Only getting 300km per tank if I am lucky WTF??

[evolutionmovement]

Those are the infamous hydraulic lifters. Its very common. Mine does it once in a while (today in fact). As far as I know it's nothing to worry about.

Steve

[Legacy777]

what weight oil are you running?

I'd definitely say you should be running at least 10w-30 or possibly 5w-30 if it's really cold during the winter months. Check the owner's manual and double check 5w-30 is cool with it.

Also, synthetic flows better when cold, so running that would help in the mornings. But I would worry too much about the noise...relatively common.

[QuickDrive]

Right now, for the winter I have 5w30 full synthetic.

Not Castrol or Mobil, but just an ESSO brand, Which is Exon I think in the states.

Good to know it's nothing to worry about as I figured since it goes away with time.

Would any *Engine Additives* be helpful or damaging?

Ie Duralube, Slick50 etc

[petridish38]

yup.....I'd start with a new t-stat and see how things are.

I'm also going to say, make sure you buy one from the dealer, because the non-subaru ones are different and don't work the same. I speak from first hand knowledge.

I will back that up! i've had my AutoZone t-stat ever since i did my water pump, and i'm just now getting around to replacing it with one from the stealership along with a new gasket (should be here on monday). This morning at 5:00, i was driving home from a "gathering" at a friends house and the temp was about 25F according to weather.com, which is pretty cold for florida. I let it warm up for 3-4 mins, then started to drive home. The drive home is about 8-10 mins. Once I got home, the temp guage wasnt even half way to norm temp yet. My friend's 91 legacy warms up in a couple mins.

[evolutionmovement]

There's really no reason not to buy a t-stat from the dealer (plus you're lucky with some of these auto parts places if they give you the right damn one). Around here the dealer charges less than $@0 with the gasket and they're much better built.

Steve

[ciper]

"There's really no reason not to buy a t-stat from the dealer"

Except that its the correct design so the thermostat doesnt get stuck against the housing.

[vrg3]

ciper, I think you're agreeing with him...

[ciper]

You should purchase the thermo from the dealer. Search around online and you will find that nearly every subaru fan believes this for many different reasons

VRG3: You know, your right! Ill leave it be for everyone to laugh at

[G-reg]

To those who are freaking out, bring your car up here in North Dakota tonight and you can start it up and drive right away in the morning......if it starts. In the land of 5w oil and block heaters you have to warm up your car. Letting it idle AND driving nice for a while. On the other hand 20min is excessive, there's a point where idling is not going to build more heat. This thread has been focusing on the engine alone, think about all the other components (diffs, tranny, etc) that also need a bit of heat. If I don't let my Manual tranny idle in neutral( input shaft spinning, some heat moving oil) forget about shifting...especially with what's left of the syncros. Give it ten or less and drive nice until you're up to temp. How many of you have turbo timers or idle before shutting down, you think there's proper lube in your turbo on a really cold start.

[evolutionmovement]

I always warm the car with the clutch engaged when it's extremely cold, too. It's like shifting in drying cement otherwise. But I still only do it for a couple minutes or so (the car tells me when by dropping from a high idle).

Steve

[minoru]

I live close by Toronto and the winter temperatures drop under -20 very often. And this without the wind chill factor. (-45 sometimes) My car never experienced a warm up longer the 2 minutes. And the idle speed was never higher than 1800. And it never took more than 3 km to start giving me warm air (not hot, but warm enough). And I don't have a block heater nor keep it in the garage. My mother in law's 88 GL Station Wagon sits in their since it starts harder:)

My opinion...don't sit to much in the drive way, and don't drice it hard for few clicks...3-4 the most. If you had to clean the snow from the car or drive way, it's allready to long to let it idle.

Another thing discused a while ago here...I noticed with 3-4 cars that were driven by my father before me. They were LAZY when I got them. After a couple of weeks of pushing them they started working much better reving up much faster and surprisingly braking down so much rarely. So??? What's better???

[evolutionmovement]

Cars are masochistic, I always maintain that it's better to beat on a car (to some degree) than to baby it. Spare the rod and spoil the child - they won't let you whack a kid anymore and look at all the wusses and crybabies out there. We can still beat on our cars and look - 241,000 miles with the original alternator, starter, PS pump, exhaust...

Steve

[minoru]

You're right. Big time.

Mine is the same. 258000 km runs perfect....I dont know what;s original and what's not...couse I just got it in Feb

[cbose]

There is an old saw that goes: under normal driving conditions, most engine wear comes from the first few minutes of operation after startup. If you believe this, then a long period of driveway idling is perhaps the worst way to warm up a car. This may be one reason that some manufacturers explicitly advise to drive away gently as soon as the oil pressure is assured. This will bring the engine to operating temp as quickly as possible and minimize the time in the 'window of vulnerability' where the engine is running cold.
Actually, I don't really belive the old adage-- I suspect dirty oil and bad air filters contribute more to engine wear in most cases. However, assuming you have looked after those things correctly, the above advice is probably appropriate.

Cheers, Chris