So, have put my first 1800 miles on my 98 (bought it with 134.5 k on it) and I had to put a quart of oil in today. Car runs strong, no smoke, no engine noises that are odd. I know this is apples to oranges but I have a ranger that started to use oil and was cured by replacing the pcv valve, has anyone come across this with the Maxima, or did I just get an abused one?

 

Check PCV and look for oil leaks.

Most 4th gens burn little to no oil.
More of a 5.5 gen issue.

to the org.

 

Will check PCV, no oil on the ground ever, will have to get under and take a look I guess.

 

I'd look around both valve covers, cam and crank sensors...oil filter....just cause there isn't any on the ground doesn't mean it's not leaking while driving....especially around the oil filter and crank sensor that are under the car....driving at 55 mph will cause oil to blow back not drip down....I use a quart every month...but my car has 438,000 miles...so I expect some oil consumption

 

Wow 438000 man what have you done to keep it running that long? Good job

 

I would add some thicker oil...10W 40 instead of the thinner ones ur using I'm sure... 5w 30 etc...
My 00 has 190k and the thinner oils get burnt up every 1k easily....I just check more if I use those oils.....add some lucas oil too while ur doing it for better protection.

 

4th gens dont burn oil like the above said. I would stick with 5w30 because that is what our engine calls for. PCV valve is inexpensive and easy to change out. I would start there, although I highly doubt that is your problem if you are losing a quart of oil.

 

I use royal purple 10w30 and k&n oil filters...I just pat attention to the car... I actually listen and watch it run...view the data on the odb2 scanner...and replace parts if I feel something is wrong...she rolled over to 439,000 Saturday...I'm sure there has been motor work done...trans was rebuilt 2 years ago or so...needs new rear struts and drivers side LCA which I'm doing tomorrow...and a paint job(coming this winter) I have my eyes set on a red altima se-r now...but my max is going no where

 

I think I tracked it down, lot of oil on the back passenger corner, water pump. Valve cover gasket looks to have a break in it on that corner. Lot of body rust but the underside is amazingly clean otherwise. Looks I like I have some hours under the hood to get that gasket changed.

 

Quick question, if the PCV tube is clogged, how do I get that cleaned up?

 

Water pump is in the front. Back could be valve cover, timing cover orings (oil pump main galley), or power steering fluid. I would put my money on the valve cover. Get in there with a mirror and flashlight.

I'm at 317,000 miles with Walmart Supertech 5W30 conventional and Napa Pro Select filters every 4-6k. The act of changing oil religiously is more important than the quality of the oil. If you're not burning oil, stick to 5W30.

Don't get suckered into race weight or 0-20 boutique oils.

 

Wrong terminology on my part, by back I meant firewall side of engine when looking at the car from the front, I was under with a flashlight and it's wet on the passenger/firewall corner and there is a gap in the valve cover gasket. I did an 3000 mile oil change with max life 10w40 yesterday when I was under checking mt fluid level. Going to pick up a set of felpro gaskets and get them in on my day off friday.

 

if you had a cell for the knock sensor, this would be a perfect time to replace it.
Easy to do while the uim is off.

 

Some links to help you out bro:

taking off intake manifold:


Valve cover:


This one covers both, and I think in the video he shows where to put extra rtv to seal up the corners of the valve cover watch and you'll see what i mean: at 21:50 he explains

 

Don't forget the upper oil pan gasket. That where I am leaking from and there is very little oil leaking on the ground. I add about a quart in between oil changes.