Miasma

I changed my oil about a month and a half ago. I was concerned at the time that it may be a bit overfilled. Now, my oil is reading just above the L mark. There is no smoking of any kind from the exhaust. Compression and vacuum readings are normal. No accumulation of oil under the car or on the ground. Where do you guys suggest I begin inspecting? The car has 86000mi, and I have been using Mobil 1 super syn 5W30 for more than 6k mi. It appears that I have lost about .5Q. I will check daily to see if it is infact going lower still. Any ideas?

Nismo

iTrader: (18)

how does your coolant look/smell?

Miasma

all looks\smells good.

iwannabmw

iTrader: (3)

Do you have 6k on the same fill of Mobil 1?
If not, is the second interval on it and what did you switch from?

Mobil 1 oils tend to be on the thinner side of the 30 wt. spectrum and engines running it may consume more of it when switched from a thicker brand.

Jeff92se

iTrader: (82)

Measure it at the exact same place and time. ie... first thing in the morning or when you fill up for gas. If you check one time right after turning the car's engine off, it will read different than if you let it sit overnight in the garage.

Gramdacious

iTrader: (1)

I have a '99 5sp and have have consumption at that rate as well. I can't figure it out so I change oil setups at every interval to see if I can find an oil that holds up more. I'm interested to hear what other people say to stop consumption, cause mine seems kinda high times.

Miasma

i do measure at the same time. in the morning after it has sat a while.

this is my 3rd change on mobil 1. i must have had it in for more than 6k, but something around 6-10k. Anyway, I was using whatever 10W30 dino oil i was given until then.

i want to place something under the car overnight to verify no dripping. i park in an asphalt lot, so it is hard to tell if there is a small drop or two. but i look real hard and find nothing. also, i had a bad oil sender and replaced that. since then, the underside of my car has been dry of any oil.

iwannabmw

iTrader: (3)

On the extended drains, Mobil 1 seems to shear down to a 20 wt. oil. The Tri-Syn formula was pretty bad at this, but Supersyn seems to be better. If your running 6-10k intervals on it, that amount of consumption is minimal and is probably related to the viscosity. Try the 10W-30 on the next change and see what it does, it usually is more stable.

CystumMax

i think maxima takes only 4Q. thats very wired. you might not put right amount of oil from beginging.

Miasma

no, it was very near the H line, now it is near the L line.

A5295

iTrader: (1)

I tend to consume some oil myself, and i agree about mobil one- it does tend to be a little thin. Most cars, once they get some miles, tend to consume some oil, with no smoke present or anything. I have 120K and the only time mine smokes, or appears to, is when i clean the TB. Just my .02

-Anyone tried royal purple? I know it is expensive, but i kinda like it.

Miasma

so i just dropped in another 1.5 quarts... put a wooden board under the car, no dripping. i get some white smoke when the car is not warm, but it seems to be related to running rich. as soon as the car is warm, no smoke at all. coolant still looks and smells fine. only other fluid in question, causing some 'sweat' is my clutch, i still need to replace the slave cylinder and host, they are sitting right next to me. so i topped off clutch fluid, and oil. car is running great otherwise.

something is DEFINITLY wrong though, 1.5Q/6 weeks???

remember, vacuum, compression and emissions were all perfect in the last 2 months. my oil is literally vanishing! the underside of the car is dry as a bone.

bill99gxe

iTrader: (1)

How many miles/per quart of cosumption. If it's 1 quart every 1k, then it's considered "normal", though I don't consider it normal.


Rear main seal and rear valve cover gasket leaking are possibilities. Also look around the timing chain cover (passenger side of engine where drive belts are. Just see if there is any dried up oil.

Miasma

it has been about 2500 miles since my last full oil change, and i have added about 2.5Q. rear main seal is a definite possibility, how can i look at that without taking off the tranny tho?

i will inspect around the rear valve cover, the rear of the engine, and the timing chain area better in the next week.

DougsfastZ

iTrader: (1)

My car losses oil too. I switched to 20W50 which slowed it down alot. Yes it is a thicker oil, I just let the car sit a little longer at idle when I first start it

Doug D

tomj

Has your car been inspected lately? Maybe something will show up in the emissions numbers, i.e. burning the oil or not, then leaking out somewhere else. I have noticed as well with the Mobil 1 that I "consume" about 1 quart every 6k-7.5k miles. Guess it's "normal" for the VQ. I do drive her hard though.

Miasma

yes, as i wrote in my first post today, i passed emissions. i was under 1/2 the legal limit on all polutants. i am virtually 100% sure that the car is not burning oil. i really feel that this is a leak somewhere...

Tim 95 GLE

Yeah my POS uses about a quart every week from leaking from some unknown spot. I have already replaced the sender. It smells horrible too, leaks right on the exhaust.

bill99gxe

iTrader: (1)

Best way is to have a mechanic you trust put it on a lift and have a real good look-see. VQs are reliable, but several members here have had issues with the rear main seal and/or rear valve cover gasket leaking, citing mysterious oil consumption. Most of the time, one or the other was the culprit.



My bet is the rear main seal.

MardiGrasMax

iTrader: (14)

I do a 6k interval with RL 10w30 and a filter change at 3k on my VQ with ~55k miles. Before this last dyno session and two track events with nitrous (11.9@117 run) I consumed very little oil if any. Now I consume ~1qt every 3k, no smoke, no drips. I have not changed my oil since the dyno and track events because had I added 2 qts (including some with the 3k filter change), I am close to the 6k mark now and will prolly change it in a week. Perhaps I sheered the RL 10w30 down? I plan on doing an Blackstone report to see how the oil looks. If it sheered bad I will either bite the bullet and change the oil with the 10w30 right after a track event ($$ chaching on the redline) or maybe try RL 10w40 or M1 0w40. Decisions Decisions. This paying to play is getting old.

Miasma

i still cant find a single drop anywhere. i am beginning to think it may be valve seals or something with the valvetrain that would not affect compression, but still cause oil consumption. has anyone with a vq ever had major valvetrain probs?

rmb

I've got a 98SE w/ ~90k that's burned a quart of Mobil 1 5w30 every 2-4k since it was new... Seemed a bit much at first but it's never gotten worse. No visible smoke and all emissions are 100% fine. If yours has "changed" all of a sudden though then I'd worry.... 2.5quarts in 2500 is a lot though.. But if it's not leakin.... then it's burnin it!

What were your compression readings on each cylinder?

Also pull each spark and take a look... Maybe something went recently like a valve seal....

-RMB

polishpunk68

I'm about to buy a 96 max with 80k miles on it that's been driven around NYC... I know, bad, but some old dude had it and its in read good condition..

I know no idea what kind of oil he used, probably regular 5w30 that was done by a mechanic..

I have no idea if it burns any oil, I know it doesn't leak it.. so whats the reccomended oil I should start using? I would like to use Mobil 1 but I don't want the engine to start burning the oil..

izzydig

Here's a thought:

I almost bought an altima once. Couldnt' see any "burning oil", but I plugged the exhaust with my hand for about 3-5 seconds, till the exhaust couldn't hold anymore (the gasses forced their way out...haha). I let go, and saw really light blue smoke coming out. Didn't buy it.

My instinct for that altima was leaking head gasket or bad rings (tho compression test should show bad rings).

rmb

The "plugging the exhaust" test doesn't show you anything. A rich burn can also create blue smoke.

If nothing else, always pull the plugs and check them out.

-RMB

izzydig

I thought the plug exhaust thing was to test for a leaky exhaust. I was suprised to see the smoke though on that altima. My old Nissan had a leaky exhaust, so it was easy to plug the muffler.

Whats the plug exhaust thing for? only for exhaust leaks?