I'm getting ready to change oil in my '04 Maxima for the first time. Not first time ever for the car, just first since I've owned it. I know this car has many "unusual" things about it. Is there anything I need to be aware of before the oil change, or is it pretty simple like every other car out there? I'll be using Mobil 1 Synthetic.

 

It's an oil change, that's all you need to know.

 

Great...that's what I wanted to hear.

 

The removal of the oil filter causes oil leakage onto the undercarriage> when I firdt got the car and had the oil changed, id have a spotty driveway for a week or so because they werent wiping it off. Hasnt happened lately, maybe bc they are all used to changing the oil on this car and wipe the drips off. Never changes it myself, too much of a Pita and you can find a place to d it pretty cheap.

 

i did it last night and it was very easy!! To get to the oil filter lift the plastic in the wheel well on the pass side. HA HA i couldnt find it!! But like blackmaxx said wipe down the undercarriage. So have some rags or napkins.

 

be sure to rub a little fresh oil on the oil filter rubber seal before installing it.

 

how much oil do you guys use?

 

should be like 4 1/2 right ?

 

5 quarts....

 

Be sure to check the blinker fluid behind the right rear wheel well.

 

LOL, you're bad!!!

 

how do you figure? not to be an ***.

 

If you use the Mobile M-105 filter, it taked 5 quarts of oil. If you use the smaller oem type filter, it should only need 4.5.

The oil section of this site has some good threads about which filter we should be using. They make a strong case for the M-105.

 

yeah i use a m-108 on mine but i thought all the vq35s called for 4.25 quarts? would it hurt to add the addition 3/4 quart?

 

You 3.5'ers carry a case of oil in the trunk, dont you's?


















3.0's........FTMFW

 

.... ^^^

 

4.25Q with oil filter is what the service manual says.
You can go to 4.5Q, I would think 5Q is an overfill.

 

HAHAHA

gotta love the VQ30DE, my 97 hasn't burnt a drip yet

 

I've been putting 5 qts of Mobil 1 with Mobil 1 filter at ever oil change. The dip stick doesn't show high. I just parked, so I'll check in an hour to verify again.

HAVE I been putting too much oil????

 

Do not overfill. As long as you are within the high XXXXXXX low range you are fine. Too much oil cause the rods to splash the oil around.

I use 4.5qt with the longer oil filter (Nissan 15208-9E000, Purolator PL14610, M1108) which holds more oil. It's the filter used on the Altima 06 VQ35.

 

No, but hey, thanks for trying

 

 

I recently changed oil in my '02.

My car did not come with a manual, I used a wix oil filter and mobile 1 5w30.

I put in about 4 quarts of oil, checked the dip stick about 6 times, and it was not at the add line.

What is the official capacity of an '02 vq35? Its so odd not using the 5qt jug, every other car I owned needed 5, until now.

I just don't want to run low on oil and spin a bearing, at least not until I have a better-than-stock motor on a stand

I did notice the OE oil filters are TINY.

I know that going from the OE nissan filter to the wix, the motor is a lot quieter on start up.

Changing oil on this thing was a lot easier then I thought it was going to be

 

As was pointed out in an earlier post -- the larger Mobil 1 oil filter takes more than the smaller oem filter.
Some added oil change recommendations:

- It's easier to get to the filter in the 6th gen if you remove the right front wheel. Since you should also be rotating your tires on a regular basis, this is a good time to do both jobs and make changing the filter easier.

- After an oil change, you need to completely saturate the filter with oil. So the best practice is to put in about 4 quarts (or 4.5 quarts if using a larger filter). Then the next morning (after having driven the car), check the level. You will probably need to add an additional 1/4 to 1/2 quart more oil to bring the level up to the full line. This way you don't overfill the engine, but you also don't underfill it either.

- My general rule is to not let the oil level fall below about half way between the low mark and the full mark.

- Many on this site believe that fresh oil should be added to the new filter before it is installed. While I have yet to do this, I will try this in a few weeks at my next regular oil change. They say that a partial fill with fresh oil will not cause the oil to run out of the filter when it is turned horizontally to mount it to the engine. I'll be checking to see if this will work for me.

 

4.5 qts is the engine capacity. overfilling with cause sluggishness and power inconsistency.

 

The engine's oil capacity also includes the oil in the filter. Don't believe what the owners' manual says. Fill the engine up to the line on the dip-stick. When I do that, I put in about 1/2 quart more oil than the manual says is needed -- because the Mobil 1 filter is bigger than the Nissan filter.

 

Right on!!..4 1/2 quarts of Castol Syntec is what I use...anyone use any other oil that might be better than Castrol Syntec?

 

From the test results I read: Amsoil and Castrol Syntec are not really synthetic (they use petroleum/hydroisomerized base oil - group III) and will eventually oxidize. PAO based oil (polyalphaolefins - group IV oil ) like Royal Purple and Mobil 1 Tri-Synthetic PAO formulation are true synthetic oils.

A PAO oil will not oxidize, or build sludge.

http://forums.maxima.org/showthread.php?t=227996

http://www.royalpurple.com/corvette_...nthusiast.html

http://www.machinerylubrication.com/...?articleid=533

 

 

amosil is actually 100% synthetic
http://www.amsoil.com/performancetests/g1971/index.aspx