I recently changed my oil on my 97 MAX about 2 months ago. I switched to full synthetic oil (10w 30) at around 143k. I drove to VA for New Years and when I came home I noticed that my CEL was on and my oil light was flashing whenever I rode over a bump. I checked the oil and it was very low. I added a quart of oil and the oil light stopped flashing.

My car has NEVER burned oil like that before. I switched to Castrol synthetic because of the high mileage. Am I missing something here?

 

Make sure nothing is leaking. Check your sending unit, drain plug, filter, ect. Might want to pull your plugs and see if they have been burning oil.

 

Also, change your PCV valve. It might be clogged, which would make you burn oil.

 

Do not forget to check your oil pressure switch. Mine was faulty and leaked oil slowly . This might not be the problem but , check it anyway.

 

If it continues to be missing oil, I would probably say you have a leak someplace...maybe at a seal. Generally, it's recommended that you don't switch to full synthetic after like 70-80K miles cuz after that, the oil could make it's way past seals that were OK with regular oil but couldn't handle the increased slipperiness of synthetic since there's bound to be more wear in an old seal.

 

The slipperiness of the oil?

 

i have to agree w/ him on this... i changed my max over to mobil 1 syn. at like 80k and im on 86k now and no leaks, or loss of oil. odds are you are just leaking somewhere unless u see blue smoke coming out or smell it

 

so is not good to use full syntetic on egines that have more than 70K? should I start using MaxLife or someting for high millege engines?

 

Where people get that 70k number is beyond me. OLD WIVES TALE. If your engine doesn't leak oil now, it's safe to switch. It's not really a mileage issue, but rather a condition issue. If the engine has been abused or neglected, switching at 30K could cause problems. On the other hand, if the engine has been well maintained, switching to synthetic well after 100K doesn't cause problems either. There are many people here who have switched at higher mileage without any problems.

I wouldn't use something like MaxLife in a VQ unless it had mahjor oil leak issues and was on it's last legs. It's not necessary. The "high mileage" formulas usually have additives that promote seal swell to minimize leaks. The funny thing is that if you used a high quality synthetic from relatively early on, you wouldn't have any problems with seal leaks. The "high mileage" formulas are just band aid fixes for the problems that conventional oil conributes to in the first place.

 

Hey,
Did you ever find out what the problem is?
I have a 97 Max and it is losing oil fast also. It occasionally smokes bad for a few seconds. This usually happens when coming off the interstate after doing about 70+ for 45min.
I am going to take it and have it looked at soon.
I have only had the car a couple of months but never noticed the smoke until after I had it a couple of weeks.
I think I have bad valve seals or something wrong with the valves.

 

Check the seals. I have a 91 sentra XE that also burns oil. Instead of doing an overhaul I put in straight 40 weight Castrol and that NO Smoke stuff. It doesnt burn as bad. I also replaced the gasket cover because I could see where the oil was leaking on the motor. Clean off your engin, then check it a few days later, if you have a leak you should be able to see where it is coming from.

 

I had the same problem on my previous car. I changed from regular to synthetic and it started to take oil bad. What happened was that since the oil I was using before was regular it had actually filled in little cracks on the gaskets and dried and sealed them. When I switched to synthetic it actually cleaned out that oil buildup therefore opening up all the cracks and leaks. You probably have a leak somewhere. Check the valve cover gasket also check what the other .org members are telling you.

 

When I had my Y-pipe installed the mechanic showed me that my Oil Pressure Switch was leaking. This past Sunday I replaced the oil pressure switch, PCV valve, and flushed the engine and replaced with 5w 30 Mobil One synthetic(and filter).

So far no leaks. Hell, that little rattle that I believe comes from the timing chain upon ignition and dies, even went away. I'll keep everyone posted. Thanks for everyones help!!!

 

slop00 is right.....AMS oil has that right on their web page....varnish and sludge build up from conventional oil can give you a "false seal"....part of what you are paying for in synthetics is better detergents...these will clean your engine and can generate leakes....i think AMSoil recommends 80-90k for a thresh hold.

the rest of the gang is right....look for the usual...loose drain plug, filter (some times the gasket from the old filter will stick to the block if you didn't lube it at installation, and will leak horribly if you didn't notice it before putting the new filter on)....the pcv valve should rattle, if not replace it (i would replace it after all the work you do just to get at it in the first place...)

 

I'd say you have a leaky seal, you shoud check it out sometimes it really isn't that much to replace.

 

I am happy for you . I had the same problem , with the oil pressure switch. Nissan should have replaced this switch free of cost! If you saw my eariler reply , you will see that I had recommend that you took a look at that switch. Good luck.

 

>>>>>>>>>>>>>
give credit to the better quailty oil filter on the timing chain rattle.....stay away from the fram/pennz/quaker filters

 

I haven't seen them recommend this anywhere. Do you remember where you saw it?

 

Switched to full synthetic at 96K. No black spots in the garage, no burning of the oil

I would jack the car up, grab a shop light or a flash light and visually inspect the bott om of the engine etc for any signs of a leak. If I did not see the leak, I would check the plugs etc and grab my trusty Haynes Manual for some troubleshooting tips.

 

I bought my car with 72K and started using synthetic. No problems. It does burn around a quart every 7k. Normal for a motor with 140k on it.

 

Funny thing is , I had a 3rd gen (brother in law has it now) , which currently have 180,000 miles on it and it still does not burn oil!
I never had to add oil before my oil change interval.
Note: I changed oil religously at 3000 miles . I did notice that my 4th gen 5 speed(46000 miles on dash)does burn a little oil , just before or @ 3000 miles.
I know this is off the topic , but wanted to share . Does anyone know why the the 4th gen burns oil more than the 3rd gen?

 

A lot of them don't.

 

My 97 Max is burning oil. About 1/2 quart every 200 miles. This is a very abnormal condition. I think I have valve seal problems but have not taken it in to be looked at yet. I don't notice any drips on the ground.
Has anyone else had any valve work done. What kind of cost I am looking at? (speculation).

 

That's definitely not normal If it's the valve seals, I believe the head has to be removed to replace them. If both banks are affected, it could be pricey. How many miles on the engine??

 

FWIW my 98 SE 5spd has always burned about a quart every 4-5k miles. Sometimes a little more or less. I've always used Mobil 1 5w30 for about 85k miles now.

Some motors just seem to be "looser" than others. This was within what Nissan considered normal. It never got any worse either....

hmmmmmmm

-RMB