So, my wife's 03 maxima burns oil and every now and then, the check engine light and oil light comes on. we get the oil changed and the lights goes away. She recently got it changed again and the mechanic told her she needs to have her timing chain replaced. Is that actually a thing or is he just trying to get money out of her? I've never heard of replacing the timing chain. and, how can he tell the timing chain needs to replaced by changing her oil??

 

if the oil light comes on when the cars running it means the oil pressure is low. could be that theres less than 0.5L of oil in the system or it could indeed be the timing chain. could be a faulty oil pressure sending unit as well

only way to know for sure if something is up with the car is hook up a oil pressure gauge and see what you get, if its below spec i would assume hes right with a bad timing chain

 

when the car gets low on oil it will light up to tell you whats going on. If you don't fix the issue the car at some point will seize, better keep one or two quarts in the trunk and keep an eye on the dip stick, just my .02 cents

 

From my experience with my mini after I got it from my dad, running the low on oil can indeed cause problems with the tensioner. The tensioner relies on oil pressure to help maintain pressure. When it get low, the tensioner can move around quite a bit which places additional wear on the plunger that acts on the chain guide, as well as weaken the spring inside the tensioner. My dad ran too low on oil a few too many times. When I bought the car, I had to change out the timing chain set because one of the cams skipped timing by a tooth. The car wasn't running very well. Pulled the tensioner and it literally disintegrated as I pulled it out.

I don't think it's far fetched. However, when you get the oil pressure light, do you guys check the oil level and add, or do you indeed wait for an oil change as your story implies? It's important to maintain the oil level in the car. Especially if it burns it. On our Mini, we have to check it weekly. It does use about half a quart a week (the car is probably either going to need new valve guide seals). We add to maintain the level.

S

 

Maybe your VQ burns oil. It is a common 02-03 issue

 

what is involved in changing the timing chain? are there symptoms of bad timing chain or anything? the car runs smooth and idles great.

 

usually timing chains are maintenance free, its the guides that often go bad. timing chain you have to remove the timing cover etc

only thing you can do to see if hes yanking your tail is hook up an oil pressure gauge

 

The timing chain tensioners are usually the culprit if the thing is noisy. If you have no "tic tic tic" sounds coming from the passenger side, then most likely you don't have timing chain issues.


If you did have an issue with you timing chain/guides/tensioners, you would know.


A good way to test this would be to have the wife fire it up when its cold as you stand in front of the car. If you have a TC issue, it will be obvious.


Most likely the guy changing the oil heard the tensioners clatter a tad as the oil pressure was building after the change.


Also, stay on top of the oil level. As previously stated the tensioners rely on oil pressure. Lack of oil pressure will also make them kinda noisy.


Good luck either way.

 

VQ35DE burns oil? Not at all the most common cause of loss of oil:


:#5 loose sparkplug tube seal il accumulate around the #5 sparkplug
Fix: replace the valve cover gasket and valve cover (use the 6th gen:2004)
: Blowby oil comes out to the pcv valve to the intake manifold due to tapered piston combined with high compression (255 hp V6). High mileage VQ35DE engine the secondary piston ring releases minimal amount of engine oil.
To Fix this: Install a pcv oil catch can (add W1 http://www.ebay.com/sch/i.html?_trks...at=0&_from=R40)
to prevent blowby oil contaminating the intake manifold and throttle body.

Use Castrol GT 5/30 W high mileage oil. Always check the oil level everytime you fill up the gas tank. You need to drain the catch can every two weeks. Mine I just unscrew the top dip stick of the ADD W1 oil catch can and use a syringe with 3Oml
capacity and aspirate the oil.

The best way to check the oil level: warm the engine, turn off the ignition, wait for 10-15 minutes, then check the dipstick.

 

A large percentage of VQ's burn a **** load of oil..Trust me..I work for a shop and came across so many of these oil burners. I've seen some with 70-100k burn oil so its not a case of high mileage..Thick soot in the exhaust pipe is a dead giveaway.