Alright guys, here is my problem I have an 03 with an autotragic and it is eating oil faster than a fat kid eating candy...i checked the dipstick two weeks ago and it was between high and low, checked it today it was barely above low....can my engine really be eating that much oil!? I mean i'm pretty smart when it comes to cars and such but damn guys i'm stumped, there are no visible leaks anymore, but ill randomly smell burning oil and a buddy of mine said that when I floored it a cloud of black smoke came out..but last time I checked burning oil was blue....could I be getting blow by through the pcv..could it be clogged? or are my rings that shot I gotta use a quart every two weeks. If thats the case im just gona run the block dry, let it blow and get a new one cause that's ridiculous...oh and in those two weeks I went about 200 miles any input guys?

it also has a 185k

 

damn that sucks atleast u have high miles! i feel like people gonna say get a new engine cause i did a lot of research about this b4 i bought my maxima. but luckily i dont burn oil

 

Well when I looked over the stickies of common problems with these cars, it does say that there is a very known oil burning/consumption issue.

From what I remember, it has to do with the piston rings.

So this issue is common among the 2002/2003 Maximas. Just gotta deal and keep buying quarts of oil bro.

 

Run some thick *** diesel Rotella oil it'll stop burning it and will last for ever.

 

I know they burn oil and such, but dude a quart+ in only 200 miles......do I even have any damn piston rings left I mean dear god there has got to be another reason..I mean there isn't any smoke that I can tell besides when I got WOT and shoot out black smoke which is usually a rich condition..

Do you mean mix the two or run only that cause running only that doesn't seem like a wise idea.

 

Wow that's a lot of oil. I burn a quart every 1000-1500

 

I am running rotella t 10w-30 in my celica and its been good so far. I am running e85 and its the only real oil that will hold up to alternative fuels. Supra guys with e85 are running it so that is what I chose. I eventually want to go to 5w-30 rotella. Been breaking in the motor so wanted a thicker oil before I got to a lighter oil to break in the rings.

I ran Valvoline Racing 40w and 50w in my turboed 94 altima and it stopped oil consumption a lot. Drove that car till 198k original motor when I finally traded it in for my 2002 maxima.

 

Yeah thats an insane amount and I feel like its getting worse...anyone want a maxima?????

 

new engine time

 

here is the problem though, I don't have the time to swap and engine over, thats why im hoping there is some other solution..the car is my daily and only car and I need it to go back and fourth from school and work and I cant miss either.

 

For free I'll take it...

But yeah might want to start looking for a New motor like 04 and up...

 

Bus for a few days? Burrow parent's car? Just go buy another car (probably best idea)?

Not sure...

 

do a cylinder leakage test, my bet is that the rings are gone. its possible to burn that much, my old Nissan truck had worn rings and would burn nearly 2 liters a week

honestly i would just bag the engine until it goes, could be months could be years. just run thick *** oil like 10w-30 and keep a couple liters in the trunk. its probably not worth rebuilding vs getting a whole new engine so just run it til it dies

 

well if I find that its the rings all hell is breaking loose on that engine, if I find its another cause I might try and fix it..how much of a drop will the leakage test show? should I do a compression and vaccum test too?

 

cylinder leakage test is better than a compression test because it gives you more of an idea where youre losing compression, but its probably the rings anyways so a compression test will do. i believe a normally worn engine should have 30% leakage maximum, ideally 10-20%. check your mufflers exhaust pipe, if theres black crap allover the inside youre burning oil

if youre going to do the rings, you should get the cylinders honed as well etc etc etc. especially on a engine with 185,000 miles, its going to be cheaper to get a new one with around 60-80k on it vs rebuilding the current one.

like i said my truck burnt oil like mad, i beat the ***** out of that engine and shifted at redline nearly everytime in the 2 years i owned it and it went to the junkyard with the engine still running perfectly. i just ran 10w-40 in it always

 

yeah I figured all that crap, and im not rebuilding the engine, I might keep it and do a preformance build maybe, but its to much time and work to rebuild that engine, i'm just gona swap a new one in hopefully over summer break...guess that's the good thing about getting a 4.0 in engines and being top of your class right LOL So whats a good oil to run because my exhaust is covered in black soot and I want to get the burning to a minimum. Oh and also would a catch can help, cause if the rings are shot and there is blowby wouldn't it just recirculate oil right back into the Intake manifold and feed it into the cylinders?

 

Thank the precats.

 

Up to you a gallon is like 14bux. either keep topin off with it and watch it slowly stop burning or change it all at once. if rings are burnt up it will help it a lot and bring back compression. also run that engine restore 6cyl formula great stuff.

 

they are gone...it got worse after I gutted them......

 

With that much oil consumption you would think there would be a big cloud of smoke behind you since your burning about 1/6 of a oz of oil a mile.

 

That's what I'm saying! But there isn't only a puff of black smoke when I open it up.

 

I have the exact same problem on my 2000.

Let me know if you figure out that it is something other than rings.

 

puff of smoke on morning startup or when you bag it is probably valve stem seals, you dont always get a oil cloud with burning oil. my truck never left even a faint cloud of smoke but you could smell burnt oil from 5 blocks away

for oil, if youre not keeping the engine long just run something thick and cheap, 10w-30 or 40



usually its valve stem seals, valve guides, or rings. valve problems come from oil on the upper end. oil will creep past the valve stem seals overnight and get into the combustion chamber, valve guides arent as common. rings come from when the oil scraper ring on the piston isnt doing its job and oil gets by the rings and gets burnt. only other way is if oil gets mixed with air going into the combustion chamber