2001 SUBARU OUTBACK oil

Maintenance and service11-9
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CONTINUED –
Engine oil
Checking the oil level
Chec k the eng ine oil level at eac h fuel stop .
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1. Park the vehic le on a level surfac e and stop the eng ine.
2. Pull out the d ip stic k, wip e it c lean, and insert it ag ain.
3. Be sure the d ip stic k is c orrec tly inserted until it stop s with the
g rap hic symb ol
on its top ap p earing as shown in the illustra-
tion.
4. Pull out the d ip stic k ag ain and c hec k the oil lev el on it. If it is b elow
the lower level, ad d oil to b ring the level up to t he up p er level.
CAUTION
Use only engine oil with the recommended grade and viscosity.
If you c hec k the oil level just after stop p ing the eng ine, wait a few min-
utes for the oil to d rain b ac k into the oil p an b ef ore c hec king the level.
Just after d riving or while the eng ine is warm, the eng ine oil level
read ing may b e in a rang e b etween the up p er level a nd the notc h
mark. This is c aused b y thermal exp ansion of the en g ine oil.
To p revent overfilling the eng ine oil, d o not ad d a ny ad d itional oil
ab ove the up p er level when the eng ine is c old .

11-10
Changing the oil and oil filter
Chang e the oil and oil filter ac c ord ing to the main tenanc e sc hed ule in
the “Warranty and Maintenanc e Booklet ”.
The eng ine oil and oil filter must b e c hang ed more freq uently than
listed in the maintenanc e sc hed ule when d riving on d usty road s,
when short trip s are freq uently mad e, or when d rivi ng in extremely
c old whether.
1. Warm up the eng ine b y letting the eng ine id le for ab out 10 minutes
to ease d raining the eng ine oil.
2. Park the vehic le on a level surfac e and stop the eng ine.
3. Remove the oil filler c ap .
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4. Drain out the eng ine oil b y removing the d rain p l ug while the en-
g ine is still warm. The used oil should b e d rained into an ap p rop riate
c ontainer and d isp osed of p rop erly.
WARNING
Be careful not to burn yourself with hot engine oil.
5. Wip e the seating surfac e of the d rain p lug with a c lean c loth and
tig hten it sec urely with a new sealing washer after the oil has c om-
p letely d rained out.

Maintenance and service11-11
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CONTINUED –
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6. Remove three c lip s at the front of the c over und e r the oil filter.
7. Slid e the c over toward the vehic le front to remov e it.
8. Remove the oil filter with an oil filter wrenc h.
9. Before installing a new oil filter, ap p ly a thin c oat of eng ine oil to the
seal.
10. Clean the rub b er seal seating area of the lower c rank c ase and
install the oil filter b y hand turning . Be c areful not to twist or d amag e
the seal.
11. Tig hten it ap p roximately two-third s of a turn a fter the seal makes
c ontac t with the lower c rank c ase.
CAUTION
Never over tighten the oil filter because that can result in an oilleak.

11-1212. Reinstall the c over und er the oil filter.
13. Pour the sp ec ified amount of eng ine oil throug h
the filler nec k.
Oil c ap ac ity: 2.5 liter mod els: 4.2 US q t (4.0 liters, 3.5 Imp q t )
3.0 liter mod els: 6.0 US q t (5.7 liters, 5.0 Imp q t )
14. Start the eng ine and make sure that no oil leak s ap p ear around
the filter ’s rub b er seal.
15. Run the eng ine until it reac hes the normal op er ating temp erature.
Then stop the eng ine and wait a few minutes to allo w the oil d rain
b ac k. Chec k the oil level ag ain and if nec essary, a d d more eng ine oil.
Recommended grade and viscosity CAUTION
Use only engine oil with the recommended grade and viscosity.
Oil grade: API classification SJ or SH with the words “ENERGY
CONSERVING II ” (if you cannot obtain the oil with SJ
or SH grade, you may use SG grade oil.) or the new API certification mark (Starburst mark) dis-
played on the container.
New API Certification Mark (Starburst Mark)API Service label
1
2
3
1 Ind ic ates the oil q uality b y API d esig nations
2 Ind ic ates the SAE oil visc osity g rad e
3 Ind ic ates that the oil has fuel saving c ap ab ilities

Maintenance and service11-13
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CONTINUED –
In c hoosing an oil, you want the p rop er q uality and
visc osity, as well
as one that will ad d to fuel ec onomy. The following tab le lists the rec -
ommend ed visc osities and ap p lic ab le temp eratures.
When ad d ing oil, d ifferent b rand s may b e used tog et her as long as
they are the same API c lassific ation and SAE visc os ity as those rec -
ommend ed b y SUBARU.
Eng ine oil visc osity (thic kness) affec ts fuel ec ono my. Oils of lower vis-
c osity p rovid e b etter fuel ec onomy. However, in hot weather, oil of
hig her visc osity is req uired to p rop erly lub ric ate the eng ine.
OM-H2756
SAE viscosity numbr and applicable temperature
Recommended grade and viscosity under severe driving conditions
If the vehic le is used in d esert areas, in areas wi th very hig h temp era-
tures, or used for heavy-d uty ap p lic ations suc h as a towing a trailer,
use of oil with the following g rad e and visc osities is rec ommend ed .
API classification SJ or SH: SAE viscosity No.: 30, 40, 10W-50,
20W-40, 20W-50

11-14Cooling system
WARNING
Never attempt to remove the radiator cap until the engine has
been shut off and has cooled down completely. Since the coolantis under pressure, you may suffer serious burns from a spray ofboiling hot coolant when the cap is removed.
CAUTION
The cooling system has been filled at the factory with a high
quality, corrosion-inhibiting, year-around coolant which providesprotection against freezing down to –33F ( –36 C). For adding,
use genuine SUBARU coolant or an equivalent: a mixture of 50%
soft water and 50% ethylene-glycol basis coolant. Use of improp-er coolants may result in corrosion in the cooling system. It is im-portant to maintain protection against freezing and corrosion,
even if freezing temperatures are not expected. Never mix differ-ent kinds of coolant. Do not splash the engine coolant over painted parts. The alco-
hol contained in the engine coolant may damage the paint sur-face.
Hose and connections
Your vehic le emp loys an elec tric c ooling fan whic h is thermostatic ally
c ontrolled to op erate when the eng ine c oolant reac h es a sp ec ific tem-
p erature.
If the rad iator c ooling fan d oes not op erate even w hen the eng ine
c oolant temp erature g aug e exc eed s the normal op erat ing rang e, the
c ooling fan c irc uit may b e d efec tive. Chec k the fus e and rep lac e it if
nec essary. If the fuse is not b lown, have the c ooli ng system c hec ked
b y your SUBARU d ealer.
If freq uent ad d ition of c oolant is nec essary, there may b e a leak in the
eng ine c ooling system. It is rec ommend ed that the c ooling system
and c onnec tions b e c hec ked for leaks, d amag e, or lo oseness.

11-16
Changing the coolant
WARNING
Never attempt to remove the radiator cap until the engine has
been shut off and has cooled down completely. Since the coolantis under pressure, you may suffer serious burns from a spray ofboiling hot coolant when the cap is removed.
Chang e the eng ine c oolant using the following p roc e d ures ac c ord ing
to the maintenanc e sc hed ule in the “Warranty and Maintenanc e Book-
let ”.
1. Remove the und er c over.
2. Plac e a p rop er c ontainer und er the d rain p lug and loosen the d rain
p lug .
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3. Loosen the rad iator c ap to d rain the c oolant from the rad iator. Then
d rain the c oolant from the reserve tank. Tig hten th e d rain p lug sec ure-
ly.

Maintenance and service11-23
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CONTINUED –
sc hed ule in the
“Warranty and Maintenanc e Booklet ”. Consult your
SUBARU d ealer for rep lac ement.
If a b elt is loose, c rac ked , or worn, c ontac t your SUBARU d ealer.
Manual transmission oil Checking the oil level
Chec k the oil level monthly.
1. Park the vehic le on a level surfac e and stop the eng ine.
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Upper level Lower level
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2. Pull out the d ip stic k, wip e it c lean, and insert it ag ain.
3. Pull out the d ip stic k ag ain and c hec k the oil lev el on it. If it is b elow
the lower level, ad d oil throug h the d ip stic k hole to b ring the level up
to the up p er level. Recommended grade and viscosity
Eac h oil manufac turer has its own b ase oils and ad d itives. Never use
d ifferent b rand s tog ether.
Oil grade: API classification GL-5