Engine Disaster
 

A recent thread regarding my son’s 2000 GLE’s A/C turned out to be nothing compared to the next problem that occurred last week. The car began to stall and run rough on the way to work. We had the car towed to the nearest Nissan dealer. To make a long story short it turned out that most of the engine oil was missing and the whole engine will have to be replaced or rebuilt. The dealer wanted $7,000 for an engine replacement but we found another place that will rebuild the existing engine for $4,000.

My son recently had the oil changed and there was no indication of anything wrong up to the failure. There were no dash lights (the check engine light was already on for another reason), no trailing smoke and no oil stains on the garage floor. We still do not understand how this happened. We suspect the oil pan plug was reinstalled incorrectly at that last oil change but cannot be sure.

I guess we have two questions. Has this ever happened to anyone else, and is there (or should there be) an oil warning light of some sort to alert a driver of this impending problem?

There is an Oil Pressure light on the 5.5 gen that lights up to indicate when the oil in the system loses or is at a low pressure. A lot of times, mine will flash a little on startup as the engine initially turns over. It seems weird to me that this light didn't go on..unless the '00's don't have it? :scratch:

i know my 00 has an oil pressure light. maybe your bulb has burnt out or something.

You might want to consider a 3.5 swap if you are already planning on spending $4k on rebuilding your engine.

For his son's car???? Probably not.......

We’re assuming an engine swap would cost more than a rebuild on the existing engine, so we’re going with that.

When we asked the dealer about no oil pressure light going on he said there is no oil pressure sensor on the 00’s, only an oil temperature sensor. Can anyone shed some “light” on this? :confused:

Bad assumption.

Source a used engine for 6-800 and swap it in.
Labor to remove/replace an engine is ~12 hours last time I checked.
$1500 and you're good to go.

There IS an oil pressure switch. It's right above the oil pan.

Where was the oil changed....

I agree, buy a low mileage used engine from the wreckers and pay half the price.

:sprint: That is the best advice in this thread!

Sounds like the place that last changed the oil forgot something or left something loose. As your son was driving down the highway the oil was flowin out of her. Id go back there first and make some accusations preferably WILD ONES haha.

* Hey its worth a try

Was the oil change done at some kind of "quick oil change" place? Just another reason to do your own oil changes if at all possible. But I urge anyone who gets the oil changed by someone else to at least check that the oil level is at least in the hatchmarks on the dipstick BEFORE driving the car out of the service lot......and then check later that the oil level is close to or at the "H" mark. It wouldn't be the first time that the oil gets drained, but not refilled. And.......everytime that you turn the ignition key to "ON" verify that the low oil pressure light is ON and that it goes out on the engine start. In the case of the originator of this thread, have you checked that the oil pressure light is actually ON with the ignition switch at "ON", and how much oil did the dealer drain out of the engine? I'm wondering if there was just enough oil in the pan to put out the oil pressure light or is the LOP light working? The person at the dealer that stated that there is no LOP light is an idiot. BUT......it is too bad that the Maxi doesn't have a low oil quantity light.

The oil was changed at a local service station near where my son works about a month ago. But at this point we’re not in a position to show they were at fault. My son reports he never saw a low oil pressure light at any time.

I appreciate the advice given here, but regarding an engine swap versus a rebuild, there are other factors we considered. First, we would have to go to a junkyard and find the right engine, and make an assumption it’s still serviceable. I don’t know how that can be determined by just looking at it. Then we would need to have it sent to the shop that would actually do the swap. (It’s certainly not going to go in the trunk of my Infiniti.) All these steps have a cost factor. And frankly, having dealt with junk yards before, I’m not anxious to do it again.

On the other hand, the auto shop that wants to do the work will give us a 24-month guarantee on parts and labor, and they can complete the work in a week. Considering our level of expertise and some of these other subtleties, we decided today to have the existing engine rebuilt.

What is still unknown is how it happened and what we can do to prevent it from happening again. We’ve asked the mechanics to see if they can determine this as they do the work.

Althought Nissan's dipsticks aren't the greatest, I do tend to check my oil level once a week. Thats just another way to prevent it from happening.

No other real way to tell what exactly happened except that it lost oil and it toasted the motor. Figuring out how to get it back on the road is what is best for you right now IMO.

If you find the right mechanic who is willing to source out a used engine and pick it up and install it, you might cut your costs in half. But finding a person like that these days is kind of hard.

Your car has an oil pressure warning light, however the switch does not come on until your down around 5psi of oil pressure. By the time the light comes on, damage has already been done.

The oil was just "missing?" No thrown rods or anything?

Honestly I'd never consider spending $4k on a stock-rebuilt engine, especially not a VQ30. That's what, about half the cost of the car (if not more)?

Most junkyards will give you a warranty on the engines, though that obviously doesn't cover labor cost for swapping it out it it's faulty. Even if you do get a bad one, you'll still be paying less than the $4k it would be to rebuild it.

Most VQ30s you find in a yard are just fine. They're incredibly reliable engines, and there are a few things you can check out in person to make sure.

My vote is, just get the ~$200 worth of tools it takes to swap out the engine (that's if you have absolutely nothing already), get a used engine from a yard ($400 at the most, generally), and spend a weekend throwing it in.

You're crazy if you're going to spend 4,000 on rebuilding a DE-k back to stock spec!

I couldn't agree more you can get a 2000 maxima for around 7500 dollars.
4000 is more then half the cost of your sons car , your just throwing money
away if you pay this guy 4000 for a rebuilt DE-K.

Good father son time eh?

Indeed.

You’re right about the value of the car. But I certainly don’t have the resources or expertise to do my own engine swap. Working outside is out of the question due to homeowner association rules. Keep in mind that not all of us in this forum are creditable auto mechanics, with garage space, manuals or tools to do such a thing. The only work I do now on cars is to change the radio presets every now and then. :)

Define 'serviceable' - a block is a block is a block. Most cars at the wreckers are NOT there because of their engine.

The junkyard doesn't have to be local. And they can surely arrange the freight charges for you.

Past != present. Plenty of others have had nothing but standard worthwhile experiences with junkyards.

24 months means nothing. An engine can be swapped in a DAY, much less a week. Your arguments are hardly subtleties, simply biased opinions that are unwilling to accept the reality of the matter, a reality that many of us are trying to help you with.

Too bad the decision is already made, because that is a HUGE waste of money. The thing that irks me most about forums is not a member's ability to ASK for advice, but their INability to accept/follow it.

Good luck, hope the engine works out.

PLEASE tell me who would buy a 5.0gen for 7500, because I'll sell mine tomorrow for that much. People with 5.5 gens are BARELY able to get that much for their car, even with low miles.

To the OP, I actually appraised my car today both at edmunds and kbb. 125k miles on a 2000 Max, excellent condition (which it is).....(drumroll)....$4700.

So for 700 more than you paid for an engine, you can get an entire car.

Sorry for coming off rude, but wasted money bothers me at a level that I cannot even explain. I digress now.

I hate to be a cynical SOB but the more I think about this situation, I'm really wondering what really occurred here. The car had the MIL on and then starts running rough etc. No apparent LOP light, no noises, but the dealer says "most" of the oil is gone? It would be nice to have had someone else look at this thing. Was there metal in the oil/the pan.......what happens when it's rotated with a wrench etc.?? I trust dealers about as far as I can throw them!

I was thinking the same thing. Why not fill her with oil, change the MAF (common reason for sudden poor performance) and see what happens.

Also, the 3.0 doesn't burn oil, so I would go back to the shop that did the oil change and see if they will pick up the repair, or maybe do the engine repair itself!

Here is a good sorce for engines I checked in my local area and found many engines 83-114k miles from $350-850 just to give you an idea of whats out there. Here is the link see whats in your area. Hope it helps
http://www.car-part.com/

I just ran the car through KBB again. In good condition with its 90K miles the excellent condition private party value is $7,625. In good condition, which I think is more accurate for this car the value $7,075.

you could post your location and see if there are any local members that would be willing to swap your engine for a reasonable price. would/would've save(d) you QUITE a bit.

Agreed, local orgers help each other out. I can't even BEGIN to count the # of local orgers' cars I've worked on.

I appreciate the concern that some of you have expressed on this issue. But please keep in mind that when considering all the factors we decided on the engine rebuild. Yes, it may cost more than a swap, but keep in mind that my son knows little about cars and I’m 72 years old and just cannot work on auto repairs with that sort of difficulty anymore. You may have guessed that my son cannot come up with that kind of money so I’m paying for it, and I do have the resources to do so. So I’d rather waste some money rather than end up in a hospital bed—or worse.

So why are some of you so upset? After all, I’m only asking for opinions, not donations. :)

lol dis a funny thread cause this same thing happend too me..i just got a new engine..i only payd 2500 for a new one dat had less mileage 76xxx compare too mine dat had 122xx.u getting taxd at the nissan dealer...i wanted too throw a 3.5 on mines too but i slakkd

If nothing sized or broke while it had no oil, I would put back 4Q of oil to it and check if the stealership is right that there was nothing in there.

It may start back up just fine and drive back to life...

I won't spend that kind of money rebuilding it....Those cars are worth only $5000-$6000 in excellent shape and low mileage. I would find a used motor if Iwere you either a VQ30DE-K or VQ35DE and install it and call it the day! About $1500 as stated above! Don't be scared... jump in feet first!!!! It's the only way you'll get some depth in knowledge real fast is hands on!

That’s a good point. After the Nissan dealer quoted us $7,000 for an engine replacement (a rebuilt one no less) we told him to fill it up with oil so we could drive it to our own mechanic. They then backed off somewhat and suggested the car not be driven in its current state in case the engine could be saved. That’s inconsistent for sure, but we did have it towed out of there.

However, our mechanic did check it out yesterday and said a rebuild or repacement was necessary.

What happens when you fill it up and start it leaving aside what the stealership/ur mechanic has got to say?

I don’t know because we towed in to the dealer and eventually to our mechanic in its current state. But the original trouble was manifested by a stalling, rough running engine making an awful noise when we stepped on the gas.

The place that is rebuilding your engine is ran buy liars and douches. If they are a repair shop they damn well know that they could easily find another engine and just swap it in for you. Instead they are milking the **** out of you. They're getting a few hundred dollars worth of parts and then charging you as much labor as possible...

I wouldn't say that's true. When my dad first got his Maxima (2000 SE 5MT), the previous owner basically drove it to hell, there was almost no oil in the engine and the low oil pressure light was on, and I even drove it for a bit because I didn't think much of it at the time. We just topped it up and changed it a few times to clean out the sludge, that was almost a year ago and aside from very slight oil burning it still runs like new. It really depends how long you ignore the light for and also the reason that the light was on in the first place.

You have nothing to loose, before making your decision one way or the other, fill the engine up with oil and run it. If it shows sign of seizing then you will have to make the hard decision.

You get my vote with that one. I'll be doing just that in about two weeks.