I have a 95Max with about 109,000 miles. This is for actually any Max owner to give me some suggestions on it, i called the dealer and they said try synethetic but once i start i cant go to regular oil changes, Sh^t Ill do it if it makes him feel better , and when its cold it knocks in rithyms and patterns for longer times, whats going on does yours do this. please help. b/c people ask me .

Please be a little more descriptive of the problem...

yeah, describe it more, cuz it sounds like my problem.

mine knocks hard for the first few seconds i start it up, then its a light more rythmic knock/patter from the lifters. the start up scares me, after that its alright with me. 162,000 miles now... just changing my oil on time, and its hanging in there, i guess im not too scared..

when i start the car i think its normal how the lifters on the engine kinda chatter for a second or two and after that the actuall lifter a knocking not in a repetitve constant sound, but like chatters for about 5 seconds then stops for 2 then 5 seconds and so on... its almost like tapping but very very fast, it done this since i bought it w 70K on it but its gotten worse as time.

So Yeah should i switch to synthetic oil changes? Ya think

I have the same knocking sound in idle and in park, it will do it if it is cold or warm. How can this problem be fixed. It obviously has done it with all maximas pretty much it seems. Is this a problem to worry about Iam worried. 75,000 here 97 GLE, i have had it fast prolly only a few times over hundred. I soppose driving it hard isnt good for this problem. I have synthetic in their now. and change oil every 3,000. please inform me of what to do. How much would it cost to get fixed or isnt this a problem???

i drive mine hard, but not stupid.. i let it warm up, its been well over 100, and on many occasions, i dont like over 125 though, too much strain for 162,000 miles. no synthetics for me, my engine is holding up just fine with the regular stuff the engine will always be quieter than my jeeps have been... my last 4.0 knocked like a diesel for the last 25,000 miles before i sold it, and never died. i'll hope for the best with the max, and just take it easy till it warms up.

I dont think its a good idea to to put synthetic oil into high milege cars. It will eat though your seals and engine will start leaking.

I have never heard anything like this. Where did you get this info? What are you basing it on? Just curious.

SuDZ

Oh Sh^t now you say itll eat up my engine sooner, might as well put sugar in the gas too, where'd you hear that from? then why do corvettes and Ferreri's use it?

hmmm, I put synthetic in mine at 82K it is now 87K and not a drop of oil has disapeared sense... I wonder if it's leaking or not....


Vinipux

I started using Amsoil synthetic at 65,000 miles and now have just over 104,000. I have never had to add one drop of oil and I usually change it between 10,000 to 15,000 miles. I will not even consider using non-synthetic oil in this or any other car I may own in the future.

ive heard the same thing, at some point its more harmful than beneficial to change to synthetic, and i also heard you cant go back to regular again. mine lasted this long with reg, no point in risking the switch now. 162,000 MIGHT be a little high to switch..

Should I go back to regular oil, i have had synthetic for a few times, i have it right now, 75,000? what should i do? just go back to regular and save the money???

Please explain why you can't go back to regular after using synthetic. I do it all the time depending on what oil is on sale, and I have 156k with no problems.

You can switch to synthetic at any time, and you can even switch back and forth and you won't harm anything. You do need to be a little cautiuos about switching to it with higher mileage cars. What tends to happen is a little bit of sludge starts to build up around the seals and passages over time, when you switch to a synthetic with it's better detergency characterstics this sludge can get washed away, and any issues you have with worn seals is now made worse and the oil will start to leak. In the extreme you will have to change the seals if this is a serious problem on your. For someone like Jeeprage who already has a very high mileage engine, I agree it might not be worth the switch at this time. I'm not trying to say that if you have a high mileage engine it will leak, but the odds are a little better. If you do switch and it leaks, just switch back if you don't want to change the seals. YOU WILL NOT HURT THE CAR by switching back. I think the benefits of synthetics far outweigh the off chance that the seals are going to leak and are a key factor in getting the most bang for your buck out of the car. It absolutely amazes me sometimes when I listen to the different myths out there about oils. Oh, well.

I'm sorry folks, but these Maximas DO NOT have lifters.

Well what is the knocking sound hmmm, Iam really confused and wanna know that noise.

Huh, didn't know that, I always assumed they did, but after looking at the Hayne's manual I can't find any mention of lifters. I guess it's back to How Stuff Works to figure out how camshaft followers work.

Try using a Nissan oil filter, or other high quality filter. Some times cheap filters, like Fram, have poor anti-drain back valves which allow oil to drain back into the pan after the engine is off. That causes valve train noise on start up, which may be what you hear.

Check out this site:
http://www.motorvate.ca/auto/maxima/...oil_filter.htm

Good luck.