1998 Outback,Synthetic Oil?

[Jim Stewart]

Hi, I have a 1998 Outback that I just recently purchased. I am getting ready
to change the oil and would like to switch to a synthetic oil. Do I have to
do anything special to make this happen ,and I am open to pros and cons on
going to synthetics. Please let me know your thoughts. Thanks. Larry

My personal opinion:

If the oil seals have not been changed and it's
not leaking oil - DON'T CHANGE ANYTHING

If the oil seals have been replaced, just dump
in Mobil 1 10W30 at the next change.

 

[Larry]

Hi, I have a 1998 Outback that I just recently purchased. I am getting ready
to change the oil and would like to switch to a synthetic oil. Do I have to
do anything special to make this happen ,and I am open to pros and cons on
going to synthetics. Please let me know your thoughts. Thanks. Larry

 

[cocoon]

My personal opinion:

If the oil seals have not been changed and it's
not leaking oil - DON'T CHANGE ANYTHING

If the oil seals have been replaced, just dump
in Mobil 1 10W30 at the next change.

I also have a 98 Outback that has had Mobil 1 since its first oil
change. Oil was regularly changed at 6K increments. At 84K miles it
now has leaking front seals and spills oil on the exhaust.. I'm going
to have the timing belt, water pump, and cam/chrank and oil pump seals
changed but I'm going back to dino oil cause I think maybe the
synthetic oil was to blame for the early seal failure.

 

[Skweezieweezie]

Scooby's are known for seal problems, none of which can
be attributed to the use of synthetic oils.

 

[T]

My personal opinion:

If the oil seals have not been changed and it's
not leaking oil - DON'T CHANGE ANYTHING

If the oil seals have been replaced, just dump
in Mobil 1 10W30 at the next change.

Original Synth Oil had a bad rep for getting past seals, but they now
have seal conditioners in them to prevent this.

What you might do is change over gradually, out of four quarts replace
one with the synth, and so one until you are changed over.

(The reason some have trouble is the old gunk in the motor can get
cleaned out and with such a sudden purging small holes may get
clogged. Gradual change over might be a good idea.) Same thing with
other types of cleaners like MMO. Gradual is good.

Heck, just go with synth, what ever weight matches your outside temps.

The main things are:

- does the oil you choose meet or exceed the values set aside by the
car manufacturers?

- does the oil viscosity range meet your environmental conditions
(look in the owner's manual)?

Go for it.

If you need new seals (after five years?) then get new seals.


TBerk

 

[Jim Stewart]

Scooby's are known for seal problems, none of which can
be attributed to the use of synthetic oils.

My *opinion* still stands. If the seals haven't
been changed and it's not leaking, don't change
anything. In fact, I'd say you'd be a fool to
change anything, oilwise.

You are welcome to your opinion.

 

[Catherine Hampton]

Hi, I have a 1998 Outback that I just recently purchased. I am getting ready
to change the oil and would like to switch to a synthetic oil. Do I have to
do anything special to make this happen ,and I am open to pros and cons on
going to synthetics. Please let me know your thoughts. Thanks. Larry

I have a 1998 Outback Sport. I've put synthetic oil in it since I bought it,
four years and sixty thousand miles ago. No special preparation is required to
make the switch to synthetic -- just be sure you use the same weight of oil that
the owner's manual recommends. (5/30 for the OBS -- might be different for the
Legacy Outback.)



--
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[Josh Assing]

I had a truck that I switched to synthetic when I bought it; w/in 2000 miles the
seals started leaking -- i've heard & read similar -- switching to synth
sometimes "encourages" the seals to leak.

If you've got more than 50K I'd not switch...

of course, this is not "scientific" just my experience.