Jesus was a pup......so actually the 5k mile oil change is overkill. ;-)

I know I worry to much about this stuff (I know I'm not the only one this fussy on this site either) :-) Just want to 'break in' the car correctly in the end.

Went to BTOG.....could not find a listing about Subi oil.......I was just wondering what brand it is.......compared to Toyota. 8-)

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Bren

Proud owners of a 03 XS & 2005 Lexus ES330

jmacmaster

"The car has 8,200 miles on her & I got the Subi dealer to do an oil & filter change before I take delivery (it has also had 2 other oil changes during it's life."

Since the car will have had 3 oil changes in 8,200 miles, the last one being just before you take delivery, there's nothing left to flush out of the engine, if there was anything in the first place, which there probably wasn't. There's no sense in changing the oil when the dealer's just changed it. Do not use an "engine flush" made by anyone. The engine doesn't need it, especially since it has not been driven long enough to build up anything to flush out. If you switch to a synthetic oil, the synthetic oil itself will keep the engine clean. As to the references to BITOG, they'd tell you at BITOG what I just told you. And you can learn a lot from BITOG. Here's their link:

http://theoildrop.server101.com/cgi/ultimatebb.cgi

kmrcstintn

There is a major point to remember about engine flush formulas...they completely deplete the residual lubricatng film on the metal-to-metal contact surfaces.

Even if you prefill the filter with oil when you change the oil, there is no way to prevent a DRY start; you are going to cause undue wear and tear with unlubricated metal-to-metal contact.

If you use a flush, you shoot yourself in the foot twice! You do succeed in completely cleaning out the engine, but you also cause unnecessary wear and tear!

If you are really worried about deposit formation, try substituting a quart of motor oil with a quart of Rislone. Rislone works over the life of the oil change to clean and hold contaminants in suspension; it also reinforces and increases all the properties of motor oil.

http://www.rislone.com for further information...it will not void OEM warranty!

I just got a 1999 Subaru Forester from my parents (long story) and it has @ 19,750 miles on it. Often times, this car only saw 1 oil change per year due to low mileage; I am going to do an oil change later this month and subsitute 1 quart of Rislone to increase the cleaning ability of the stock motor oils.

TESTIMONIAL: I used to own a 1993 Pontiac Grand Am; I try to use the Rislone at least 2 times a year for a prewinter and postwinter engine cleaner; I changed the oil at my parents house in the summer of 1995 before moving to Florida in August of 1995; the previous oil change done in the spring included Rislone; I put the used motor oil somewhere in the garage; in 2001 on a visit, my father found the container holding that oil change (we both forgot about it and he has lube shops do his oil changes); I took the oil to an AutoZone for recycling and there was hardly any sludge or deposits in the bottom of the laundry detergent bottle that I put that oil change into...even after 6 years, the Rislone held the contaminants in suspension.

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1999 Subaru Forester L; 2.5L Boxer; Automatic Transmission...nuttin fance...et runz
:tempertantrum

Lispisgone

I like all of you guys' reasoning...

But what about one of the powered flushes... where they pump a solution through the oil filter port and vacuum out the crap from the drain plug?

I have 90,000 HARD miles on my baby now... and I know that I have ran almost 15k on two separate synthetic oil changes in the past (I hate myself for that, btw). I'd imagine a dry start would still be an issue, but my local service guy (who I trust like my own mother, he's the only one to ever work on my car besides me, including the dealer) said that he'd pump some synthetic through after the flush just to help things out.

Any thoughts? ... I'm really curious

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- Ken

Black 2004 XT/MT Stage 2.5