OK - after all the discussion of early oil changes and break-in
oil, I finally performed the first oil change for my 2004 WRX.
It was at exactly 3000 miles on the odometer. I even drove a
a block to get it up to that magic 3000 number.

I took off the undercover, and managed to break one of the
plastic clips when I yanked it out (I think I pulled out the
center pin too far - it's supposedly to be out just a little
bit). It went back in OK, but I'm going to buy a few extra.
I used a 14" T-bar with a 17mm socket to get the bolt off - it
seems to be really tight from the factory. I saved about a
quarter quart in an empty bottle for analysis. The bolt seems
to have been painted on. The crush washer was firmly stuck to
the bolt, and I needed a knife to get it off. I set my torque
wrench to 33 ft-lbs and tightened it until it clicked.

The oil filter was a big fat pain to get off. I tried a claw
wrench, but the 68mm filter was just too small for the wrench
to grip. I drove out in another car (with a replacement
filter) to find one. I couldn't find a cap wrench that fit -
I would have gone to a Subaru dealer, but it's a Sunday. One
wrench actually fits a **smaller** filter. Eventually - I got
the smallest band wrench (with a swiveling handle) that Lisle
makes. It worked - not particularly well though. The filter
is surrounded on three sides by exhaust components and the
pan on the other. There's virtually no room to work with a
filter wrench, and a cap wrench would be perfect. The other
thing was that I could only tighten the new filter maybe 3/4
rotation after the gasket made contact. The instructions say
a full turn, but I couldn't get it any tighter.

So - now the oil sample it in a cup ready to go to Blackstone
Labs. I'll post the results of the oil analysis report when
it comes back.

Here in the UK, Subaru advise a 1000 mile oil change after what we call the
running in period, ie max revs of 5000rpm and then an oil change at 10,000
miles or 12 months.
What bugs me is how the advice seems to vary for what is essentially the
same product!!
I run a 2 litre Forester turbo , it goes like s**t of a chrome shovel , but
so does the fuel consumption!!

p_w <y_p_w (AT) hotmail (DOT) com> wrote

BRITISH BULLDOG wrote:
I'm not sure what difference there is. I have been told that European
(don't know about the UK) car owners typically don't keep their vehicles
as long as in the US (typically over 100K miles). My manager is
Italian, and he's told me, "almost nobody would keep a car that long,
unless it's some classic or very expensive car". It also seems that the
minimum standard for motor oil is higher in Europe. I'm not sure if the
higher drain intervals for motor oil is a result of the motor oil or the
expected service life of the vehicle.

Is this 1000 mile recommendation from SO UK or a dealer recommendation. In
the US the recommendation is NOT before 1000 miles and do it at 3000 miles.
"y_p_w" <y_p_w (AT) hotmail (DOT) com> wrote