The Car seems like its going through about a pint of oil every 1500 miles... What would cause this? Does it usually mean major $$ to fix?

 

A leak is present somewhere. I may not cost too much to fix if you do the work yourself and it depends on what the work is.

Pull your plugs and see if you see oil on any of them. Lift the car and inspect for visable leaks or wet spots.

 

No leaks under the car... will check spark plugs next. Thanks-

 

Auto Rx 10char

 

It dosen't have to be a leak. He could just be burning oil - from seepage around the rings or valve guides....

 

That was my next suggestion.

 

Look at your rear valve cover. If you had a leak from there it wouldnt really be visible. It would just seep down and burn off on the manifold.

These engines are rocks. They seldom burn oil unless you have like 200,000 miles on your car or you drive it like a race car making every shift at 5500 rpm.

 

just changed my oil - put in 4.5qts. but looks overfilled by about .5qt (goes past fill zone to the top of the "H"). should I drain a little or not worry? saw another post that warned strongly against overfilling.

 

.25 overfill is no big deal.

 

what oil are you using? Mobil1?

 

no. I'm using Super Tech full synthetic (wal mart brand) 10W30 w/ Nissan OEM filter. I know ST is not as good as Mobil 1, but it's half the cost. After letting the car sit overnight the oil level is now 1cm above the full mark. but I only put 4.5qts in??

anyone know who makes the Super Tech oil? is it crap, or on par with Catrol syntec?

 

wait, it's half the cost.... so you are saving about $10?? and you think it's worth it to put that crap in your engine?

get the mobil 1. It's not worth the risk IMO.

 

umm...i buy mobil 1 oil from walmart. its like $20 for 5 quarts. its like saying what would you rather have. Poland spring bottle, or a bottle that has a white label saying filtered water..?? being a $0.50 difference

 

well, I know the ST stuff is just private labeled brand name oil [from penzoil, quaker state, havoline, etc]. and it passes the same API certification testing as all the others. but I'm wondering if the quart marks on the side of the bottle are accurate. 4.5qts and it's overfilled by 1cm? doesnt seem right.

Also - Mobile 1 is "true" synthetic PAO oil. which I've heard can cause leaks in cars with higher mileage that have not previously used PAO oils. my 99 has 70k. I just bought it and started using group III "synthetic" ST oil. previous owner took it to the dealer every 3k for dino oil. I didn't want to risk an oil leak at the rear main seal. figured group III synthetic is closer to dino oil than mobil 1 (for the seals, etc), and has many of the same benefits.

also BTW - mobile 1 and amsoil are the only 2 "true" synthetic PAO oils (that I know of). Castrol, Valvoline, etc are all group III, just like ST - but they cost the same as mobil 1! definately a rip off. but ST is only $10 for 5qts. I'd feel better if I knew it was private labeled penzoil or castrol though.

 

ST is not crap. I use it too. Any oil that has the API symbol on back with the same ratings is fine because they have to undergo the same tests as brand name oils.

As far as the water comment. Filtered water is filtered water. There is spring water, filtered water and distilled water. Most bottled water is reverse osmosis filtered tap water. Same stuff. The only taste difference comes from where the water originated.

I'm in medicine and generic medications are sometimes better than the brand names. If brand name things were so good then nothing would ever break or wear out. Just think about how many things are wrong with NISSAN factory parts. Then people say always use genuine Nissan parts. Never aftermarket. If Nissan parts were so great why did they break in the first place? Like the frickin knock sensors...

I had a maxima motor blow because the Pennzoil I used was bad oil and foamed in the motor. They'll never admit their oil caused the damage. I know it did but I cant prove it.

 

You are right to an extent. Certain times you pay for the name/brand recognition. Other times it's good to pay extra because, as the saying goes, "you get what you pay for". It all depends on the product(s) you are buying i think.

So wait, you are saying that 10w30 synthetic oil is the same no matter the brand as long as the API symbol is present? hmmm....

 

nothing is ever the "same" but the variation in different products doesn't really matter as long as they accomplish the same thing. It's not like your car tastes the oil. If no frills brand synthetic oil is tested against the brand names and is found to be comparable and meets certain standards (this is what API is) then as far as i'm concerned, its good enough to put in my engine.

 

I am losing a bit of oil also. This thread in the 5th gen forum might be related to your oil loss. Another option.
http://forums.maxima.org/showthread.php?t=418752

 

w/e u do dont use valvoline on any aluminum engine. w/e is in it ****s your engine up, if its aluminum that is

 

Both are crap! Stick to Mobil 1 or Pennzoil

 

Valvoline is not that great of an oil but can you please explain in english exactly why it XXXX the engine up?

 

Where do you get your information from?!?

 

Where do you get your information too?

 

i use Mobil 1 since i've just been using it ever since i drove. my brother told me to buy it so i did. he said since you like to floor it, you will need synthetic since you're always working the engine pretty hard. and then he said, for $10, you're almost guaranteeing your engine will get oil seeing how many miles i put on. instead of going out to eat for ONE day out of the 8k-9k, you have already saved enough money to buy mobil1

 

Ok yes and no,

ST is decent, wont do any harm

Mobil1 (and any other APO) will NEVER cause a leak, however it may find a previous leak that was clogged with crap from cheap oil and open it up, a group III will presumebly do a similar thing because of its semi-similar additives.

I switched my 98 I30 at 72k miles to synthetic, im now at 80ish and have had no leaks. Theres a guy who switched at 199k and had no leaks, id bet youd be fine

 

ok - you guys convinced me. next time i'll go with Mobil 1. this car better go >220k miles like my '91 camry did.

 

the car and the engine will, but when the tranny dies dont be shocked, just buy another one or get a rebuild, but otherwise i see no problem with 300k