M45/Y34 Oil Consumption

[kreapin]

Yes I am a new member but I have been lurking for some time now. Thank you all for boat loads of quality info

Question; Oil consumption seems to be an issue with these cars as well as other Nissan vehicles, has anyone had there engine replaced under warranty?

Have to ask because I work at a dealership which has a Nissan store and they do replace engines for oil consumption issues, just wondering if any Y34/M45 owners went this route as of yet. My car stopped burning oil for some reason, she just loves burning gas though

[The00Dustin]

I believe a good search would yield the answer you are looking for, not that a good search is an easy thing to execute. I have been here since 2009, and I can tell you some 2006-2007 M45 engines have definitely been replaced under warranty due to oil consumption. I know an oil consumption test was performed before the engines were replaced. This involved the dealership doing something to prevent owners from tampering with the oil and then having them bring the car back later. I believe the engine had to lose more than a quart of oil in a set number of miles to qualify for replacement.

[kreapin]

I was just curious if any Y34 owners had there engine replaced and how did there car perform or feel afterwards. I've been trying to sell my car because I need a truck but if I can have a new engine I might just keep the old girl, I love the 4.5L V8

[The00Dustin]

Sorry, I didn't notice you said Y34. I did notice that you had a 2003, so I thought it was odd that you were asking. I guess you have some consumption in yours?

[kreapin]

When I purchased the car last January from a retired dr (gotta love florida's used car market) it was burning about a quart a month. But over the last 8 months or so she quit burning oil, I almost never add between oil changes. I just had the cam position sensor replaced and he checked up things and she is holding steady.

[kreapin]

Right now my only issue is inconsistent performance which we have concluded is the cpu. She has spent her whole life driving miss daisy so it seems like she reverts to a lazy setting, so I have to kick her a** to remind her "your a sports sedan" then she wakes up again.

[Double E]

Food for thought....I doubt Nissan would give a rats azz if your Y34 (or any Y34) was burning oil at this point. At 12+ years of ownership, their responsibility to replace an engine is less than nothing.

Next, that old doctor probably did not routinely spin the engine to redline and zip to 75mph on the highway the way it needs to be done on occasion for that engine. Here's the suggested maintenance to free up the piston rings & remove carbon from the rings that help seal out oil from the combustion chambers.... BG44K. Get about 4-6 cans of it. Put a can in the tank and fill with 12-15 gallons of the highest octane available (as always). Don't fill it to full so as not to dilute it... (That you've seen improvement is good and means you're driving it the way it needs to be driven.)

Do several runs to redline over the course of consuming that fuel, then change your oil. Repeat the BG44K treatment every 3 oil changes or at least twice a year.

I've had 2 of these Y34s and can attest that they need to be run and need the additional care described. You might also consider a TB cleanout but be careful to do it right...(search for instructions).

Cheers!

[Kaaoszx]

I have fixed alot of my oil burning issues, by stupidly waiting and switching to amsoil before it was too late!
The day I drained the dino oil to switch to amsoil was the day I found lots of metal shavings in my oil. Motor only had 105k miles. The old motor was burning about 1 quart every 1.5 weeks. Before this I Tried a few fixes to get rid of sludge or carbon, nothing helped
New motor I got from LKQ with 90k on it. don't run anything but good oil in these motors and redline them a bit to seat the rings. New motor was burning almost a quart a month. now its much less. I also pulled the old motor before it got damaged so hopefully I can build a vk56de with variable cam timing heads from the vk45. I gutted the pre cats, deleted the rear thermostat, 170 deg front thermostat, put in a mishimoto 370z radiator and a spal fan and flex a lite fan controller. I also replaced the middle section of exhaust with stainless so its now a true dual exhaust. Still gotta finish the rear exhaust section.
Also BG44k really does work. remember our cars are detuned race motors. amsoil in the transmission after it shifted really s*** on a negative -40 degree day last winter. Now it shifts like an audi a8. next mod is the shift kit from Transgo.
Also dont do the radiator mods and fan I did unless your want to get horse s*** gas mileage. well you can do it if your gonna track your y34.
god I need coilovers.

[kreapin]

I will order the bb44k and give it a shot. My car didn't like the amsoil, burned thru it all the time. I have been letting the tech at nissan take care of my car and performance has been coming back, trans has been shifting better. All in all the car does not feel like a 12 year old, she is very smooth and there is plenty of power.
The options for coilovers or suspension as a whole really suck, I'm partial to digressive struts and coilovers and unfortunately that ain't gonna happen. Seems like BC racing and Megan are the only options within reason and I'm not a fan of either.

[silviabill]

Lots of good info on here, thanks guys. I have an 03 with 166k and this will really help. I just picked it up a few months ago, so I'm learning. I had a S13 with an RB20 before, so the learning curve with no aftermarket support is huge.

Any opinions on Parts Shop Max suspension pieces?

[MinnesotaM45]

The oil consumption issue has been beaten to death by many other topics. Ken in AZ said it best when he states that because of the nature of how the rings were built, it is almost impossible to prevent oil consumption. However, if you clean your throttle body, use premium gas like Shell with great additives, and change your oil with good full synthetic every 3500 miles you should see improvements over time. I switched from Mobil 1 5w30 Synthetic to Castrol Titamium Synthetic and it has been working great lately. Burning very little oil, if any, after 2000 miles. And don't cheap out on Gas, you put s*** in you get s*** out. Im more concerned about the driver seat breaking issue. BTW: You will have this problem soon as well if not already. I need to replace these seats with aftermarkets!!