Hi. I'm new to the forum and have a 1999 LHS that has been sitting for over two years.

I recently revived the car for the winter and have an oil issue. The engine oil light comes on after the engine is warmed up so I suspect sludge buildup because it's been sitting so long. There is also the telltale ticking sound which also suggests that oil is not reaching the lifters properly.

I flushed the engine with engine flush treatment and changed the oil and filter but it had no effect. Should I drop the oil pan and soak the oil pump in kerosene next?

I have read flushing suggestions ranging from running 4 quarts of kerosene for a few minutes to adding ATF fluid in the crankcase and just as many posts that DON't recommend that due to screwing up gaskets and seals or worse...

Please help.

 

There is also a good possibility that you have a bad oil pressure sending unit. I would flush the system at least a couple of more times before replacing the sending unit just to be sure. If the problem is still there and you are so inclined you can drop the pan to check the condition of the pump but cleaning it out several times should solve that problem. After flushing if the problem is still there you could try running thicker oil to see if the pressure changes. Just some suggestions.

 

I would check your oil lines that go in and out of your turbo. Hopefuly it is something simple.

Worse case, just take it to subaru and ask them to see what it is. Probably would cost you like 30 bucks....

 

kind of irrelevant to the original question but Do these pumps need to be primed if they are brand new?