Mobil 1 Synthetic ATF for 4AT Subaru Outback 2002

[Voja]

Here is my observation re. synthetic ATF transmission oil.

I had problem with rough shifting on my Outback 2002 4AT 2.5L. I tried
changing transmission oil (petroleum) before but that didn't help so I
looked into synthetic oil and discovered the following after the change:

- Much quieter and less vibration when idling
- Shifting points are somewhat higher (roughly 300rpm which I like a
loot) when accelerating moderately (say around 2,400~2,500 vs.
2,100~2,300 rpm before)
- Much, much smoother shifting
- Car is way more responsive when merging onto fast highway. This was my
biggest surprise since 4 cyl. with AT are notoriously known as very slow
when accelerating.

Total cost of changing is around $105 CDN and I did it myself vs. $250
at the shop.

Here are few pointers of what I did:

- First I drained old transmission oil. Roughly 4.8L (~5.1 quarts)
- I lifted my car from the opposite side of the oil drain plug so that
more oil can be drained.
- Then I filled it with new synthetic oil. I used, as I said before,
Mobil 1 Synthetic AFT ($8.5 + tax + env. fee = $9.79 CDN)
- Drove around for about 10 ~ 15 min. and drained it again
- Removed transmission oil pan
- Cleaned oil pan and magnet inside
- Made lot of mess in my garage - Thank God I have awesome wife, no
complains there. ;-)
- Put silicon based seal (something Copper (@ Wal-Mart), can't remember
now exactly what its name is) ($5.90+tax = $6.27 CDN)
- Put the pan back and left it there overnight without new transmission
oil in it so it can dry better.
- In the morning I put the oil back (another ~4.8L (5.1 quarts)) and
voila...
- Oh yeah, had to clean the garage. Took me 3 hours since there was oil
all over the floor :-( (bummer)

I know this is not all 100% synthetic as there is more old petroleum oil
in the torque converter but it sure is better then before.

My biggest problem was how to remove transmission oil pan. No real
technique there except make sure engine is warm as well as transmission
so that seal can be removed easier since it gets tougher if it is cold
(well duh - comment to myself). Use flat screwdriver, put it between oil
pan and transmission, go around the pan and separate the pan. Be careful
no to push it too far (1~1.5 cm (2/5 ~ 5/8 of an inch) is good enough)
as you may, God forbid, break some wires inside. You'll see what I mean
when you remove the pan. Make sure to thoroughly clean the pan and the
transmission side from the old seal, so that it fits properly when you
apply new seal. I cleaned both sides with brake cleaner spray. Don't
spray it on directly but spray it on a peace of cloth and clean it with
cloth. You'll have to rub it a little but that will make sure that you
won't have leaking problems in the future.

Anyway, hope this can help anybody.

Let me know if you need more details.

Cheers,
Voja

 

[Nicolaas]

I wonder if I should replace the tranny fluid in my 05 OBW with Mobil 1
synthetic? The transmission is awful first thing in the morning.

 

[Voja]

I'm not sure. Maybe you should talk to your dealership since it is a new
car. I didn't have problems with my transmission at the beginning,
although, knowing what I know now, I might switch to synthetic on my
next new car.

The same applies to synthetic motor oil. That's my next move.

Voja

 

[kayakjb]

I've tried Mobil 1 synthetic two times now in the crankcase, and both times it resulted in oil leaks. I did it in my 98 Legacy Outback when it was new and noticed the filter kept leaking all the time, and even the drain plug.

Now on my '04 Forester with 10,000 mi. I put it in the last change and it started leaking. I just changed back to 5W-30 Castrol

Does anybody else notice this?
I'm not sure. Maybe you should talk to your dealership since it is a new car. I didn't have problems with my transmission at the beginning, although, knowing what I know now, I might switch to synthetic on my next new car.

The same applies to synthetic motor oil. That's my next move.

Voja

Nicolaas wrote:

I wonder if I should replace the tranny fluid in my 05 OBW with Mobil 1
synthetic? The transmission is awful first thing in the morning.


Here is my observation re. synthetic ATF transmission oil.

I had problem with rough shifting on my Outback 2002 4AT 2.5L. I tried
changing transmission oil (petroleum) before but that didn't help so I
looked into synthetic oil and discovered the following after the change:

- Much quieter and less vibration when idling
- Shifting points are somewhat higher (roughly 300rpm which I like a loot)
when accelerating moderately (say around 2,400~2,500 vs. 2,100~2,300 rpm
before)
- Much, much smoother shifting
- Car is way more responsive when merging onto fast highway. This was my
biggest surprise since 4 cyl. with AT are notoriously known as very slow
when accelerating.

Total cost of changing is around $105 CDN and I did it myself vs. $250 at
the shop.

Here are few pointers of what I did:

- First I drained old transmission oil. Roughly 4.8L (~5.1 quarts)
- I lifted my car from the opposite side of the oil drain plug so that
more oil can be drained.
- Then I filled it with new synthetic oil. I used, as I said before, Mobil
1 Synthetic AFT ($8.5 + tax + env. fee = $9.79 CDN)
- Drove around for about 10 ~ 15 min. and drained it again
- Removed transmission oil pan
- Cleaned oil pan and magnet inside
- Made lot of mess in my garage - Thank God I have awesome wife, no
complains there. ;-)
- Put silicon based seal (something Copper (@ Wal-Mart), can't remember
now exactly what its name is) ($5.90+tax = $6.27 CDN)
- Put the pan back and left it there overnight without new transmission
oil in it so it can dry better.
- In the morning I put the oil back (another ~4.8L (5.1 quarts)) and
voila...
- Oh yeah, had to clean the garage. Took me 3 hours since there was oil
all over the floor :-( (bummer)

I know this is not all 100% synthetic as there is more old petroleum oil
in the torque converter but it sure is better then before.

My biggest problem was how to remove transmission oil pan. No real
technique there except make sure engine is warm as well as transmission so
that seal can be removed easier since it gets tougher if it is cold (well
duh - comment to myself). Use flat screwdriver, put it between oil pan and
transmission, go around the pan and separate the pan. Be careful no to
push it too far (1~1.5 cm (2/5 ~ 5/8 of an inch) is good enough) as you
may, God forbid, break some wires inside. You'll see what I mean when you
remove the pan. Make sure to thoroughly clean the pan and the transmission
side from the old seal, so that it fits properly when you apply new seal.
I cleaned both sides with brake cleaner spray. Don't spray it on directly
but spray it on a peace of cloth and clean it with cloth. You'll have to
rub it a little but that will make sure that you won't have leaking
problems in the future.

Anyway, hope this can help anybody.

Let me know if you need more details.

Cheers,
Voja

 

[Rick Courtright]

Hi,

Dumb question time--when you replaced the filter, did you put a few
drops of oil on the rubber gasket, and then get it as tight as you could
by hand? And did you replace the crush washer on the drain plug? These
are two things I've seen people neglect, then think it was the oil that
caused the leak.

My experience with "new" oil leaks being caused by a change of oil or an
additive is that things like valve covers, and sometimes seals like main
crank seal, camshaft seals, etc., are the places such leaks have
occurred. Most likely only a buildup of varnish or something else WAS
keeping 'em dry, and the new stuff simply cut thru it. No adverse
effects the time I tried Mobil 1 in my Subie, and it had well over 200k
miles when I tried it.

Sorry, no other ideas right now.

Rick

 

[Edward Hayes]

Agree with Rick all the way. I've got 84,000 miles on my 2000 Forester
using Mobil 1 and never an oil leak from anywhere.

 

[Michael]

I did my first oil change a month ago on my WRX. Used mobil 5w-30 and have
had no leaks. I had put my drain plug back in, oil filter on and found this
little metal washer on the ground. Had no idea where it went. I did figured
it was the crush washer for the drain plug eventually. So maybe you lost the
washer and just didnt notice.

 

[Edward Hayes]

My crush washer was painted to the drain plug and I had to use a sharp
knife to get it off. I've heard some people do not see this and end up
with two gaskets on and leaks.

 

[Hal Whelply]

Started Mobil 1 on my '04 Forester XT at about 10K miles. No leaks, no problems.

HW
I've tried Mobil 1 synthetic two times now in the crankcase, and both times it resulted in oil leaks. I did it in my 98 Legacy Outback when it was new and noticed the filter kept leaking all the time, and even the drain plug.

Now on my '04 Forester with 10,000 mi. I put it in the last change and it started leaking. I just changed back to 5W-30 Castrol

Does anybody else notice this?
I'm not sure. Maybe you should talk to your dealership since it is a new car. I didn't have problems with my transmission at the beginning, although, knowing what I know now, I might switch to synthetic on my next new car.

The same applies to synthetic motor oil. That's my next move.

Voja

Nicolaas wrote:

I wonder if I should replace the tranny fluid in my 05 OBW with Mobil 1
synthetic? The transmission is awful first thing in the morning.


Here is my observation re. synthetic ATF transmission oil.

I had problem with rough shifting on my Outback 2002 4AT 2.5L. I tried
changing transmission oil (petroleum) before but that didn't help so I
looked into synthetic oil and discovered the following after the change:

- Much quieter and less vibration when idling
- Shifting points are somewhat higher (roughly 300rpm which I like a loot)
when accelerating moderately (say around 2,400~2,500 vs. 2,100~2,300 rpm
before)
- Much, much smoother shifting
- Car is way more responsive when merging onto fast highway. This was my
biggest surprise since 4 cyl. with AT are notoriously known as very slow
when accelerating.

Total cost of changing is around $105 CDN and I did it myself vs. $250 at
the shop.

Here are few pointers of what I did:

- First I drained old transmission oil. Roughly 4.8L (~5.1 quarts)
- I lifted my car from the opposite side of the oil drain plug so that
more oil can be drained.
- Then I filled it with new synthetic oil. I used, as I said before, Mobil
1 Synthetic AFT ($8.5 + tax + env. fee = $9.79 CDN)
- Drove around for about 10 ~ 15 min. and drained it again
- Removed transmission oil pan
- Cleaned oil pan and magnet inside
- Made lot of mess in my garage - Thank God I have awesome wife, no
complains there. ;-)
- Put silicon based seal (something Copper (@ Wal-Mart), can't remember
now exactly what its name is) ($5.90+tax = $6.27 CDN)
- Put the pan back and left it there overnight without new transmission
oil in it so it can dry better.
- In the morning I put the oil back (another ~4.8L (5.1 quarts)) and
voila...
- Oh yeah, had to clean the garage. Took me 3 hours since there was oil
all over the floor :-( (bummer)

I know this is not all 100% synthetic as there is more old petroleum oil
in the torque converter but it sure is better then before.

My biggest problem was how to remove transmission oil pan. No real
technique there except make sure engine is warm as well as transmission so
that seal can be removed easier since it gets tougher if it is cold (well
duh - comment to myself). Use flat screwdriver, put it between oil pan and
transmission, go around the pan and separate the pan. Be careful no to
push it too far (1~1.5 cm (2/5 ~ 5/8 of an inch) is good enough) as you
may, God forbid, break some wires inside. You'll see what I mean when you
remove the pan. Make sure to thoroughly clean the pan and the transmission
side from the old seal, so that it fits properly when you apply new seal.
I cleaned both sides with brake cleaner spray. Don't spray it on directly
but spray it on a peace of cloth and clean it with cloth. You'll have to
rub it a little but that will make sure that you won't have leaking
problems in the future.

Anyway, hope this can help anybody.

Let me know if you need more details.

Cheers,
Voja

 

[Jim Stewart]

Agree with Rick all the way. I've got 84,000 miles on my 2000 Forester
using Mobil 1 and never an oil leak from anywhere.
news:(e-mail address removed)...

Agree with Edward and Rick. I've used Mobil 1
since day one and no leaks other than the
infamous front oil seal. 107,000 miles on the
Legacy and 10,000 on the WRX.

I always use factory oil filters and new crush
gaskets.

 

[y_p_w]

Agree with Edward and Rick. I've used Mobil 1
since day one and no leaks other than the
infamous front oil seal. 107,000 miles on the
Legacy and 10,000 on the WRX.

Apparently Mobil did have a problem with its initial 5W-20 formula
in the early 80's. Its primary base oil was polyalphaolefin, save
a small amount of mineral oil used as a carrier for the additive
package. PAO alone causes rubber seals to shrink. I've heard any
number of reasons, but the one that makes sense is that it causes
the plasticizers in the oil to leach out. Esters were added to
the formula. Those apparently serve several functions. A blend
of PAO and esters is supposed to improve the viscosity index,
improve additive solubility, and keep the rubber soft (some esters
are used as rubber plasticizers).

I always use factory oil filters and new crush
gaskets.

I remember after my first second oil change, I noticed that I had
left the original crush washer on along with the one I used on the
first oil change. It was somewhat skewed and not on correctly.
The seal was tight and there were no leaks. I thought I double
checked it. Now I absolutely make sure that the old washer is
gone.