nismology

iTrader: (8)

The VQ35 is nothing special and this is coming from an '02 (and previously '96 and '99) owner. Sometimes it'd be nice to have the VQ30 smoothness and lack of pinging. All the 3.5 has on the VQ30 is torque. My 3.5 doesn't burn any oil to my knowledge but I just think it was a step backward in a few key areas. I used to be all about the VQ35 too, until I actually owned one. It's a wash IMO.

allblackmax96

iTrader: (4)

the precat material has destroyed your cylinder walls/rings,because you installed headers, you will stop burning even more oil,not stop all together,it would be impossible to just stop burning oil by removing the precats after your already burning.the motor i put in my car was from an 02-03, and that motor was almost new.ive gutted precats for cars and there consumption didnt stop,but it stopped getting worse. i can show you pics if you dont believe me, i had chunks missing from my precats, on the manifold side. which got pulled back into the motor and destroyed the walls/rings which causes blowby and burns oil in the combustion chamber.

nzelinsky

iTrader: (1)

I dont burn any oil at all... gas mileage is great too!
Compared to previous cars I have owned the VQ35 is amazing.

Tippy Toes

iTrader: (6)

I have a picture with 393 miles on my 6 SPD with no oil burning. (knock on wood) 74k on the odometer.

joeltender

I have 110000mi on my 6spd, get the odd po420 code, only lose about 1/2 quart every oci. Always using castrol gtx 5w30 and a quart of lucas synthetic stabilizer.

Just checked my oil on level ground before leaving work and it's almost 1/2 way down the crosshatches on the dipstick=1/4-1/2 quart. I've gone approx 2400 mi since my last oil change and have beaten the snot out my car alot recently with the awesome weather and all.

Got gas on the way home and some guy with an 06 TSX kept adding oil during my fill up. He said his oil light was on (yikes). he added 2 quarts of mobil1 before I suggested he stop and try to get a better reading after letting it sit awhile. He thanked me and wondered why this was happening.

So much for the awesome Honduh motors, my moms 04 accord would throw the low oil light after 1800miles in which the stick would be completely dry.

Don't bash the vq35 so much, you could have a gutless oil burner instead.

max929

iTrader: (3)

Are there any write-ups for gutting the pre-cats?? I did a search and came up with alot of informative threads but no Pics/write-up. Not even sure exactly where the pre-cat is on my Pathy but it's the same motor so I'm assuming it's in the same location.

It'sNissanTime

I'm another oil eater in an '03. I just changed my oil on Friday night, drove 250 miles since then, and I'm down a half a quart. It seems like highway miles kill me, and it seems like it's gotten a lot worse recently. This may be because I'm up to 140k on the clock. Anyone have a similar issue, particularly with highway? Any cheap additives I could use to at least buy me some time before investigating into the valve cover/seals?

Mu_036sp

iTrader: (2)

i have a 03 Maxima 6sp with 130k. use Mobile 1 Synthetic. Thank god, No burning or eating oil whatsoever.hA

002_SecretEgent

I thought I was driving but your car is impressive. To answer the other post, my 2002 has 196K and I bought it at 89K in 2004. I started using partial synthetic at about 110K and fully synthetic at about 150K. I have only a cold air intake so I have had my MAF replaced twice. I have some oil consumption but it is probably about 1-2qts over 4K miles.

My driving style would be considered very aggressive. I rev over 4K daily, drive 80mph+ and corner pretty hard. The car hesitates at times but I think it is due to the ignition coils needing to be replaced (I've never replaced them). The car gets excellent gas mileage despite throwing an O2 code. I just did about 420 miles on a full tank. If I drive conservative (70-80mph), I will hit 440 miles. If I do a road trip, I've done 400 on 3/4 of a tank.

All in all, the VQ35DE is a great strong engine. I'm hoping to make it to 300K without serious work on it.

joeltender

From what I hear, it is normal to burn way more with highway miles.

Trust me.....use good dino (castrol) and a bottle of lucas synthetic stabilizer

joeltender

If you haven't changed your plugs yet do it now.
Though it won't affect the oil consumption u need to change the rear valve cover with an 04

It'sNissanTime

Yeah, I've used Syntec since about 100k (I bought the car with 96k on it). I've read some other people suggest Lucas stabilizer. Guess I'll give it a shot at my next change.

What's the deal with the valve cover? I've also read some people say to change it to an 04. When you say get the 04, do you mean the cover itself or the gasket? Does anyone know of a good how-to link for changing the valve cover/gasket on the VQ35? I have a general knowledge of the procedure, but it'd be great to have an 02/03-specific guide.

CMax03

iTrader: (3)

I'll go along with you as well! The VQ35 was introduced in the Maxima in 2002, but was in operation with Pathfinder a few years before the Maxima got lucky! IMO alot of you guys/gals having oil burning issue weren't the original owners or if you were....you didn't follow the proper break-in procedures and one of those means no WOT above 4000 rpm within the first 500 miles. I took it easy for about 2500 miles and switched to synthetic around 30,000 miles and now I'm pushing 98,000 no leaks, no runs, no eras, and definitely no oil being burned! I really believe those that stayed in the throttle heavy when the engine wasn't fully broken in, are those experience ring seating problems and excessive oil consumption! That's my opinion...

Augustus Maximus

iTrader: (6)

Yeah I have an oiloholic with about the same amount of miles on it plus timing chain noise. I have absolutely no intention of doing anything to it except to kick it out an put this 03 engine and gearbox I'm preppin up.

CMax03

iTrader: (3)

Anyone performed a leakdown test to confirm it's the rings and not an intake guide seal etc...?

joeltender

The spark plug tubes leak, so you have to change the gasket and cover because the plug tubes are built into the cover. The 04 valve cover is exactly the same and is 1/4 of the price of 02-03. Supposedly the 04 tube seals are better built but time will tell