Valve Lifter/Clearance Problem
Valve Lifter/Clearance Problem
Hey everyone,
I posted this video in the newbie question thread:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iPrr40DZKJI
I was told it was likely a valve lifter/clearance problem. This confirms what a mechanic friend told me as well. Repairing this problem is getting estimated at pretty much the same as what it would cost for a new engine so I'm likely going to go the swap route however my mechanic friend said before swapping the engine I should change the oil since it's overfilled and in disgusting condition ( just bought the car for cheap due to this noise in the engine so I can only assume the previous owner did not take very good care of it ). He thinks it's worth a try to see if it gets rid of the noise.
My questions are:
1) Given the noise, what oil should I change it to to try and fix the problem? I've read that changing to a synthetic oil this late in the engines life ( 270,000 kms, 167,000 miles for the Americans ) is bad for it but I really have no idea what kind of oil has been in it thus far. I've read Mobil 5W-30 synthetic is the best for these engines? I live on the east coast of Canada though so I may need something a bit thinner since it's the middle of winter.
2) What should I do for an oil filter? I've read the best ones for these cars are the Nissan made ones, so should I just go for that or will it make a difference given my goal is just to try to fix the noise?
3) Additives? What could I add to the oil/fuel to clean the engine and try to resolve the problem? Seafoam?
4) If I do an engine swap I'll be doing a 1:1 swap with a maxima of the same year, same engine, etc. I have a garage, a hydraulic engine crane, all the tools I could need and plenty of time but I've never done an engine swap before. Assuming I buy the service manual and follow it's instructions how difficult is the job? My only fear is putting the new engine in, turning the key and the whole thing blows up. So, I guess my real question is what are the chances of me breaking the new engine in some way? For someone who's comfortable around cars and has the time/tools is it a doable job? I've done plenty of work on my Altima but never something as extreme as an engine swap.
Thanks in advance for any replies.
I posted this video in the newbie question thread:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iPrr40DZKJI
I was told it was likely a valve lifter/clearance problem. This confirms what a mechanic friend told me as well. Repairing this problem is getting estimated at pretty much the same as what it would cost for a new engine so I'm likely going to go the swap route however my mechanic friend said before swapping the engine I should change the oil since it's overfilled and in disgusting condition ( just bought the car for cheap due to this noise in the engine so I can only assume the previous owner did not take very good care of it ). He thinks it's worth a try to see if it gets rid of the noise.
My questions are:
1) Given the noise, what oil should I change it to to try and fix the problem? I've read that changing to a synthetic oil this late in the engines life ( 270,000 kms, 167,000 miles for the Americans ) is bad for it but I really have no idea what kind of oil has been in it thus far. I've read Mobil 5W-30 synthetic is the best for these engines? I live on the east coast of Canada though so I may need something a bit thinner since it's the middle of winter.
2) What should I do for an oil filter? I've read the best ones for these cars are the Nissan made ones, so should I just go for that or will it make a difference given my goal is just to try to fix the noise?
3) Additives? What could I add to the oil/fuel to clean the engine and try to resolve the problem? Seafoam?
4) If I do an engine swap I'll be doing a 1:1 swap with a maxima of the same year, same engine, etc. I have a garage, a hydraulic engine crane, all the tools I could need and plenty of time but I've never done an engine swap before. Assuming I buy the service manual and follow it's instructions how difficult is the job? My only fear is putting the new engine in, turning the key and the whole thing blows up. So, I guess my real question is what are the chances of me breaking the new engine in some way? For someone who's comfortable around cars and has the time/tools is it a doable job? I've done plenty of work on my Altima but never something as extreme as an engine swap.
Thanks in advance for any replies.
I wouldn't change to a synthetic oil just yet. You're still not sure exactly how bad the engine problem is and until you know, don't put in expensive synthetic oil. But changing to a synthetic oil is not bad for and engine. What will happen sometime is the additional wear in a high mileage engine caused the engine to burn the synthetic oil when it does not burn dino oil. Synthetic oil does not thin out or thicken with temperature, it is always constant at whatever it is rated at. I have seen 5W-20 oils that are intended for cold climates like yours, but what are you using in the car you drive right now? If the car starts ok, that weight oil will be just fine in the Maxima.
But don't change to synthetic right now. You want to try and flush the junk out of the engine, so use cheaper dino oil for now. Get a product called "Motor Flush" by GUNK. I hope they sell it in your area. The directions say to add it to the old oil, but if the oil is as bad as you say it is, drain it out and put fresh stuff in along with a new filter. You could use a cheap filter for this as you don't leave it in for the length of an oil change. Depending on how bad things are, maybe you will have to do it twice. Hopefully it will clean things out.
http://www.autozone.com/autozone/acc...questid=589463
As for what brand of oil filter to use, don't buy those $2 specials. I use the nissan oil filter, it isn't super expensive and has been given good reviews. There are other filters that are also good but the prices will equal and exceed the Nissan filter.
Your concern about doing an engine swap is may be a bit over-concern. You won't damage the engine by swapping it unless you drop it. The more logical problems would be forgetting to connect something like a wire harness and the car won't start.
Last - Don't buy a Nissan FSM. Download one for free from here:
http://boredmder.com/FSMs/Nissan/
The file FWD.PDF is the cover page, the starting point, the infex of all the chapters. The file IDX.PDF is the alphabetical index.
But don't change to synthetic right now. You want to try and flush the junk out of the engine, so use cheaper dino oil for now. Get a product called "Motor Flush" by GUNK. I hope they sell it in your area. The directions say to add it to the old oil, but if the oil is as bad as you say it is, drain it out and put fresh stuff in along with a new filter. You could use a cheap filter for this as you don't leave it in for the length of an oil change. Depending on how bad things are, maybe you will have to do it twice. Hopefully it will clean things out.
http://www.autozone.com/autozone/acc...questid=589463
As for what brand of oil filter to use, don't buy those $2 specials. I use the nissan oil filter, it isn't super expensive and has been given good reviews. There are other filters that are also good but the prices will equal and exceed the Nissan filter.
Your concern about doing an engine swap is may be a bit over-concern. You won't damage the engine by swapping it unless you drop it. The more logical problems would be forgetting to connect something like a wire harness and the car won't start.
Last - Don't buy a Nissan FSM. Download one for free from here:
http://boredmder.com/FSMs/Nissan/
The file FWD.PDF is the cover page, the starting point, the infex of all the chapters. The file IDX.PDF is the alphabetical index.
Last edited by DennisMik; Feb 24, 2012 at 12:53 PM.
This is what I've been thinking but from what I'm told with the labour costs for diagnosing and fixing it I would be better off just replacing the engine. I'm prepared to start doing that in about week. So, the argument is that a $25 oil change or whatever it will cost and some engine cleaner is worth a shot before going nuclear.
I wouldn't change to a synthetic oil just yet. You're still not sure exactly how bad the engine problem is and until you know, don't put in expensive synthetic oil. But changing to a synthetic oil is not bad for and engine. What will happen sometime is the additional wear in a high mileage engine caused the engine to burn the synthetic oil when it does not burn dino oil. Synthetic oil does not thin out or thicken with temperature, it is always constant at whatever it is rated at. I have seen 5W-20 oils that are intended for cold climates like yours, but what are you using in the car you drive right now? If the car starts ok, that weight oil will be just fine in the Maxima.
But don't change to synthetic right now. You want to try and flush the junk out of the engine, so use cheaper dino oil for now. Get a product called "Motor Flush" by GUNK. I hope they sell it in your area. The directions say to add it to the old oil, but if the oil is as bad as you say it is, drain it out and put fresh stuff in along with a new filter. You could use a cheap filter for this as you don't leave it in for the length of an oil change. Depending on how bad things are, maybe you will have to do it twice. Hopefully it will clean things out.
http://www.autozone.com/autozone/acc...questid=589463
As for what brand of oil filter to use, don't buy those $2 specials. I use the nissan oil filter, it isn't super expensive and has been given good reviews. There are other filters that are also good but the prices will equal and exceed the Nissan filter.
Your concern about doing an engine swap is may be a bit over-concern. You won't damage the engine by swapping it unless you drop it. The more logical problems would be forgetting to connect something like a wire harness and the car won't start.
Last - Don't buy a Nissan FSM. Download one for free from here:
http://boredmder.com/FSMs/Nissan/
The file FWD.PDF is the cover page, the starting point, the infex of all the chapters. The file IDX.PDF is the alphabetical index.
But don't change to synthetic right now. You want to try and flush the junk out of the engine, so use cheaper dino oil for now. Get a product called "Motor Flush" by GUNK. I hope they sell it in your area. The directions say to add it to the old oil, but if the oil is as bad as you say it is, drain it out and put fresh stuff in along with a new filter. You could use a cheap filter for this as you don't leave it in for the length of an oil change. Depending on how bad things are, maybe you will have to do it twice. Hopefully it will clean things out.
http://www.autozone.com/autozone/acc...questid=589463
As for what brand of oil filter to use, don't buy those $2 specials. I use the nissan oil filter, it isn't super expensive and has been given good reviews. There are other filters that are also good but the prices will equal and exceed the Nissan filter.
Your concern about doing an engine swap is may be a bit over-concern. You won't damage the engine by swapping it unless you drop it. The more logical problems would be forgetting to connect something like a wire harness and the car won't start.
Last - Don't buy a Nissan FSM. Download one for free from here:
http://boredmder.com/FSMs/Nissan/
The file FWD.PDF is the cover page, the starting point, the infex of all the chapters. The file IDX.PDF is the alphabetical index.
While this is SUPPOSED to be true, synthetic oils have shown to maintain the ACTUAL rating much better than dino oils do. Dino oils tend to thicken up in colder climates so running a sythetic is actually better for this reason alongside the pile of other benefits.
Also, a quote to help understand the weight rating for those that don't yet know:
Multi-weight oils (such as 10W-30) are a new invention made possible by adding polymers to oil. The polymers allow the oil to have different weights at different temperatures. The first number indicates the viscosity of the oil at a cold temperature, while the second number indicates the viscosity at operating temperature
For YOUR application though, I'd try running some 15w40. This winter has been a joke and I doubt it'll get cold enough for it to matter. 15w40 is cheap as heck and running it through the engine for test purposes would be reasonable IMO.
So if there's any restriction or anything in the galleries to the top end or to the lifters, then running a flush COULD actually help this problem and allow him to run the engine a bit longer perhaps while he saves for another car.
Which, OP, is my recommendation. The years in our climate are not nice to these cars, and with 270,000 km on it, you're best IMO:
Running the thinnest oil you can get through it with some of the flush, then changing it to 15w40. Run it for a bit. If it doesn't get better, just get rid of the car. Just my $0.02
Last edited by TunerMaxima3000; Feb 24, 2012 at 05:52 PM.
just listened to your you tube video. Sorry to tell you but no oil change or flush is going to fix your problem. You have internal mechanic engine problem and you will need to replace or rebuild your engine. Sounds to me like a rob bearing or rod pin that went bad. We recently had a 3.5 max come in with the same noise for an engine swap.
The 3.0 are cheap from a junk yard, just pick one up and swap it yourself. I have done over a hundred engine swaps, it is fairly straight forward even for a newbie. If you have the space and the tools for the job along with a few days, you can do the swap yourself with no problems. Take your time and take pictures along the way of every step and you'll have no problems. Mark the fuel lines and drain the fluids before you begin. If you get stuck, take a picture or better yet a video and post it here on the org and someone will help out.
good luck.
The 3.0 are cheap from a junk yard, just pick one up and swap it yourself. I have done over a hundred engine swaps, it is fairly straight forward even for a newbie. If you have the space and the tools for the job along with a few days, you can do the swap yourself with no problems. Take your time and take pictures along the way of every step and you'll have no problems. Mark the fuel lines and drain the fluids before you begin. If you get stuck, take a picture or better yet a video and post it here on the org and someone will help out.
good luck.
I should've mentioned before my post that I can't view that video right now. So take my post with that as a huge determining factor. I'll check it out tonight sounds like it's a write off though from nsn's comment.
I would still try the flush. Even though nsn could could very well be correct in his diagnosis, your local mechanic still has the possibility of being correct. Take $20 and gamble.
TunerMax: On your correction, thanks. I obviously have to make my writing clear so people (such as yourself) don't have to do corrections.
TunerMax: On your correction, thanks. I obviously have to make my writing clear so people (such as yourself) don't have to do corrections.
Not trying to correct dude lolz. Man someone could follow me around the.org all day long correcting my posts.
I just recently learned about that difference between dino's and synthetics actually holding the cold viscosity they rate at, and the dino's have not been doing it as well apparently. Not of huge concern, the OP has much bigger fish to fry.
I just recently learned about that difference between dino's and synthetics actually holding the cold viscosity they rate at, and the dino's have not been doing it as well apparently. Not of huge concern, the OP has much bigger fish to fry.
Sweeeet video dude. Yup you're done for that lifter is toast. NO point wasting money on a flush or oil change it's too far gone.
Just sell it for $1000 needing a motor if the rest is in good shape.
Not worth putting a motor in unless YOU can do the work, or not pay someone for labour.
Oh here:
Just sell it for $1000 needing a motor if the rest is in good shape.
Not worth putting a motor in unless YOU can do the work, or not pay someone for labour.
Oh here:
and the body is in fantastic shape. According to the car fax it spent a lot of time in florida which explains the lack of rust on it. They wanted it gone quick and I've wanted to move from an altima to a maxima for some time so I grabbed it. I'm completely prepared to replace the engine. It's what I planned on doing when I bought it. I'll be doing the work myself because I can't justify the prices I'm getting quoted for a job that seems pretty simple. I'm not going to start that for at least another week though so I'm going to give the oil change a shot this weekend for the hell of it. It could be a waste of money but I need to know.
Based on what I've read here I think I'll go nissan oil filter, gunk motor flush, and 15w30 dino oil.
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