I imagine as a long block (head and lower engine block) all VQ35 engines for Altima, Maxima, Quest, Z, and Murano will interchange but before doing the swap, ask yourself what guaranty will you have that the used engine will not have the same oil consumption issue? As a former wrecking yard owner I can tell you that we could only bench test the motors which included running the motor to look for smoke, as well as taking compression tests. If it did not smoke and compression test results were acceptable then it would be offered for sale as a good engine. If I remember correctly, your engine passes those tests already.

 

yes this is the dilemma , and i wonder am i risking a break down if i always keep my oil topped up ? a friend of mine has an rx-8 that goes through a liter every fill up and mazda considers this normal, my mo has used oil since i got it and in the owners manual it said be prepared to add oil between changes so i always checked it and topped it up, it wasn't until i read about oil consumption problems with nissans that i recorded the levels, to me if its not leaking and not smoking its not that bad of a problem. a used engine change dose not sit well with me and the dealer and other repair shops say not to rebiuld , what to do, dump it at a lot for a newer one when i have repaired so many other things. oh man.

 

I had a 2005 with 105000 and never used oil ever between oil changes

 

you are a lucky person, don't wish bad things on anyone and god bless.
but those who have suffered understand suffering.

 

Blackdog, don't panic. But give us information. Exactly how many miles do you travel before needing to add a quart of oil? That's critical info. I don't worry about any motor until it's using more than a quart every 1000 miles.

IMO you are not risking a breakdown if you keep the oil topped up...all you are going to do is burn oil. Big deal (although you're not going to pass an emissions test if you are burning a lot of oil.) I don't know whether excessive oil use will confuse the computer, but I doubt it. To me, "breakdown" means stranding you when the vehicle won't run. Whether this could damage the catalytic converters is not clear to me.

I had a 1966 GTO that (when I got it) used a quart of oil every 50 MILES. It never ran badly, never let me down, never fouled a spark plug. But of course I rebuilt it as soon as possible, because the oil usage was crazy and the blue smoke was pretty excessive.

In the 60's, it was very common for Chrysler V8 motors to burn the first quart of oil very quickly, then use no further oil between changes. We just ran them on the add oil mark and didn't worry about it.

Of course, that was pre-cat and pre-engine computer.

 

Mazda rotary engines do use oil and it is normal for them. Not necessarily so for piston ring engine types which Murano has. However, I agree with Pilgrim. Simple oil use should not be a big problem. More details will help us help you better.

 

hey guys , i did mention the volume in an earlier post and pilgrim i do respect your advice. using a liter every 600 km's , can i still just keep it topped up ? and believe me it is not smoking and not a leak under car in morning, and i know the oil gremlins are not eating it and man....................

 

For those of you who are metrically-challenged, 600 kms rounds out to 370 miles, and one liter is very close to a quart.

So, consuming one quart of oil every 370 miles is alarming.

Assuming you are averaging 20 mpg, you are consuming 18.5 gallons of fuel over the 370 miles. The fuel to oil ratio is 75:1. Some two-strokes run that mixture!

Oil in the exhaust stream can foul a catalytic converter. On the flip side, a damaged catalytic converter can cause excessive oil consumption.

-njjoe

 

If you're burning at @ 1 quart per 370 miles, that's definitely heavy oil use...and it tells you that there is an engine replacement ore rebuild in your future.

BUT - there's no reason to think it's going to make anything drastic happen or cause a breakdown - it's just a lot of oil to burn.

Keep it topped up and keep on driving.

One thing to try just for grins....

While driving maybe 40 MPH (or 50 KPH), put the gear selector in the #2 position, accelerate hard for 3-4 seconds to wind the engine up, then take your foot off the gas and let it decelerate as hard as it can...and decelerate until you're moving fairly slowly. When you lift your foot off the gas, watch your rear view mirror for blue smoke. If anything will make a car produce oil smoke, that kind of deceleration tends to do it.

This may not tell you a lot, but it can be fun to make smoke.

Seriously, my guess is that although you can drive this car for at least another year just by keeping the oil filled, I doubt you will pass any emissions tests, and the situation is not going to get better.

You need to be planning a rebuild or vehicle replacement in a year or so. When that event will take place may depend on whether you have to get an emissions test to renew your vehicle license.

Remember - if the vehicle is in good shape otherwise, rebuilds are cheaper than replacement cars. Only you know whether the economics of putting the full value of the car into a rebuild make any sense to you.

 

no emission testing here. and yes money fixes everything......never had the check engine light on and just had it at the dealer for another reason and they ran all the codes and charged me, that was great, they mentioned nothing. used motors scare me and a rebuild is very costly...............oh yeah

 

Where is "here"? You can help us all out by adding information to your profile.

 

i am in canada near kelowna bc

 

Thanks (don't forget to update your profile with a location...)

My read on the situation is that you have some time and can keep it running with regular attention to the oil, but the clock is ticking and you should plan for either a rebuild or your next vehicle.

 

blackdog-

Are you still around?

I was reading akaGreg's post regarding his experience with changing spark plugs, and he mentioned he saw evidence of oil traveling through his PCV valve. Then it dawned on me that the PCV valve may be partly responsible for your oil consumption problems. A search of the net supports my suspicions. It might be a long shot, but changing the PCV valve is a whole lot cheaper than a new motor. :4:

-njjoe

 

blackdog-

are you still around?

I was reading akagreg's post regarding his experience with changing spark plugs, and he mentioned he saw evidence of oil traveling through his pcv valve. Then it dawned on me that the pcv valve may be partly responsible for your oil consumption problems. A search of the net supports my suspicions. It might be a long shot, but changing the pcv valve is a whole lot cheaper than a new motor. :4:

-njjoe

great idea!!

 

hey joe, that would be great and why not give it a try, thanks for helpful tip, it may not work but it has never been changed and well you never know.

cheers

 

no luck changed valve cover and pcv, still consuming oil. dealer knows about the problem doesn't care. only sure fix is to rebuild bottom end with after market pistons and rings as nissan oem parts will offend. friend with infiniti has same problem and new engine is consuming as well. he is down 10,000.

 

Hello blackdog

Have you done a compression test?

My engine uses alot of oil (92,XXX miles) and on top of that its leaking power steering fluid from the hi pressure hose. Im gathering parts to change the spark plugs, pvc valve, power steering hose and while im in there, I think im going to do a compression test.

Juan

 

I talked to my dealer about consumption problem and mentioned i was thinking of a rebuilt engine , he said " don't rebuild it " then i went to the best engine shop in town and explained the issue, he called me two days latter and told me he had made some calls and based on what he found out and my description that even though he had full ability to do rebuild he recommend keeping the level topped up as there was probably not enough damage to warrant a complete rebuild. said he would take my money and do a perfect job, but that if it was his car he wouldn't do a build on it. I have posted the amounts prior and it has not gotten any worse over last two years, that is when i noticed and started a log book, uses about same amount since i bought it six years ago. any thoughts.

 

Yes.

#1: The only drawbacks I see to just driving it the way it is are the question of (a) whether it will pass any emissions tests (do you have them? If not, disregard...) and (b) whether the oil will eventually damage the pre-catalytic converters (one just under each exhaust manifold) and the main catalytic converter. I did some quick web research and it appears that oil consumption will probably damage them at some point...but replacing them is still cheaper than an engine rebuild. I did find some comments opining that a cat which has been run and allowed to get good and hot can probably tolerate some oil passing through more easily than a cold cat will.

#2: Why do you say in an earlier post that "OEM parts will offend"? That makes no sense. OEM parts are normally the highest quality and the best fit for your vehicle. Very few OEM parts are even used in an engine rebuild other than gasket set, rings and bearings - which are not actually bearings, they're flat inserts with a coating on top. If you need to have the cylinders bored, aftermarket pistons and rings will be used.

Remember - until the engine actually has problems running, you can just feed it oil. You have not experienced any problems, and you say that your car's oil consumption has not changed in 2 years. That oil usage doesn't seem to have damaged the cat converters so far. I see no reason not to continue driving it until you experience an actual problem.

(Remember my earlier story about the GTO that used a quart every 50 miles? Incredible oil consumption, but it never fouled a plug or ran badly. However, I made a trip from Eastern WA to Seattle and back - 300 miles each way - and used a case of oil doing it. Every 100 miles I added two quarts, then kept driving. The whole darn car smelled of Havoline.)

Many people think cars have to be perfect to keep running. Not so. You can drive a car that has a LOT of problems and keep it running for a long time as long as you know what you're doing, pay attention, and understand what the consequences of driving it in that condition are.

 

hey thanks for response, the reason i was looking for pre-cat mod is because it was most likely the left bank cat that was replaced under warranty that god sucked through my engine and started this problem. if i had the engine built i wouldn't want this to happen again. i found a shop in vancouver that has a mod. for this as they have done this for both murano's and 350z's. and the engine shop said something about the low tension piston rings playing a part in this as well. oh well mo runs good and if you blink you will miss the small puff of start-up smoke.

 

Low tension rings can be caused by the engine getting too hot - it can compromise the temper in the rings and reduce their tension against the cylinder walls. But the engine would have to get pretty darn hot to do it.

 

i was told nissan has low tension rings in these motors. similar to rings found in racing cars .

 

I don't buy it. If all the Muranos had low tension rings *and* that was enough to cause oil consumption in yours, *then* it would cause oil consumption in many Muranos. That's not the case. This is a very simple "if-then" proposition, and it doesn't work. Their story doesn't make any sense, and I don't believe it for a second. If Muranos have low tension oil rings, then they are designed by the manufacturer to run that way without consuming excess amounts of oil. My 07 with 76K miles on it doesn't use any significant amount of oil between 5K oil changes, and it's stock.

Race cars are different in almost every detail from street cars, including the way the engines are set up and equipped. Oil consumption that's perfectly allowable for specific purposes in race cars would not be acceptable in cars sold to the public. Their comparison statement doesn't work for me.

 

ya that's not what i am saying, just pointing out that with some scoring from pre-cat brick being sucked through the engine the low tension rings could let a little more oil pass, got this info from here , this site.


1) If your VQ is losing/burning oil, it is NOT because of the viscosity. The problem lies in the taper of the cylinder bore. All VQ engines have a tapered bore, and on some, it is excessive, to the point where the secondary rings and oil control rings are not making full contact with the cylinder walls. During heavy deceleration, or high rpm deceleration, the vacuum in the cylinder draws oil past these rings. In a situation where you are losing 1qt every 1000 miles, you can be sure to find secondary rings that show minimal signs of wear. (since they are not in contact with the walls, why would they wear?)

 

I've heard that before and I don't believe it either. It's not physically possible to bore a tapered cylinder and have the piston not slap and the rings seal. Some day I may get corrected, but IMO whoever wrote that doesn't understand motors.

 

yes a lot of bad info, worst is that machine shops are making up reasons not to build an engine, dealer recommends not rebuilding ........... trade in value is 5-6 k, used engines are to much of a risk, can't sell a problem mo private , too honest for that and don't want people coming back to me. tried trading at a used car lot and they wanted me to sign a declaration that there are no mechanical defects, well i can't do that as the consumption is an issue, but what if the transfer case went in a week, a component that i have no issue with ? i am over fifty and have never been in such a situation. nissan canada, well they have no knowledge of engine problems after a pre- cat goes through the engine. i know that is what caused the problem as it started six months after, but slowly (happened under warranty ) it does seem to have plateaued, but using oil at 160k is not acceptable , my toyota truck has 290k and uses nothing between changes.

 

I suggest you try different machine shops or see an engine rebuilding firm. In the US there are a number of engine rebuilders, and some are turnkey - you drive the car in, they pull and rebuild the engine, then re-install.

I agree you're using a lot of oil, and you and I can probably agree that this is due to the failure of a poorly designed part. Having the pre-cats where they are is (IMO) a stupid design that invites exactly the problem you have encountered.

But as one of our politicians said, "you don't get too live in the world you want - you have to live in the world you have" (or words to that effect).

I'm betting that in BC you can find an engine rebuilder if you expand your search. If you can't, how about a drive to Seattle for a nice visit and rebuild?

 

yes up here we say " you miss every shot you don't take " tried vancouver but the price went up to 8k and then add in travel and accommodation which was not even practical as they needed a week to do the job. i will check seattle but can't afford to add food and lodging for a week if it is that long.

 

Creative thinking here....

Drive down - take bus home - return via bus?

 

yes that is what i was going to do with vancouver untill the price jumped 2k from local, will make some calls to us next week, internet search i did prior came up with a great shop in california, but that was going a little far, maybe if someone on the forum could help with a good shop in northwest ?