cashoit

Hold on fellas....all this name callin and whatever else??? cmon

However his engine got damaged and whether or not it is his fault is irrelevant. The fact is, his motor is damaged and he is looking for help. He may be a noobie and inexperienced with automobiles but thats no reason to not to help the guy. We always help ppl with their maxi problems. He thought he had a good mechanic and didnt think to check the oil after the job was done. Leave it at that.

OP...there is no way of tellin how long yur engine will last. It could die today or could die yrs from now. These engines are so robust and well built that u can drive with no engine oil and the engine STILL runs afterward lol.

2 miles is a long way to drive with no oil to lubricate your internals and you would have to open up the engine to inspect the damage. Unless u can do it yurself, its not worth paying for.

My advice...if u can live with the sound jus keep driving it until it dies or until u can replace with another engine. Cost to replace should be 1000 bucks or less.
Now that maybe jus the cost to replace the engine and not the tensioners, pump, an chain. But all that stuff should be replaced bnefore reinstallation IMO. Jus make sure to get one with a warranty. These engines are easy to find. See if the old mech will put it in for free. Mechanics usually try to work with u.

Good luck

famouspork

hey dudes, there are probably tons of stuff you don't know Jack about, and still use every day.And when they break, you probably try to figure out why.This is what this new member is trying to do.

Now as for this engine.It is dead. Well, soon enough it will be.
He needs a new engine, or rod bearings, right?
Now who should pay for that? My opinion is, that a-hole mechanic is responsible 100%, but will not aknoledge that he is.Threatening him will not do any good.And he is alzheimer anyway.I would not trust him with an oil change, apparently for good reasons.

If his oil machine was broken, then you might have something against him.
He probably has some kind of insurance policy for things like that. Maybe you can evoke that in a controlled discussion about the issue.

he could also come back saying it was a month ago and that you should have said something about it earlier. You did, but he put some oil in it then and since then you could have driven your car like a madman just to make him pay.
Not an easy case.
I would sell the car, keep the mods.Tell the new owner he might need a motor.Or replaxce it with a friend.
But changing the rod bearing is going to be a hell of a job

bgawad

iTrader: (8)

no but i believe it's the mechanics fault that he never check the dip stick when he was adding oil. Please read the entire thread before you post info from the last three posts.

bgawad

iTrader: (8)

alright guys wanna just end the thread? I'm not trying to make a bad impression on my first couple posts, lol half the org hates me and i just started. i'm being honest with what i said. If i take the mechanic to court ill let you guys know. My friend said he could do the 3.5 swap so i might just ride my engine to the ground and save up. Thanks for all the reply's from the org. If we keep going on in this thread were going to keep going in circles with this argument and nothings going to get resolved. thanks

defiance

iTrader: (1)

Whats up with that incompetent mechanic ? is he going to replace your engine or whats going to happen there ?

famouspork

I knew that,it's just a question of being able to prove that the mechanics IS a dipstick.

bgawad

iTrader: (8)

sorry famouspork i was not directing that to you, it was the other member who said it was my fault the engine went because i had a bad oil pressure sensor. Sorry i did not intend that message for you. You'r the one who is helping me and i appreciate it.

sonicrunch

I'm just playing devils advocate here.

cashoit

Yeah...it helps if u quote other ppl's reply so they know who u speakin to.

NOt to burst your bubble...but im totally against engine swaps. THey are for enthusiasts and not for everyday driving. jus my .02


Jus replace the engine and call it a day

turbizzy

iTrader: (3)

Im sorry bro, im not trying to hate on your but your waaaay off with this whole air pressure to oil pressure comparo lol. Removing the oil cap while the engine is runnin may affect the idle quality a tad but that is because your creating an intake air leak. You see that rubber hose that is on your valve cover that goes to your intake rubber boot? If you disconnect this hose with the engine running youll get similar results. You need to understand how a Positive Crankcase Ventilation (PCV) system works to understand why this happens.

Also, him replacing these gaskets and having air enter your engine doesn't do anything to your engine and won't affect oil pressure at all, air does not relate in this case. The only way air can enter your oil pressure delivery system is if you have no oil in it or have overfilled the oil and crankshaft is airrating the oil into foam by the counterweights slapping the oil causing a low oil pressure condition since the oil is airrated.

In any case, this beleif of yours about the oil and air thing is completely false, trust me im a nissan master technician. I am trying to help you though so don't take this in offense.


I have to agree, your low oil pressure switch may be stuck/faulty. Does it light up at all when you turn the key to on right before you start the engine? If not then its bad.

I'd usually agree with this statement however being that he already has another car, a 5th gen max apparently, then a VQ35DE engine swap would prob be a fun project since this engine is basically shot. Honestly though... with the amount of VQ35s i see with oil consumption issues especially in 5th gens... i'd almost rather keep the VQ30 in there

Also, try running a thicker grade oil. Sometimes this helps reduce minor engine noises on higher mileage engines. Try some 10w30 or maybe even some 20w50.

luke95gxe

iTrader: (4)

check the wire that goes to the oil pressure sensor ion my max when i got it i found my wire had been ripped off i resoldered it to the conector

cashoit

Not to thread jack but ahh...


Bizzy...u a master Tech. hey I think that the 3rd and 4th gens are the most reliable maxis built. U agree??

Abimax95

iTrader: (1)

Let me tell you my short story , I drove my car when it was raining cows and horses and me having a CAI it suck in water I din't check for water in the oil I started it and drove about 7 miles with a tick tick tock tock and 30 sec to my bro-in-laws house piston number 1 came thru the block 5 seconds later picton number 2 came thru the block and 2 sec later puff my engine bay is on fire !! get the point !! keep driving it and yours also will be light up like a christams tree in january !! I would post pics but some f*cker stole my new cam with the pics in it !! hopes this help !!!

bgawad

iTrader: (8)

wait.................... so if i keep driving my car, its not going to seize but its going to light on fire???????????????? Can anyone give me more insight if this is true?????

famouspork

The reason why his engine friggin exploded is basically because water entered the CAI and got into the cylinders, causing hydrolock, since liquids cannot be compressed.
Has nothing to do with your problem...just put your original air filter box on..

Abimax95

iTrader: (1)

base on what you said that you drove your car with out oil is a sure sign that the bearings got messed up specialy with that kind of millage and the noise you said ! I would not take any chances dude ! I know this engines are solid motor cuz even when my engine blew 2 piston out of the block I still manage to drive the car for about 1000 feet with out the engine missing a beat ! but is your car !! I sugesst not to drive it like that !

bgawad

iTrader: (8)

yea thanks guys, im going to just stick with my 5th gen maxima untill i make a clear decision on what im going to do with my 97. I usually save my 2000 maxima as a weekend car because its a stick. I go to school and theirs always traffic on the parkway so its going to be a pita driving everyday in traffic but i don't have a choice. Anyone know why the sound is so intermittent??? I start it in the morning it wont make the sound, i drive for 20min and the noise occurs,

tyler5619

iTrader: (7)

first of all, IBTL.

second, your oil light itself may be burned out. check these things more often.

third, you took a chance on a "backyard mechanic". sure, it was a fairly elementary job to take on, and a trained monkey could have changed your gaskets. but the fact is, it was done as a cash deal, under the table. afaik, you have nothing on the guy. you could report to the IRS his failure to report income, but i doubt that would get you a new engine.

my .02 is this: take the opportunity to make lemonade. DE-K swap!

or just get another 4th gen vq. post in your local region for help on the motor swap! hang in there, and just take it in stride (and teach others) that this is what can happen when you trust a "backyard mechanic".

cashoit

I say rock it till the wheels fall off lol

96nismomaxi

iTrader: (17)

What is wrong with all of you!!!!! We all came to this forum at one point for help with a question that was stumping us and we asked for help! So what if he has no knowledge about how a motor works. He will just need more money than the rest. There are people that have no idea how to change there oil. Why dont you guys stop bashing the poor kid and try to help him!

Anyways to answer your question i would suggest that you drive it till it blows up. Apparently you dont have enough knowledge to start pulling things apart and try putting others back together. But what i would do if i were you would go to the state and file against your mechanic, for not claiming taxes as well as not giving you a receipt for the work that has been done. It will take some work but if you go to him and let him know that you will put him in the paper it may sway his vote to fixing his messup. As we all know a mechanics word and work is all they have to go by if u flame him in the paper than it will hurt him. also you can probibly get the local news to air an "on your side" i live in louisiana and they do a thing "6 on your side" and what it is, is people have problems and the news crew comes in and confronts the problem.

anyways im tired of typing and if these things dont work than let us know i will think of more

v3rtex7740

to the OP:

really? you ran a max w/o any oil for 2 miles and it STILL MOVES?!?!

... that's a nissan for ya...

consider yourself lucky

god smiled on you

bgawad

iTrader: (8)

yeaaaa my dad said the same thing......... he said i should be lucky the car still moves, and doesn't burn a lot of oil. I consider myself somewhat lucky.... idk i just got an oil change, and i through 20w 50 i'm going really thick because i absolutely love this car.

1992maximase30

bgawad:
i drove my legend on a bad rod bearing for two weeks and it still ran. and i was still driving the car "normally".
it did'nt catch on fire or overheat.

the oil light wire on my 4th gen has a habit of coming off by itself. thats because when we did the tranny on her whoever worked on that side busted the harness.
so when i don't see that light i connect it back right away.

anywho, i replaced the engine in my legend.
i even told the guy where he could buy the motor from at a good price.
he choose to have some other company ship it out.
told me it was gonna cost $850, that included parts and labor, take 3 days to do.
it took about a week and half.
only thing that was new was the anti-freeze, oil and oil filter.
oh and the kicker: it cost me $1200!!!!!!

oh i was pissed. but paid for it.
proceeded to drive: THE ***** WAS MISFIRING!!! i took it back to them they tell me : well it's been sitting for awhile...give a few.
went to work. embarrassed, pissed.
put in new plugs, wires, checked everything.
nothing. still misfiring.
next morning let the car warm up.
no misfire.
as if nothing had happened.
i was so happy.
went around a few times, gave her some tough runs.
come to a stop: oil light on!
before i went to work i took it right to them.
by the time i got there it was starting to knock.
so they took it in. started giving me the run arounds.
made my dad pissed to the point he threatened to call his lawyer.

so thats when they moved there ***. got the right motor replaced all of the parts.
but then guess what: they **** up the heater core.
in the process of removing or install the motor they bent one of the heater core legs.

why this long *** story:
cause like you i went to someone i thought i could trust.

madd_maxx

iTrader: (1)

You better get a lawyer involved or at least threaten to get one. I always check my car after it gets worked on. But in your case he left the keys under the mat.

cashoit

dat blows man. Go to a mechanic and he you with a bad motor?? My mechanic doesnt get anythin for me that doesnt come wit a at least a 3 month warranty. And never no hidden cost, he always upfront w/ me. Hell, he puts on my mods for free. Doesnt even charge me.

VQphantom

iTrader: (10)

If need a motor i have 1 with 165k on it 300 +shipping its the full motor alt and all.

bgawad

iTrader: (8)

pm me and will talk

bgawad

iTrader: (8)

update! took the mechanic to court, brought my bro with me (lawyer) I got $2200 for my engine repair/replace. Mechanic is also facing chargers for not filing income to the IRS. As of now my rod knock is still there 6 months later lol. Its still my daily driver, dont know what im going to do with the $$ might sell the max and buy a 5.5. Well see though..... thought u guys wanted to know.

1992maximase30

cashoit yea. he screwed me over. but i ended up getting the last laugh...till the tranny went out, damn acuras. lol.

glad everything worked out for you bgawad i say keep it and see what that vq can do then drop another motor in.

mdliber

iTrader: (1)

good ole justice, this thread was a pretty good read by the way

turbizzy

iTrader: (3)

Great job! Just ride it till it quits which will prob be a while still. Put some 20w50 oil in it lol.

NoMam

iTrader: (1)

He may have put thicker oil on the next change?

ImmaSquashYou

iTrader: (7)

pretty good read. And i just wanted to chime in and say two things. I changed oil in my friends 07 gti. I forgot to put the dipstick back in, and it sounded like it was going to stall or sounded like the engine was about to explode. I looked at him, got kinda scared (but i knew i didn't do anything wrong) Noticed i had the dipstick in my hand, turned the car off and put the dipstick back in, everything soudned normal. That was the weirdest thing ever but didn't think anything else of it. Also, i was surpised that the car started. I have an oil leak and didn't realize the amount it had leaked out when i went on vacation. tried starting it and it wouldn't work. Just kept cranking and i'm sure i wasn't empty on oil, just very very very low.

p.s. congrats on the settlement

bgawad

iTrader: (8)

thanks guys!! i'm probably just going to run it to the ground. I was thinking about the 3.5 swap for it..i got offers for $1500 for the install but i have to buy the engine. idk at the moment it makes more sense to do the 3.5 swap on my 2000 maxima rather than the 97. The vq30de is a pretty cheap engine used, i see them going for $300 with about 85k miles, so that seems like the path i might take when the time comes. Thanks again guys! (Surprisingly my engine still makes the same rod knock it did 6 months ago, but their is no power loss what so ever, it just keeps going LOL)

cashoit

Refer to my first post....told ya man, jus keep rocking it till the engine falls out lol

Blakfreestyle

iTrader: (1)

First of all, i'm glad you got your problem fixed. It's funny that on the internet people are quick to call you a liar and talk junk... knowing that face to face they wouldn't.

Haven't we all seen the commercials where the car runs out of oil and the engine continues to run? The internals should be constantly coated in oil and even an oil change will NOT remove all of the oil from the engine. Therefore it is conceivable that the op drove the car with very little oil, and no loud knocking noises at first.

I've dealt with shade-tree mechanics too and it's a shame that you had to take this guy to court. He paid the price for not having some integrity and doing the right thing.

Rob_0126

Congrats on the settlement. Justice is served. People just don't want to take responsibility for their actions anymore; No integrity.

This reminds me of a time when I had a 79 El camino with a 267 V8. It had an oil leak, but I didn't realize how bad.

I recently started using synthetic oil in this motor. Well, for a time, I drove it.
One day, I heard some tapping. So I checked the oil, and it didn't even register on the stick!

Turns out, it had 1 quart of synthetic oil in the pan. But the engine was fine. The only problem I encountered was a push rod, with the tip having melted.

Which goes to show, how good synthetic(mobil one) oil is.

bgawad

iTrader: (8)

thanks guys, im happy i got some $$ for all the damage done......... the noise is super annoying at traffic lights, but i dont here it on the highway but w/e im not touching the engine until it seizes, just gota keep putting lucas, and oil treatment every oil change. : )

1992maximase30

have yo floored it with the rod knock?lol just wondering.

i remember when i had a 94 pontiac grand am gt.
3100v6.
i did the oil change every 2500 miles. any longer the engine would tap.
also if i made a u turn the oil pump would suck up air. then the top end would tap.

one time this happened the tapping did'nt stop. so i asked my mechanic friend how much to swap in a another 3100 or 3400.
he told me to start it up...no tapping.

another time i thought the engine was a goner i was at the puerto rican parade i made a u turn. drove the car for awhile and i pull up to the car next to me, and thought damn his engine sounds bad. BUT IT WAS ME. pulled over open the oil cap. felt for one of vales. it was barely moving.
drove home. let it sit for about 2 hours. restarted her up oil gauge was reading zero. engine was tapping.

went out at 3am started her up engine was still tapping but i had a reading on the oil gauge.

in the morning tired as hell went to work. the noise went away. then came back. then went away.

castro syntec solved this problem.

flynlr

iTrader: (2)

for those of you who do not use pre start checklists. at least take a look at all the warning lights right before you crank the engine.. you can tell if they are at least working..
and they will go out if all is in working order after the start,..