No, I meant oil entering the intake can cause a rattle. I added a catch can to mine which got rid of it. If you pull the pcv tube, you can tell if the rattle is still there.

Mine doesn't lose a drop in 5000 miles, yet the PCV was pushing enough oil through to cause a rattle.

 

alarm does not beep? is the alarm LED steady lit (does not blink)? you're in valet mode.

i'm going to guess they did this because DEI's automatically arm after 45 minutes if you dont' arm it. it's annoying.

to get out of valet mode, open door, press arm, disarm, arm (slowly, dont' speed through the process). alarm LED should shut off and car and/or remote should make beeping noise. close door and arm car. you are in normal mode again.

 

Got my max back on Friday.
Everything seems cool.
They left some grease smudges on the hood,
thats the only negative I could point out.

I checked the oil level later, so I can keep an eye on it,
and I had to really look to see the line level,
It's got to be the cleanest oil I have ever seen on a dipstick.

 

miniRX7,
That engine vibration is my main concern about installing new motor mounts.
is it that bad?
Since you are in the pampering phase you won't be able to experience
the fun benefit of the mounts.
keep me posted on your experience with them.

 

News update!!

A/C is not working for some reason. The vibration is only slight, however sometimes at certain low RPMS there is vibration to shake the interior.. But its not bad. The benefits is that the car feels WAY more solid. Going through the gears at light acceleration, i noticed that shifts are much smoother. Starting the car thoguh, you can tell something is really different.. It kinda ROARS to life... But its not that bad.

As for the alarm.. the alarm works, its just the siren thats malfunctioning. I ripped the dash to trace the wire. It appears when i hit the siren with my fist, it works then stops working. I have a compustar and all other functions work.

Furthermore, for some reason I am gettin this weird supercharger type whine between 1000-1500RPMS. I dont know what it is, but combined with the rattle the car sounds like @ss..

I gotta call the dealer on monday.

 

A PVC CAN MAKE YOUR CAR BURN UP TO TWO QUARTS A WEEK IF IT IS BAD!!! Its 3 dollars to replace. I remember my fathers Dodge Van burning three quarts of oil evey two weeks the van had 100,000 miles on it. Dodge told him he needed a new PVC Valve, and it was the PCV valve it was sticking. 3 dolars fixed the problem.... I bet you never changed the PCV valve?

 

as to this being an isolated thing, yes hopefully it won't happen to you!!! some are taking it so personally that some of these nissan engines have this problem, but it really is horrible if it happens to you. i have a 2k max so i'm fine, but years ago i had a 93 v6 camry that had this problem and it was horrible. everyone pointed the finger at me saying i must have done something wrong.....since everybody knows the camry's last forever; and now just recently i saw an article in the shop i get my car serviced stating that toyota acknowledged they had an oil sluge problem with some of there v6 models and they were recalled and under some kind of class action lawsuit(can't remember exactly). of course i sold the car many years before but in nissan's case i'm sure they'll wait as long as possible before they accept responceability too. if you have a good 2k2 2k3 engine be thankful, you got lucky.....

 

Wow.. why did this post get reincarnated!

 

First off, thanks for bringing the dead back to life.

Secondly, do you really think Nissan would replace SEVERAL engines if it was just a problem with the PCV valve?

 

Has anyone else seen this???

http://www.netcrafting.com/car_mx/pathfinder/oil.html

Pretty good explanation that the oil consumption is coming from the PCV and a plugged oil drain in the valve cover. Keep thinking there's an easier solution than replacing the cover though.

 

It's not that hard to replace the valve covers and the cost is well worth the results. $100 for both covers and gaskets.

But, I think he has only slightly reduced oil loss.

1 quart for 1684 miles, although being acceptable is still a lot of oil loss. Within one 5000 mile interval, he is losing approx. 3 qts of oil.

 

6 year old thread...really guys?

 

yes i read this in another...OLD thread

this reminds me though, i need to change my PCV valve...my car is drinking oil as well

 

I replaced my covers last summer and the oil consumption was cut in half. Instead of having to add 1 quart every 2 weeks it's now about once every 4-5 weeks

 

That doesn't really give an account of actual miles unless you drive the same or about the same every week. How many miles is that?

 

My miles driven were the same before and after and is very consistent week to week. Driving to/from work M-F 16 miles each way and about 50 miles total on weekends so about 210 miles/week

 

my oil consumption has increased lately. my car is at 137k ):

 

I hope this slows down my oil consumption will do soon should of did it when I put on the spacers.....

 

where did you find them that cheap? on courtesyparts they ate like $115 a piece

 

I replaced my cover and pcv.. Im still down a half a quart every 800 or so miles.

 

Your pricing out the wrong parts.

You need to look at this thread...

http://forums.maxima.org/5th-generat...overs-pic.html

Read it completely.

 

I think it's a result of Nissan/Renault designing this VQ35 with thinner rings than the bulletproof VQ30, and the rings are wearing faster than anticipated or a vendor change took place during assembly of some of these 02-03 VQ35 cause I know some 02-03 Altima's experiencing the same oil consumption issues.....If I have to deal with these I'll more then likely buy a newer Maxima/G35/G37/M35 for the wife and open the engine and upgrade to Cosworth pistons and rods assemblies, heads and cams just to step it up a bit.....

 

And adding the catch can has been complete pain. In the winter it fills up fuel or water vapors after a few hundered miles.

 

Good to know... do recommend not doing it or just getting a bigger can?

 

It definitely does its job but it would help if it were bigger. In the summer it catches only the oil but it seems its only about half of oil Im actually losing.. I havent really measured to prove that. In the winter it fills up so fast with oil+ moisture or fuel. Often times its probobly sucking that crap in the motor anyway. Its just hard to make myself empty it all the time, especially when its 10 degrees outside. I just want to get in the car a go and not mess with it all the time.

The bigger Home Depot catch can has held up for a year and 4 months.

Sometimes with the catch can I get a wiff of oil inside the car.. Not sure why.

I might be worth doing, but I wish the engine didnt need it.

 

Every engine does that when it's cold.....It's called condensation....I'm surprised you didn't start growing mildew and fungus inside that catch can....

 

Holy Moses.....can this thread just DIE already?!?!

 

Yeah I say...let it ride into the sunset.

 

 

Are most of these new motors at dealers cost? if so, how do you qualify for it? cuz my 2k3 burns a ridiculous amount!

 

You're a good number of years way too late. Unless you purchased your car with an extended warranty that covers the entire powertrain and you're STILL within the period of warranty, you're going to need to fix your current engine. Replacing the valve covers and PCV can go a long way on most of the VQ35's. Some still experience some burning from possibly clogged oil galleys and/or worn piston rings.

 

This trend will not die until NISSAN finds the curage to solve this problem publicly.
Right now there is one TSB updated several times and dealers who are trained to mislead and trick owners until they run out of power-train warranty !
Fact #1: The most affected are all VQ35DE engines coupled to manual transmission, also called high-rev engine, because it has varriable timing on the intake valves!
Fact #2: If Nissan new exactly what is causing the problem, they would have done so years ago, instead they changed the engine all together from 3.5 to 3.7 Liters.
I do not know if this engine has oil problems yet!
As far as the small holes in the valve covers being to small, it does not look serious, because if the oil got in, it can go out, the same way.
My PCV was stuck and after cleaning it, the oil consumption went down just a little.
I am checking it every 1000 miles or so and its not stuck any more.
Driving with oil catchers on both sides for last 200 miles and no signs of oil yet.
Compression is only 2.5% below factory new, yet it consumes about 3/4 quart per 1000 miles. Today I have changed the oil to Castrol GTX 10W40 for high mileage cars and changed oil filter to $14 K&N type (most expensive) just to see if any change.
This is South Florida with Temps in the 90's for 7 months per year!
Any brave souls there have any better ideas?, I am always ready to listen!

This trend will not die until NISSAN finds the currage to solve this problem publicly.
Right now there is one TSB updated several times and dealers who are trained to mislead and trick owners until they run out of powertrain warranty !
Fact #1: The most affected are all VQ35DE engines coupled to manual transmission, also called high-rev engine, because it has varriable timing on the intake valves!
Fact #2: If Nissan new exactly what is causing the problem, they would have done so years ago, instead they changed the engine all together from 3.5 to 3.7 Liters.
I do not know if this engine has oil problems yet!
As far as the small holes in the valve covers being to small, it does not look serious, because if the oil got in, it can go out, the same way.
My PCV was stuck and after cleaning it, the oil consumption went down just a little.
I am checking it every 1000 miles or so and its not stuck.
Driving with oil catchers on both sides for 200 miles and no signs of oil yet.
Compression is only 2.5% below factory new, yet it consumes about 3/4 quart per 1000 miles. Today I have changed the oil to Castrol GTX 10W40 for high mileage cars and changed oil filter to $14 K&N type (most expensive) just to see if any change.
This is South Florida with Temps in the 90's for 7 months per year!