New Engine Coming...Proper break-in? Catch can?

[dvan]

Easy......no need to purchase any of the 2 in your above scenerio.....these are not limited production rare vehicles, and I would keep looking til I found the right 1 owner fully documented example or just purchase a different model vehicle- sorry, I just do not see a replacement motor as an advantage EVER in a mass produced vehilce when other choices are available in the marketplace.

you got an answer for everything dont ya?

The scenario was assuming a person was going to buy either one of the cars lol

[qship96]

Well, it could be worse....like a car with a salvage title, eh?

[dvan]

I <3 salvage titles!!!!

[jazzy m45]

Wow...seems like this really hit a nerve with a couple people.

I don't post for 2 days and you people almost bite each other's heads off!

Oh well, guess the fight's over now... I was all ready to sit on the couch and watch too...

[dvan]

Sigh....started my car back up after going to Best Buy and i hear that damn clacking sound I heard in my old engine again! Although not as loud as before, but was the same noise either way. It went away after a few mins of driving, not idling. Dealer says probable stuck lifter and that happens on these engines. Ill have to start documenting this real good for the next 8K miles, keep the video cam ready.

[ken in az]

Dealer says probable stuck lifter and that happens on these engines. Ill have to start documenting this real good for the next 8K miles, keep the video cam ready.

Uggghhh!! These engines do not have lifters!!!! Don't let the dealer lie to you. They have direct actuating cam lobes on top of the valves with shim buckets to take up the clearance and take the load of actuation.

[dvan]

Ken, thanks. Ill keep that in mind. I posted a "video" of the sound when it happened last night. It was dark so my phone video is basically all black but you can still hear the sound.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=d9kne-eHdUE

Kinda sounds like a quieter version of this huh? http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KDQeCOJZcDM

[dvan]

Now that I think of it, there is one important difference between the sound that doomed my old engine and the sound from the new one.

That difference is that the sound from my old engine always happened AFTER I had already been driving and not at start up. I guess thats the big clue to something being very wrong.

[qship96]

So, your BRAND NEW replacement engine is already showing signs of major trouble???

Same exact symptoms of the original engine??? Why cant Nissan figure out the defect in these engines and redesign them, instead of swapping new defective motors ???? Pathetic, and makes me think twice if I will stay with Nissan when it comes time to retire the old Q { I have been driving Nissan products exclusively since 1979, and Infiniti since 1993.

[dvan]

yeah qships, kinda sucks

[tigerclaws1318]

Dvan, may be a stupid question but have you checked your oil level and also are you using the OEM oil filter?

[dvan]

I did check my oil this morning and i made sure to check it the way the manual describes. I let it warm up to operating temp and parked it on a level surface. Turned it off and waited 20 mins and checked, the oil was in between the L and H markings so the oil was good. I dont use the OEM filter because i get the oil changes done at a local shop down the street. OEM filter make a big difference? I drove around a bit today and no noise was heard. Hopefully it was a freak occurance

[tigerclaws1318]

Do you have any idea what kind of oil filter the shop used? For me I stay away from the OEM oil filter and stick with a high quality filter like Mobil 1, K&N or Bosch.

On another forum I read that a low quality oil filter will cause some noise when starting the car. Maybe missing or a poorly designed anti-drain back valve causing dry starts and not supplying oil quick enough.

[jazzy m45]

Dvan, when I read your first post, I almost puked!

I'm glad that there's no noise now, but man, I'm telling you... I don't wanna get rid of my M, but I would have to seriously consider selling it if this story ends in bad news. We've been "blood brothers" so far and I can't afford to have this happen twice... I wouldn't be able to trust the car anymore...
Modified by jazzy m45 at 1:28 PM 1/24/2010

[dvan]

Jazzy, I know how you feel man! When i heard the sound the other day my heart bout droped out of my chest. I was kinda in shock and just sat there for a few seconds like "OMFG". Its a good thing the engine is warrentied to 12K miles (im at 4000 now), but it this keeps happening ill have to get rid of it and cut my loses

I was thinking it has to be something that has stayed the same between the engine swap that is triggering this, but dealer said everything else is just bolt on stuff like alternator ect...so everything should be new.

The only other constant I can think of is my fuel. I always use BJ's fuel because its 20 cents cheaper. Maybe there is something flakey with BJ's fuel that can be causing problems with the VK45DE??? I switched to Shell today, hopefully I wont hear it agian.

[jazzy m45]

I run about 95% Shell, with the other 5% covered by Texaco or BP. I try not to have to use anything but Shell. I just rolled over 3k today on the new engine.

I wouldn't go as far as to say I wouldn't get another Infiniti (I still do love 'em), but I'm getting less and less confident about 100k+ with this car... I got 250+ out of my last car (a Hyundai), so I have high expectations. I'd like to see how well the engine of the new M56 is going to hold up. M37 wouldn't be out of the question if the V6 still keeps the longevity advantage over the V8. I guess I'll just have to wait a few years to find out... (I'm not going to be the first to test it out!)

Anything else out of the ordinary happening??

[jazzy m45]

Oh yeah, meant to ask... Does your car still feel "heavy" with the new engine? I was getting on the interstate today and this Lancer Evo (the turbo one) was behind me. I floored it from the on-ramp and he would've ended up taking me if I didn't have to get over in front of him because of traffic...

Anyway, even around time cruising at 40 or so, it just feels different. The only thing that's changed on mine is the engine and everything else is bone stock, but it drives so much differently now. It's almost like the changes made the car weigh more. I haven't been able to put my finger on a cause, but my mileage is down and it doesn't feel as fast and I don't like it...

[dvan]

Oh yeah, meant to ask... Does your car still feel "heavy" with the new engine? I was getting on the interstate today and this Lancer Evo (the turbo one) was behind me. I floored it from the on-ramp and he would've ended up taking me if I didn't have to get over in front of him because of traffic...

Anyway, even around time cruising at 40 or so, it just feels different. The only thing that's changed on mine is the engine and everything else is bone stock, but it drives so much differently now. It's almost like the changes made the car weigh more. I haven't been able to put my finger on a cause, but my mileage is down and it doesn't feel as fast and I don't like it...

I dont think my cars feels 'heavy' anymore, now that I can drive it like a want to. Did you floor it in D mode? Trying switching to M mode next time you merge on that same on ramp and see if it still feels slower.

if your going 40MPH before you exit the onramp, shift down to 2nd gear, wait for the rev match and punch it. That usually gives a pretty good dose of acceleration.

[Double E]

Been using BJ's fuel for 95% of fill ups for almost 2 years. No issues recently.

Can it be time to add a BG44K....using synthetic oil? I would go buy a better filter and give it to whoever is doing your oil instead.

[jazzy m45]

D or M, doesn't matter, it definitely is not the same. I'm hoping it will get back there one day, but for now, it's just not the same. The last time I was at the dealer, he mentioned it almost being time for my rear diff to be flushed, could that have something to do with it?

[tigerclaws1318]

Was the fluid in the diff ever been change? I changed the fluid on mine a few days ago to Royal Purple 75W-90 and changed the oil while at it also. The car feels great.

The old fluid which had about 5k on it looked nasty. It's a pain in the a** if you try to do it yourself so it's better off that you buy the fluid and have someone replace it for you. You can try Mobil 1 75W-90 fully synthetic gear oil. The car just takes 2 bottles.

[jazzy m45]

I don't know if it's ever been changed. I've only had the car for 6 months and about 15k miles. I'm assuming it was done as I have had many oil changes/check ups/service calls, but it has never been mentioned before, so I assume (I know, I know) that it had been done previously.

I'm not going to try to do it myself at this point, I'll be taking it to the dealer. I haven't had the chance to get under this car yet for myself to do some work, so I don't really know it like I want maintenance-wise, but as it warms up, I'll be diving into that this spring/summer.

I'm just trying to find simple answers to a problem that's probably very complicated. It may just be that it takes time, but I'm approaching 4k on the new engine and it just doesn't compare to my old one yet.

[jazzy m45]

Today, when I got in my car to go out to lunch, I started Ms. Monalisa and the big blue monster (puff of smoke) jumped out of the tailpipes again...

I just drove it right to the dealership, tracked down my service advisor from the long block replacement, told him about the smoke (and an oil-like smell that I got a whiff of while during part of my drive up there), then asked for a loaner and left.

I'm like 85% convinced that I'm going to get something else. I really love the car, but I need to be able to depend on it to run without problems and I'm just not getting that. At this point, they're either going to tell me that they didn't find anything or that they need to do the OCI testing (I know they're not going to do another replacement, nor do I want them to). Either way, I'm screwed. I know that the blue smoke is a "sign" of an issue and not something that necessarily dooms the car, but I just can't keep having issues like this.

Anyway, I'll step off my and try to move on, but I just wanted to let you guys know about my day.

[1scott]

Jazzy-did you check the intake manifold? I saw smoke out my exhaust of the new engine and was beyond upset.I pulled off all the engine panels to check the techs job, found a loose tube from the air filter box to the intake manifold. I then removed it and found a very dirty intake manifold. It was full of oil pooled up on the throttle plate, even the air filter which had less than 8kmi was oil saturated. I had it professionally cleaned at a private shop that works on european cars. After they cleaned it, it smoked worse for the next few starts, now the exhaust is clear.

So, save the dissapointment, I know this sucks, you could be seeing old oil residue making its way through the intake and into your new engine. I have run around 5kmi on my new engine and watch the oil level. So far cannot see a drop oil burn.

On a side note, I was filling up at the gas station and an FX45 pulled up behind my M and the owner said that thing must be fast because its the same engine as the FX yet lighter, as our cars were gassing I told him the only major problem I had was this oil issue, he said he adds a qt every month in his FX with 135kmi on it with the origninal engine. I asked him when it started to burn the oil, he said around 50kmi. So the FXs are suffering the same oil burn our Ms are.

[jazzy m45]

I didn't check anything today. When I saw that I literally drove straight to the dealership. Before today, I didn't even want to have to go back to this same dealership (they haven't had the best customer service), but since they did the engine replacement, I decided to go back.

Anyway, it's at least nice to know that it could be something different than OCI. I did check my oil last weekend and it was down, but not below normal. I was on a slight incline at the time, so I kinda gave it the benefit of the doubt. I just got the oil changed about 1500 miles ago. I have a little less than 4200 miles on the new engine now.

I actually did know about the FX45's having the same issue as the M. When I went to the dealership in December for the engine problem, the guy showed me an engine in the back that came from an FX45. He was using it as the "example" to show me what they would be replacing. There, in the back of the dealership on a crate, was a longblock V8 with metal shavings, etc. everywhere.

I'm literally looking at cars right now. I do love my M though and even though I've had problems out of it, I'm still finding it hard to detach. I really don't want another car, I just want my M to work forever, I just don't see it happening. I was looking around on the NICO forums as a whole last week and have even seen threads of G37 owners with oil consumption problems in models as new as 2008! I've never seen any manufacturer have this type of continuous problems across engine platforms without any kind of notification to the owners. When I had my engine replacement done, I got put through the ringer about it being covered under warranty for not having the previous owner's records, like it wasn't a known problem.

The first time I went to the dealership with a blue smoke issue was October '09. When I told the guy about it, he had the attitude of "I'll check it out and see what's going on with it." Today, when I told him it had appeared again, knowing that the engine had just been changed 2 months ago, his demeanor was more like "we know it's a problem, but we never expected it to happen twice to the same person." (That's not what he said, but body language/things he did say were translated to that.)

I'm just beyond shocked. I mean, this post marks #100 for me on the forum. I bet 75% of them were in threads about engine issues, catch cans, and OCI. I really want to keep it, but I can't depend on it. I got 250k+ out of my last car, a HYUNDAI. Generally, people here wonder if they can get to 100k on the original engine...

Sorry for the long post, but you gotta understand, under the circumstances. I don't want to badmouth the car or Infiniti as a whole, because I truly LOVE my car... I just don't know what else to do...

[1scott]

I am a man of few words too. So sorry for the long posting. LOL.

I did not know the G37 was suffering the same problem. I know the G35 coupe with the 6sp Manual was an oil burner too. My replacement for my M was going to be a G37 as I enjoyed driving the loaner so much, what a lot of fun, it was so freaking fast. I also have a co worker with the G35 auto/sedan, search Youtube for G35 vs G37s in 1/8 mile, thats my co worker, he claims to be a seasoned race car driver. He has had great luck with Nissan V6 and claims its one of th best in the automotive kingdom.

I wanted to get rid of mine too, but the trade in was below the pay off (I purchased a CPO plus added the Elite Warranty Plan). Since I am not suffering the oil burn anymore, right now, and have the warranty upto 100k, I have some time.

If you are looking for a new car, I can suggest you go to a Toyota dealer now, they are eating pie with this recall and must be feeling the crunch. I have had so many Toyotas and they are the standard in durability and unfortunately boredom (None of them really exite me but you can get the miles on them). My Wife currently drives a Sequoia SUV and just hit 100kmi and with nothing but reccommended maintence ( I never even checked the oil until I got the Infiniti and sometimes we ran the Toyo 8-10kmi between some oil changes because we were super busy plus no loaner car). It is just a better made car based on my experience. Do a seach on Autotrader on cars with 100+kmi and you see the highest in Toyos past the 200+kmi. They do make lemons too, because toyota had a oil sludge problem in the late 90's and gave all customers a 10yr/unlimited mileage powertrain warranty. Infiniti refuses to fix this issue with their cars which spoils an otherwise very nice car like the M.

[jazzy m45]

1scott, thanks for the reply. I still need something fun, I've only had this car for 6 months and I am so spoiled, which is part of the reason it would be hard for me to drive anything else. My wife drives a Toyota that's involved in the recall, so that affects me front and center. For me, though, I simply cannot drive anything boring right now.

I just looked at trade values on the car and I'm a little below optimal, but maybe showing evidence of a new engine would help me out some on the value. It only takes one person or dealership for everything to go right. I really hate to even think like this or talk about getting rid of it, but again... I don't want to continue down this road.

For a laugh (kinda)... when I got in the loaner today, I noticed that it had only 1/4 tank of gas. I asked the service advisor about getting a car with some gas in it (I just filled mine up this morning and didn't want to have to buy gas again because of this), and he told me that they normally keep only that much in their loaners and I am "more than welcome to bring it back with less than that." (and he even knows I live an hour away from the dealership...)

[tigerclaws1318]

Funny how you guys mentioned about the blue smoke on start ups as just 2 days ago I did encounter blue smoke on my car too. I started the car in the morning and I see a huge puff of blue smoke blow up the front windows. I was thinking wtf I only have about 1700 on this new engine.

I'm pretty sure adding a oil catch can will stop all the blue smokey start-ups. I should schedule a appointment anyways to see if they find anything.

[dvan]

Jazzy, i feel for ya man! I feel the same way you do, no other car for the price will or can replace the M45...none. Im crossing my fingers i dont have any more issues. As of 1000 miles after oil change i have no consumption, im commin up on 2000 in the next few days and ill check again.

[jazzy m45]

Ken in AZ is the only person that I know of on the forum that has had a catch can for an extended period of time (miles). He's noted that he has had good results from it. I had planned on doing a catch can, but didn't want any issues to pop up and then have the dealership say that something I did voided the warranty. My plan was to ride stock until the warranty was out, then install the catch can. It would be different if Infiniti gave the dealerships clearance to do a catch can and still cover it under warranty. I'm sure that the catch cans work (I visually see the results), but I've only seen one long-term success story. Plus, to me, if that totally resolves the issue, Infiniti would issue a fix or a TSB to install a catch can rather than keep paying for a new $10 grand long block installation. It just doesn't make sense to me.

I'm more than willing to try anything, but can't do it at the expense of voiding the warranty. That's what's separating me from having no car at all right now...