nostrixoxide

Hey guys,
I recently purchased a 99 5spd SE. And decided to give my 98 auto SE to my old lady.

Heres the problem I'm having. On my way home from work yeasterday I hit the brakes to slow down for the gate to my housing track. As I was breaking I noticed a quick little flicker next to the seatbelt light on the dash. It only happen once & it was quick. so I pulled up at the house, gave the car about 10mins to let the oil get down in the pan before I checked it.

Anyways, long story short it was low about 2qts. I always do my own oil changes so I know for a fact it was full. Now I have no oil leaks, there is no smoke coming out the exhaust what so ever & I installed a new pcv on my last oil change.

The engine still pulls very strong & doesnt have any of the tell tale signs that its starting to kick the bucket. What am I overlooking? I run Valvoline 10-40w & I'm starting to wonder whats the problem? Could faulty precats in tye Y-pipe be tye culpret? Anyways just wondering if anyone else has had this issue & if its something that can be resolved without having to build a new engine or dropping in a used one.

njmaxseltd

iTrader: (19)

How many miles since the last oil change?
Either change it or top it off. Keep your eye out for leaks.
Mine was recently 2 quarts down after I skipped an oil change by accident... $hit happens.
After dumping the overdue oil, it hasn't lost a drop.

SandyMax96

iTrader: (12)

That instant flicker, if you happen to catch it again, will be your battery and airbag light, in which case will turn out to be your alternator. On your clock display, do the right side of the numbers look like they're fading out? I would watch out with it man, and get it tested. You don't want to get stranded on the road with it. Those are just my $.02 since I've had it happen in the past before and it tripped me the hell out :eek5:

nostrixoxide

I'm actually right at 3100 miles since my last oil change & I am about to go outside & change it. Was just waiting for the weather to cool off.

I'm 99% positive that the light that flickered was my oil light. I have absolutely no charging problems & the clock illuminates as it should. Matter of fact the (Belts, Alternator, injectors, coils, tires & clutch) were all replaced less that 5k miles ago.

The person I bought the vehicle from was the head honcho at Universal City Nissan. So it has always been serviced at nissan with genuine nissan parts. The only non nissan parts are a Stillen FSTB, Stillen rear sway bar, K&N Panel Filter, Centerforce Clutch & Custom 2.5" Catback with a magnaflow Muffler. The car is absolutely in perfect mechanical order. Only flaws are a few exterior cosmetic issues. And the interior is as Cherry as it gets for a used car.

I'm just wondering if the cats for some odd reason may be causing the problem. I mean if it is burning oil & I'm not seeing anything coming out of the exhaust. Then I can only guess the cats are catching it & may even be clogged??? I think next will be a set of headers & a y-pipe.

iDuty

Do you drive it hard? Engines are more likely to consume oil when driven hard. And high rpm engine braking can suck some oil into the combustion chamber.

At 3,100 miles the oil should be just fine, Valvoline lubricants are good. But being 2 quarts low isn't good. If you top it up then the fresh oil you add will buy you more time before the need for an oil change.

Don't be quick to condemn your OEM cat. It is unlikely to be clogged, and aftermarket cats are dirt poor quality compared to OEM cats.