Niku-Sama

iTrader: (1)

somethings got me bugged and i really dont want to do this but it looks like i am gonna have to.

i have asked before about getting decent oil pressure at startup and having it drop to almost nothing after it warms up, never gets past the 1st line on the guage. the cars been running fine lately but i have noticed a rod knock like noise. oils full, changed it 200 miles ago checked it earlier tonite to be sure.

heres the catch, the knock isnt there when its cold (when pressure is good), its very faint when its at operating temp (below first line) but i can hear very well so i hear it plain as day.

now hunting though my manuals none of them really show how to pull the pan, the only thing i really need to know is.

do i need to take the motor mount out?
if so where do i support the engine at?

the crank pully sounds like bad mojo for support but i cant see any place else.
what i am thinking with the sound is the pickup is cloged or is to close to the inside of the pan which has a sizeable dent (had had ever since i bought the car)

Big_E-Dog

iTrader: (14)

well your gonna need to drop the front crossmember (yes that means both motormounts) the easy way to do this is removing one bolt from the front and the other(rear) youll have to remove the bottom 3 motor mount bolts, also youll need to remove the exaust down pipe, you can support the motor with a jack under the tranny and a brick but youll need to support the tranny at the furthest point inward (the end of the bellhousing) ive done it many times and had nothing happen you could use the crank pulley but you might have to rotate it to get to the rod bolts that you want. also youll gonna need some u-joint extensions because that sump is a byiotch to get to those 2 bolts out without them. now the hard part is putting the pan back in with the rubber gasket, install some of the screws use a lil gasket sealer to keep them in place then screw them in(a drill is key on this part otherwise youll have a hard time), screw the screws in lil at a time moving around the pan, armed with a razor to wedge the gasket in place (as you tighten one screw a nother hole on the gasket moves, use the razor to realign it) work your way around and tighten

once again its better with a power drill (speed controlled)
and u joints the oil pan bolts are 10mm and the rod bolts are 14mm - 9/16 they should be at 44-46 ft.lbs.

redwood_usa

iTrader: (4)

First try using a heavier oil.

Niku-Sama

iTrader: (1)

you do a bunch of funky stuff to your car, have you figured out how to get the mainbearins out with out oulling the crank out?

while i am down there i am going to re-torque every thing to be safe, 184,000 miles and the previous owners only changed the oil, the internals are verry clean for 184k. they must have been the people that thought if your car went over 3k on one oil change it was gonna blow up, but figured that all cars need since 155,000 mile was ok for one timing belt (thats how i know the internals are clean)

also i shouldnt have to use a heavier oil, thats something i am trying to stay away from because some places it'll help but other places it could cause more leaks, this is an experence i learned at my first job, some one would want 15-40 in their car and it would be completely dry, their ticking went away but the next time they come in its really messy

Big_E-Dog

iTrader: (14)

after taking the oul pan off and the main bearing cap you could use a screwdriver and tap out the side of the bearing without the key and pull it the rest of the way out with some needel nose pliers dont miss tho percision is required with this one

neo_densetsu

That sounds trickey. I'd just pull the engine to do something that serious.

If you need a new gasket for the pan, Im not sure if you can get one from nissan, they stopped making alot of gaskets. Just buy some of the Nissan RTV silicone, its great stuff. also I think things are easier to put on with RTV.

Big_E-Dog

iTrader: (14)

its a lot easier to put on with silicone

i think even with silicone youll need to get the end gaskets unless you put a lot there it might work but check with autozone

also it isint trickey as it sounds (the main bearing) once you look in there youll see what im talking about

Hagii73

any idea why an oil gauge in the dash wont work ?

Big_E-Dog

iTrader: (14)

could be the opsu (oil pressure sending unit) or the guage itself

the opsu is down by the filter itl take a 17mm wrench to take it off looks like a small can with a wire coming off of it

Hagii73

kool, guess Ill have to look for a new one.

Niku-Sama

iTrader: (1)

i had bought a set of mainbearings a while ago because i got em cheap ($2 or something like that) i just gotta find em, i rember they had a lifted tab on one side to keep them going in the right way. i'll try one and see.

Alex_V

Its probably not the main crank bearings its most likely the rod bearings. A rod goes up and down, no oil and metal can bang/knock together. A crank just spins so it'll make high pitched grinding/squealing sounds. **

Your also going to need to measure the bearing clearances and all that.**

Sounds like your engines on its way out. If your just putting bearings in it thats just a bandaid when you need 20 stitches. Are you going to replace the oil pump not or let it go bad again?

Your better off getting a jy engine with lower miles.

** this is assuming you need it to last 5K+ miles. Ive heard of ghetto rebuilds lasting 1-4K miles before the knock returns. That would be plenty of time to save up for a good engine.

~Alex

Niku-Sama

iTrader: (1)

i dont think its on its way out i just think its got a tad bit of a clog, and the main bearing thing is just because i am gonna be down there any way, i might as well since i already have the part and make sure everything is torqued correctly. i cant afford a new engine right now and the near future isnt lookin good any way.

and not to to disrespect 3rd generation engines but 2nd gen pre and early W engines were made a little differently i cant quite put my finger on it but alot of the internals in a seccond gen seem to have alot more meat on them than 3rd generation engines....not to mension the 500k+mi 2nd gen i saw in the junkyard the last time...if that car can make it to 500k then my car can. it got hit, thats what put it in the yard (nasty rear ender)

Alex_V

Are you also replacing the rod bearings? I didn't see it mentioned it anywhere. What about the oil pump? Don't fix the symptom fix the cause (well and the symptom, both).

What parts are beefier. The 3rd gen has no issues other then the crank snout breaking off (IMO thats bad "mechanics") and breaking stock pistons/rods with high power engines. They may look bigger but that doesn't mean they are stronger.

Oh and once you get it back together Id run half a can of sea foam for 50-100 miles before the next oil change. It should help clean out the passage ways.

~Alex

neo_densetsu

Ya know... I heard a trick from a kid at my school. He told me to run like... 1/8th a quart of diesel through your oil before you change your oil, like every 25K. Apparently it really helps with cleaning out oil passages and squirters. Im sure SeaFoam will do the same.

I think any VG is very strong. I've seen many different VG vehicles with quite a few miles on them, saw a VG frontier with 620K on it in the junkyard, and the engine was still good. I like the fact that the VG has an iron block, espically after completely destroying a VQ35DE block.