Which Engine Oil is recommended ??

[robbykennedy]

What oil type is recommended for a 2003 Pathfinder with 86K miles?. Synthetic or conventional
10-30, 10-40, 5-30.

[AceEngineer]

I've got a '02 QX4 for my wife with 180k on it and it been fed a consistent diet of Mobil 1, 20W50. So far all, only the O2 sensors, one converter and an IAC (w/ECU repair) is all it has required engine wise. Nothing lubed by the oil has failed. Lately I have been buying the Extended Life Mobile 1. My oil/filter change interval is 7500 miles, a personal quirk.

AceEngineer

[robbykennedy]

I assume synthetic oil...

[GX470]

I've got a '02 QX4 for my wife with 180k on it and it been fed a consistent diet of Mobil 1, 20W50. So far all, only the O2 sensors, one converter and an IAC (w/ECU repair) is all it has required engine wise. Nothing lubed by the oil has failed. Lately I have been buying the Extended Life Mobile 1. My oil/filter change interval is 7500 miles, a personal quirk.

AceEngineer

Does your QX4 consume oil? My 04 Pathy loses 1 quart of oil every ~3k. My interval is 5k with 1 qt added at 3k.

[GX470]

What oil type is recommended for a 2003 Pathfinder with 86K miles?. Synthetic or conventional
10-30, 10-40, 5-30.

I've been only using Mobil 1 Extended Performance 5W-30 and filter since the free oil change at the dealer was due at 75k. Car now has ~176k and never had any engine issues. The only complaint is that it loses 1 qt of oil every ~3k, which is weird since my other car GX470 can run up to ~7k without eating any drop of oil.

[Chuck Tribolet]

2003 PF FSM sez 5W-30 is preferrred, 10W-30 or 10W40 is OK if you live where it doesn't go below 0F.
Oil must be API certified, grade SG/SH energy conserving I & II OR SL energy conserving I, and ILSC
grade GF-I, GF-II, and GF-III. It doesn't say anything about synthetic vs dino (conventional) oil.

I've got 235,000 miles on my '01, about 70K of which has been towing a 2000 pound boat trailer and
500 pounds of cargo and passengers. When I was towing regularly (7000 miles a year), I changed
oil and filter every 3333 miles. Now that I tow a lot less (boat lives close to the ramp now),
its every 5000 miles. Oil: Castrol GTX 10W40 (keeps the cam advance codes away better than
5W30) dino oil and Wix filters. I'm thinking of trying the high mileage Castrol.

Chuck

[robbykennedy]

If I was to use synthetic 5-30W I can longer in between oil changes?

I noticed the other day at my local auto parts Penzoil 5-30W High Mileage for vehicles with over 75,000 miles.

I live in California, the lowest the temp ever gets in the winter is 40 degrees. In the summer we get temperatures in the 100s. I drive to my parents' house in the desert where sometimes the temperature is 110 - 115.

One of my questions is use synthetic or conventional oil?

[attofarad]

My coworker put 265k on his 2001 Pathfinder before he sold it. He used dinosaur oil, 4k intervals. I don't think he was adding any. He did some towing (jetskis), but not all that much.

I'm running 0W30 Castrol synthetic in my wife's 2001 QX4, for the convenience of using the same oil I put in my Passat. It is on the thick end of the spec for a 30. I usually go 6-7k with it, but would run it up to 8k if I didn't have time to change it. 188k miles, maybe add a quart at 5-6k after change.

I don't think synthetic was recommended, and have read at least one place that said don't, but I do.

[Towncivilian]

The engine oil & filter FAQ may shed some light on engine oil choices.

[robbykennedy]

Huh ?

That's interesting... I just read in my owner's manual - in the Technical and consumer information page 9-6 - Nissan does not recommend the use of synthetic oil.

[Buzzman]

I just read in my owner's manual - in the Technical and consumer information page 9-6 - Nissan does not recommend the use of synthetic oil.

Depends on the year of the Pathy/QX4.

My 2002 doesn't say that in the manual.
I've used Mobil1 synthetic for the past 11 years.
No oil leaks or burning, ever.

[robbykennedy]

Buzzman,

My Pathy is 2003 SE 86K miles. I do not see the reason I should not use synthetic oil.
I was thinking that maybe at the time when the vehicle was manufactured the blends of synthetic oil didn't have all of the additives they have now.

I was thinking to start using Mobil1 synthetic 5-30W

[Buzzman]

If your engine is healthy and well maintained, then you shouldn't have any problems switching to synthetic.
Thing is, once you switch, you should stay on synthetic.
Going back and forth between synthetic and dino oil from one change to the next is not recommended.

The biggest advantage for me with using synthetic is cold weather starts. (I'm in Canada in a cold zone).
Regular oil turns into molasses at -20 degrees, and starting your car in sub zero weather means it takes a while for the oil to get to the upper parts of the engine.
Synthetic doesn't do that. It flows much better in cold weather, and my engine is much happier that way.

[robbykennedy]

I am going to switch to synthetic and stay there, dino oil change is recommended every 3500 miles. Can I go, lets say, 6,000 miles on synthetic oil before my next oil change?.

[Chuck Tribolet]

The 3500 mile oil change interval is if you truck has a rough life (trailering, etc.) Normal usage is every 7000 miles.

Chuck

[robbykennedy]

I do not tow anything at all. The most I do is attach a bicycle carrier in the in the hitch to move three bicycles around.
Most of my mileage is open highway.

[Towncivilian]

Highway driving is the easiest possible driving for the engine oil. I would extend oil change intervals out to 7,500 miles without a second thought.

[robbykennedy]

Thanks Towncivilian,

Our Pathy is the third vehicle in the house, we use it mostly on weekends getaways. It literally sits all week long in the garage until the weekend. When we go out of town it is usually a 300 miles round trip, sometimes we do this twice a month or once a month.
I think synthetic oil will be good for the engine since the vehicle sits in the garage for the most part. I could be wrong.

[donald]

I've got a '02 QX4 for my wife with 180k on it and it been fed a consistent diet of Mobil 1, 20W50. So far all, only the O2 sensors, one converter and an IAC (w/ECU repair) is all it has required engine wise. Nothing lubed by the oil has failed. Lately I have been buying the Extended Life Mobile 1. My oil/filter change interval is 7500 miles, a personal quirk.

AceEngineer

Did I read this correctly? 20W50?
Is it that hot year round in Albuquerque?



I just use the synthetic SuperTech 5w30 from Walmart. $18 per 5qt jug. I figure it can't be worse than conventional oil and it's synthetic... Can't be all that bad. A Google search of "Sort Tech synthetic oil" shows that other drivers use it too. IMO, brand of engine oils can't be all that bad since it's being changed out so frequently.

I've been using it every 7000 miles since I bought the truck in 2011@155k and I'm still using it today at 210k. I did have a oil cooler leak, but that was repaired by replacing the 2 o rings. I doubt that was due to change over to synthetic as it was a little wet in that area when u first bought the truck.

I figure the Super Tech is cheap and quality enough for my use. That is, I'm not constantly hauling heavy trailers or loads, nor am I racing the truck. Weather and conditions/road contaminants in central California is not that bad to warrant a higher brand oil, IMO.

[Towncivilian]

SuperTech is fine, no matter if it's conventional or synthetic.

20W50 is just overkill for our engines. Maybe I'd run it if I got a case for free, but otherwise I wouldn't.

[atraudes]

Since a number of you have mentioned that they're doing oil changes beyond the 3k mark, I'll pose an oil filter to you that I've been using for your consideration. It's called MicroGreen and they pitch the ability to change the filter instead of your oil for a number of times before having to change the oil. It uses a bypass filter to filter the really fine crud out of the oil, which keeps it cleaner than the other filters out there. Apparently they've got a few fleets signed on and using the product, and have the lab results to back their claims.



I still stick to 3k intervals personally, but continue to use it because the oil does indeed stay visually cleaner for longer.

The model for my 2001 QX4 (and probably yours) is the 101-7 ($15 on Amazon)

http://www.microgreenfilter.com/

Just some food for thought

[Chuck Tribolet]

Given that the FSM says that for normal driving, change oil and filter every 7500, miles, I'll stick with Wix filters on each oil change, thank you.

Chuck

[robbykennedy]

Does the filter brand really matters? Nissan Filter brand vs Fram?

Is it really worth spending the extra money to purchase a Nissan filter vs Fram or any other brand?

[Chuck Tribolet]

There are a number of websites where someone has gone out and bought a bunch of filters that fit their vehicle, and
cut them open. Fram usually does poorly. Wix usually does well. OEM filters are a function of who the OEM is buying
from this week. and usually in the middle of the pack.

That's why I buy Wix, even though they can be a bit hard to find. My local O'Reiley's carries them, but behind the counter, not on the public shelves.

Cjick

[donald]

If we're talking Oil filters now
My choice is Purolator Pure1 14610.
http://www.amazon.com/Purolator-PL14610 ... automotive

There's another filter model (I think 14612??) made for the "newer" R50's (2002+) but the 14610 is a larger can, which makes me assume the filter/pleats are larger. Although my R50 is a 2001 and calls for the 14610, I believe some 2002+ R50 owners also stay with the larger 14610.

IMO, the reason the brand of oil filter is important is the quality in which it filters/collects contaminants in the oil (eg. dust, dirt, metal shavings, carbon deposits, sludge clumps, etc) as well as not restrict the flow of oil too much, especially when the engine is working hard (eg. hauling, climbing, stop-go, towing). Plus, the engineering analyses that some folks have done.
This is a website I'm referring to: http://www.calsci.com/motorcycleinfo/Fi ... OilFilters
Though it mainly analyzes and compares motorcycle filters, I usually assume we can give credit to the manufacturer for automotive filters.

[robbykennedy]

It has been said that up to one quart of dirty oil stays in the engine if the filter is not replaced.
Replacing the oil filter with every oil change is very important. I would not do it any other way, that's just me.

[Chuck Tribolet]

It has been said that up to one quart of dirty oil stays in the engine if the filter is not replaced.
Replacing the oil filter with every oil change is very important. I would not do it any other way, that's just me.

That was probably true in the old days (1970's) when the oil filters for my '72 240Z and '70 pickup could clearly hold a quart of oil. The tiny filter on my '01 PF holds about a half a pint. But that small size is another good reason to change it every oil change, as is "that's what the FSM sez".

Chuck

[JPK Omaha]

When I need to add oil between changes I always put in a quart of dino 5-30 or 10-30. While reading this thread I am thinking if the dealer puts in synthetic it can't be good to add dino. I checked my receipts and the oil change sticker on the car and there is no clue as to what the dealer puts in, the receipt just says multi-vis. This morning I asked the service tech what they use, he said they use a "blend", and he said if you are a quart low it really doesn't matter which one you add.

[Towncivilian]

Yes, it doesn't matter what you top off with. Any oil (as long as it isn't non-detergent oil) will be fine to top up with.