M45 oil consumption

Post by **yidal8** » Mon Aug 09, 2004 10:42 am

My 03 M burns about 1.0-1.5 Qts. (from 'H' to 'L' on the dipstick) every 3000mi. I have already 37Kmi , 50-60% highway . My 91 Q with 145Kmi. burns 1.5 Qt. every 2500-3000 mi. , and always did since I got her 9 years ago .1) Is this normal for the newer M/Q motor also ? My long time service mgr. says it's normal for the V-8's. His company M45 burns more then mine . We both drive pretty hard .2) Should I complain , as she is still under warranty ?

Post by **szh** » Mon Aug 09, 2004 10:42 am

Hmmm ... I do not have anywhere like this problem (also reported by sidvicious)! My M45 has not been burning oil at all ... I am now at 11.5k miles and nothing like this yet! Just changed oil at 11.3k miles and it looked good - after 3750 miles.

Neither of my Q's burnt oil either ...

Z

Post by **nuQ** » Mon Aug 09, 2004 10:42 am

my 90 doesn't burn any between changes.

Post by **PalmerWMD** » Mon Aug 09, 2004 10:42 am

approx one quart every 3000 miles is perfectly normal.It's probably a bit related how your rings seated under drive-in.

Liklely wont affect your performance or longevity at all.

Some folks measure they oil and dont wait long enough for it to come all back inot pan, as a result they see it lower and "top it off", with the excess oil going out and causing more "consumption".

I think this has happened to me years back when I checked my oil so often, I felt it was using, but once I became obsessive about checking only after over nite parking on prefectly even terrain my oil loss problem disappeared.

Fred..

Post by **szh** » Mon Aug 09, 2004 10:42 am

PalmerWMD wrote:about checking only after over nite parking on prefectly even terrain my oil loss problem disappeared.

Fred, almost all the car manuals talk about running the engine to normal running temperature and then letting it cool down (for 2 to 10 minutes - depending on the recent manuals I have handy) before checking the oil level. But, from your post, I gather you recommend checking cold after letting it sit overnight - wouldn't this give a bit of an artificially high reading? Do you think this makes a significant difference or not for oil reading?

Also, perfectly level terrain is not strictly necessary as long as one is consistent, right? for example, I always measure in my garage and even if there is some slight tilt on the floor, it is a consistent reading!

Z

Post by **PalmerWMD** » Mon Aug 09, 2004 10:42 am

I really do prefer overnight, or at least an hour or 2, even if the reading will be ever so slightly high, better than it being significantly less, than whats in it and not knowing how much less, also, consistency will be helped greatly by this habit.

With a 32 valve V8, there are a lot of nooks and crannies for oil to hide in, especially with the VVT being oil pressure actuated (at least in the VH, am not sure 'bout VK), hence i prefer to wait longer for until i measure.

Fred..

Post by **szh** » Mon Aug 09, 2004 10:42 am

Thanks, Fred!

Z

Post by **maxnix** » Mon Aug 09, 2004 10:42 am

I agree with Fred. Get it the first thing in the morning after an overnight drain and cool down. Better repeatability.

Post by **Q451990** » Mon Aug 09, 2004 10:42 am

No doubt... I only check mine after it's been sitting overnight - except for a rough color check at each fill-up. The engine will hold lots of oil that slowly drains back into the pan.

Heath

Post by **maxnix** » Mon Aug 09, 2004 10:42 am

And as an add on, my Seattle Q45 doesn't burn any at all in 3,500 miles. I think my Austin Q45 does, but it seems to run a minute little bit stronger. Hard to tell as environments, tires, gas are different.

Post by **SIDVICIOUS** » Wed Sep 01, 2004 10:40 am

Thanks guys, I'm quite embarrassed when I have to add oil to my new car so i'll check it when it's cold! I still think its burning it!

Post by **russg** » Wed Sep 01, 2004 2:03 pm

My service tech told me that there was some sort of bulletin released by Infiniti that suggested not filling the crankcase all the way to the full mark on the dipstick when refilling after a change. Something about that last half quart getting blown out sorta quickly. Not sure if the dipstick is not quite calibrated correctly, or what. But the impression I got was that filling the crankcase to the full mark was causing the crankcase to be slightly overfilled. If that's true, it could make sense that any extra oil in the crankcase would tend to get blown out rather quickly. Of course, it could also be true that this is just dealer-speak for brushing off oil consumption complaints. But I've had a working relationship with this tech for many years, and he's never steered me wrong. He's the guy that solved Quella's rough idle problem when others failed. Pretty sharp guy, and he's never given me a reason to question his integrity.

Russ

Post by **Jason B** » Thu Sep 02, 2004 6:36 am

I've heard it does this up till about 10,000 miles than levels ofd until the titanium valves seat. I've never had any consumption in the Q, and have continually checked it.

Post by **Q45tech** » Thu Sep 02, 2004 7:44 am

The different and new 4.5 liter engine is prone to more oil use than the 90-96Q......just a change in design to increase HP by reducing ring friction. [pressure against bore].These types might use up to 1 quart per 1,000 miles and still be considered OK.

A big change for owners use to the earlier design.

I seem to remember warning about this a few years ago when the engines specs first came out. Now that over 10,000 [Q/M/FX] have been sold we'll begin to see the compliants from people who did not practice a PERFECTION BREAKIN PROCEEDURE.

Post by **PalmerWMD** » Thu Sep 02, 2004 7:53 am

Dennis:

As you know there are different schools of thought on what constitues a perfect brake in procedure.

I would be really interested to hear your take on what constitues that, for a VQ or VH series engine.

Fred..

Post by **SEBZX79** » Thu Sep 02, 2004 8:22 am

Run it like you stole it, that is why we brake motorcycles and cars in on dynos. Your valves seat with in the first few miles under good load. Make sure to change the oil with in the first 1k miles.

Post by **IvoryJ30t** » Fri Sep 03, 2004 9:57 am

i have my own procedure, but it probably overkill because im OCD.

double and triple check everything after install [that doesnt apply if car is new]

startup, set base fuel pressure, reach normal operating temperature, set base timing, recheck fuel pressure.

take the car out, run at 50% up to half rev range 3 or 4 times, let motor relax for a minute, then do 2 or 3 75% runs up to 1000-1500 rpm below redline.

wait a minute or so, and hit the highway.

run the car in top gear, and alternate between 55 and 75 mph using 75-80% throttle.

take no more than 20 miles to do this.

afterward, change oil and filter.

change again at 500, 1000, and 3k, then normal 3k increments.

you have a small window of opportunity to seat the rings. if you drive the car softly during this time period, then it will never seal correctly.

Post by **IvoryJ30t** » Fri Sep 03, 2004 11:35 am

here is a good page, it goes into detail about why the engine should not be broken in "easy"

the procedure is slightly different from what i said, but you get the idea.

http://www.mototuneusa.com/break_in_secrets.htm

M45 oil consumption

M45 oil consumption

Controlled Conditions

Re: (SIDVICIOUS)

Re: (russg)

Re: (Q45tech)

Re: (PalmerWMD)

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