07' M45, 22,000mi = Oil Consumption Test

[Double E]

SO this begs the question I brought up on this in a similar thread...what difference will we see if we close off the PCV or have it empty into a container as opposed to going back to the intake?

Has anyone pulled their PCV hose to see if there's excessive oil in it?

Added a resevoir, etc.?

[tigerclaws1318]

I've noticed with my car is that after you driven the car hard such as flooring it and redlining it and park it overnight it would smoke up like crazy the next morning. Shouldve recorded it but didnt get the chance. The car is almost at 30k meaning it will be going to the dealer soon for its first consumption test results.

[New2Import]

Its the PCV system. Its got to be. I ran a test with my SS. When you drive it WOT and let off gas you can hear the crankcase let its pressure out through my catch can. It sounds like a bypass valve on a SC car. Its kinda cool sound. I then did a WOT under the hood and man you would be amaze of the pressure that goes through this thing. Then you see the oil start dripping. My can it half full now and hint oil consumption. I still half stock pan on it. Ill be pulling the engine on that car and added a 7 qt pan this summer.

Now on the M Ill be pulling the PCV valve tomorrow and see if I have oil on the intake side and to the TB. If it does hint after you drive it you dont burn the oil all off it then sits in the intake then on start up you have smoke. I started it today and very little smoke. Im gonna drive it very easy and keep track to see how it does. Maybe Im wrong but worth a try.

SO this begs the question I brought up on this in a similar thread...what difference will we see if we close off the PCV or have it empty into a container as opposed to going back to the intake?

Has anyone pulled their PCV hose to see if there's excessive oil in it?

Added a resevoir, etc.?

You cant close off the PCV system. You would simply blow every gasket some place and then have oil leaks. You will have to put one of these in line after the PCV valve and before the intake.

This will catch the oil and keep it out of the intake and you dont have smoke on start up. You will have oil consumption still and thats part of having a HIGH compression engine. Now way around it. It just simply pulls the oil through the system. That will depend on your driving style if this is what the case is. Im not saying this is going to solve the problem with the 45 engine. Just something to test and look at. I know BMWs and some GM vehicles come with this type of filter system for the PCV system to keep oil out of the intake. You get bad mileage from this also. I looked at the monitor on my car and you can see the mileage get worse as the mileage piles on.

Here is a pic of one from a Volvo. This is a stock separator for a 2.4 engine. I think Nissan balked on this one.



Modified by New2Import at 3:59 AM 4/25/2009
Modified by New2Import at 4:02 AM 4/25/2009

[M4T5]

Mine has 45k mi on him right now and I regularly flog him when I drive.

What are your guys' driving habits/style? I've always found that if you run these nissan engines hard, they like you better in the long run. It's the engines that are babied that I've seen problems. Running them hard gets the rings out of the groove, babying tends to let the rings gum up in the groove in the piston allowing excess blowby. Also running them hard when they are cold can cause cylinder wall damage. The most common form of this abuse is to start the engine cold and rev the piss out of it even before their is sufficient oil pressure let alone allow for piston expansion.

Not saying that's an excuse at all, just noting some observations. Of course you still need to have your regular maintenance done.

Hope they can figure it out, and M4T5, with only 22k on the clock I'd say you still have plenty of warranty left so if it is bad now, it will only get worse so if they don't warranty the engine now, they probably will later.

I seriously think that is a myth. There are no facts to back that theory up to be honest. I used to believe in that theory, but I don't see that holding any truth on today's engines. Maybe the old style carbureted engines. Plus if it were the rings, the engine would consistently emit blue smoke. Blue smoke only upon start up equals oil leaking "down" into the combustion chamber while sitting up over night or a few days. It's definitely valve seals, guides, or the PCV system at fault.

I know it has plenty of warranty left, but I don't want to have to deal with this later...... It's already very annoying to be involved in this situation. The only ones at ease about this seem to be the ones that have not experienced this problem. Infiniti needs to replace the engine NOW....not LATER. What's the point of waiting? What's the point of this test? It SMOKES! What other proof do you need?? Either way, I'm will not settle with Infiniti stating the engine's oil consumption is within Infiniti's specifications. Sorry, but not NA engine should consume 1-3qts of oil between an auto manufacturer's oil change intervals. At least not a vehicle still covered by that manufacturer's factory bumper to bumper original warranty. Whos side are some of you guys on anyways??

J

[ken in az]

I think I can speak for most, were obviously on your side but we are also trying to explore other options for some that may not have the warranty anylonger.

My bet is Valve seals, Unless nissan changed the material in the valve guide they should still be good. I've seen heads with 150k mi on them still within factory new spec on the guides.

I've never said this to anyone, even to my enimies, but M4T5 - Hopefully your engine consumes as much oil as possible between now and the next time it is checked.

[M4T5]

Even if it doesn't consume enough oil....... the blue smoke is unacceptable! Thanks for the support either way.

J

[ken in az]

Even if it doesn't consume enough oil....... the blue smoke is unacceptable! Thanks for the support either way.

J

If I recall back when my buddy bought his 93 or 94 TT Supra, that thing had blue smoke on start up at less than 10k mi. I don't remember what he did about it. I think he just lived with it....but it definitely wasn't enough to fill a garage. I think a small amount is acceptable, and by small I mean way less than what was shown in the vid that was posted. And on turbo cars, it could be the oil seal in the turbo seaping a little after shutdown putting some in the exhaust.

My old turbo Z would smoke almost like a mesquito truck after a rainstorm in arizona, but barely used any oil -

[M45Caliber]

First, some background - because this is what my eventual theory is based on. I found and started reading this board about 6 months ago. While perusing all the threads, the two that caught my eye were the Fuel gauge issue and the oil consumption issue - both endemic to the '03-04 M45's.

So after reading all the horror stories about the bad motors, I hustle out to the garage to check my dipstick/oil level. I had the oil/filter changed at the Infiniti dealer about 6 weeks earlier, and there was about 1,200 miles on it since that change. I pull the dipstick, wipe it off, re-insert and pull it out and I am DOWN a little OVER a quart. I double and triple check it because now I am pretty upset that I will need a new motor, when I only have ~36K miles on the car. A quart per thousand is not good.

I pick up 2 bottles of Valvoline 5-30 and pour ONE in; the dip stick now reads almost full. Over the next 2,400 miles I add most of the other quart, to bring it up to "full" as I take the car in for the gauge cluster replacement and another oil/filter change.

I mention to the service advisor that I have added 2 quarts of oil in 3,500 miles and this is not acceptable. They agree to do a consumption test. I drive the car for 1,000 miles and take it in; dip stick reads down "maybe" 1/8th of a quart - if that. As of today it has about 2,300 miles since that oil change and I've added about 2/3 of a quart to top it off to full. (BTW - we stopped the consumption test once we checked it at the 1K mark and it was "full").

So -- my theory, as explained to service manager once the consumption test came back negative -- (and the service manager thinks I might be right).

As I did NOT check the oil level right after the previous oil change, but instead checked it at 1,200 miles into the oil/filter change (after reading about the problem) .... AND ....

The the Y34's take almost 6 quarts of oil with an oil drain/filter change -- I bet him paychecks that the tech who changed my oil the previous time topped it off with 5 quarts, never bothered to check the dip stick, and off I drove - already a quart low -- for the next 1,200 miles. There IS NO OTHER explanation.

Unless they put in straight 5 weight oil... and went back to 5w30 for the consumption test, which is not possible either.

Moral of the story - I'm checking my oil level at the dealers service delivery bay before I drive off.

The great news is that I can live with a quart of oil every 3K miles; which seems appropriate given the high output of this motor, combined with the way I drive it and the Arizona heat it lives under. So no new motor for me.

[ken in az]

Hey Caliber - What dealer are you going to, just curious. I've been going to infiniti of scottsdale on mcdowell rd but then again, I do 90% of my own service, I would only take my car in for warranty work or if I just dead didn't have enough time to take care of it myself.

[M4T5]

M45Caliber:

That's good news for you man! Glad to hear it was just a tech mistake (not that is a good thing, but hey, we all make mistakes).

I checked my oil level three times between my previous oil change and have noticed it dropping from the high mark all the way down to just above the low dot.Not even sure how much oil that means was used. Anyone?Mines definitely burning oil some how.

J

[M45Caliber]

I'm now going to Infiniti of Superstition Springs. The Service Manager has been there since it opened and has over 20 years with Nissan and Infiniti. He's very pro-customer. Plus, their loaner car fee is only $10 vs. $15 at Scottsdale Infiniti. It's a few miles further for me but it's actually faster, as it's ALL freeway versus city traffic (I live about a mile off the 60 inTempe). Except for that one screw-up (underfilling my M) I hae nothing but great things to say about them!

FYI -- Frozen Rotors and Hawk Pads (all 4 corners) being shipped this week. I'll let you know what I think about those in maybe a month. I'll take pics too -- if I can ever figure out how to post them here!

[ken in az]

I'm now going to Infiniti of Superstition Springs. The Service Manager has been there since it opened and has over 20 years with Nissan and Infiniti. He's very pro-customer. Plus, their loaner car fee is only $10 vs. $15 at Scottsdale Infiniti. It's a few miles further for me but it's actually faster, as it's ALL freeway versus city traffic (I live about a mile off the 60 inTempe). Except for that one screw-up (underfilling my M) I hae nothing but great things to say about them!

FYI -- Frozen Rotors and Hawk Pads (all 4 corners) being shipped this week. I'll let you know what I think about those in maybe a month. I'll take pics too -- if I can ever figure out how to post them here!

Very cool, thanks for the insight. My girls work is literally 3 minutes from the cottsdale dealer, makes it easy. I'm still planning the G37 brake upgrade but FR doesn't list those rotors on their site, I still think I'll be fine with stock replacement.....I may even get the Stoptech drilled and slotted just for looks, plus the drilled means less mass which means less rotational mass to more closely match the mass of the stock rotor.

[M45Caliber]

As an FYI -- they will take YOUR rotors and Cyro them -- or give them the part numbers and they will purchase, freeze and ship when ready. Takes about 60 hours to do the process and my understanding is they run the unit about once a week -- gun barrels, rotors, F22 Raptor parts -- you name it, they'll do it.