Engine is DONE!
 

Let me premise this a little bit.........

2 weeks ago I took my car into Nissan because I was hearing a strange rattle noise after a cold start when I would drive. They couldn't find anything so I decided to get it some more time.
So last week I took the car in because when I was turning the wheel I was hearing a loud clicking noise as well as still hearing the rattle noise at cold start. They found that the clicking noise was due to some loose bolts on the control arm from when I was hit in an accident. I asked about the noise I was hearing at cold start and the mechanic told me it was because I wasn't using Nissans recommended ester oil and that owners were complaining of the same sound and it was normal but that the only way I could get rid of the sound was to change over to an ester oil.
The last time I changed my oil was in November using Royal Purple. I was about due for an oil change and was going to run Redline this time around. They never at one point mentioned oil change or asked about oil changes or anything.
So today driving back from out of town, I was driving like a normally do and all of the sudden the service engine light soon was blinking. I immediately turned down the music and could hear a knocking sould at about 3k rpms no matter what gear I was in. I also noticed that the oil temperature was higher than normal at about 220degrees constant.
I knew something was ****** up so I drove it right to the dealership.
I finally called back after 6 hours and he informed me that I need to show the last 6-7 oil changes before Nissan would cover the work under warranty. He said there was metal shavings and bearing peices all in the motor and that I would need a new long block.

WTF! I had a 2001 BMW 330ci with over 100k on the odometer and I drove that thing harder than this car. I never had 1 ******* issue with oil AND anytime it was low on oil I would have a oil light indicator telling me.

I don't know what happened or why, I just can't believe this ****.:ughdance:

Damn. That sucks to hear. By the thread title I thought you meant you just got done with an engine build and I was gonna come in here to check it out and congratulate.

How often do you check your oil level?

I've probably checked it 3-4 times in the past 6 months.

But I've had the car in a Nissan dealership about 8 times in the past 6 months. Isn't this protocol for them to check things like this? And I took it in for "diagnostic" 2 weeks ago. Why wasn't it checked then?

Real Sorry
 

but how could you go without an oil change since November?

I purchased the car at 27,xxx miles. I was told by the owner that the oil had just been changed. I changed it at 35xxx in november and now I'm sitting at 43xxx. I was due for an oil change no doubt, but should that of caused my engine to explode?

Yes

sent from my SAMSUNG- SINGLE TURBO SGH-1717

So the fact that I went in there weeks ago and complained of engine noise and the fact that my car is a 2009 model with oil consumption problems would make this my fault?

Why didn't a light indicator come on telling me the oil was low?

Why didnt the tech look at the service bulletin for my car?

7500-8000 miles for oil change should not do this.

Nissan needs to own their mistake for not putting oil coolers in their cars and for having these oil issues.

ok

Oil coolers are primarily needed for track users. Normal drivers won't need one (unless you're in a hot climate). Oil consumption is something that should always be checked for. You should have done the oil change as soon as you bought the car. Should also get into the habit of checking the oil at least once a week. Should be every day but unless you're a total gearhead/petrolhead or just extremely paranoid, very unlikely.

I have run Royal Purple for 2000 miles and six months (very low mileage car, weekend driver) and valvetrain noise is annoying. It's not loud seeing as it is such low mileage, but I won't ever deviate from Redline again, since it's the only thing besides Nissan's oil which silences the valve noise. I don't see how something like an 8000 mile oil change interval would cause such massive failure though. Definitely has to be oil consumption, although I'm surprised nobody noticed until it was too late.

That being said, your high oil temperatures were likely caused by your low level of oil. You shouldn't blame Nissan's lack of an oil cooler, simply that you were consuming oil.

Good luck with your warranty work.

I live in Florida, its hot.

The bottom line is, I'm not a mechanic. If there is something wrong, I take it in to get fixed. I knew I was due for an oil change and planned on doing it.
I had taken the car in twice complaining of noises, I don't understand why this was'nt caught.:shakes head:I do my job to the absolute best to my ability and I expect others to do the same to prevent things like this.

I'm already expecting some hot head to say "Well you bought a race car, check the oil, blah blah blah" or "back in the day there wasn't oil indicators blah blah blah" or a sarcastic "ok".
This is a new generation of cars with technology nobody ever could imagine Wireless smart key, Uprev Smode, etc. Why would they not put a sensor in a car that shows when oil is low??????

I keep up with my maintanence, I did the rear diff fluid, trans fluid, engine oil, since Novemeber.

I think I'm doing enough.

The Nissan engine oil warning light is garbage. A number of people who initially had failed oil cooler lines never saw the light come on until the engine was already toast. It sounds like you had a low engine oil situation and the engine finally died due to oil starvation. The single best thing you can do in any car is check your oil level with every fuel fillup. If you went 7,000 miles between oil changes without checking the level, there's a good chance your car just consumed enough oil to put her in the danger zone. Just show Nissan your oil change schedules, underscore that you brought the car in for diagnostics and they did nothing, and hopefully it'll get covered under warranty. Your best bet is to really emphasize that you brought the car in for inspection and they didn't find or do anything.

I see you have fallen for the internet BS about oil change intervals.

:iagree:

Good luck with your warranty claim. I hope you kept your receipts for the oil/filter changes.:tiphat:

Just got my 2011 back with new short block..... Oil consumption was the heart of the problem. Only difference is I had my dealer doing the changes at specified intervals. Car only has 12,000 miles on it, and was not quite 3 months since last change.
The last time I drove it, I heard rapping noises at startup as well. Dealer told me It was because I didn't follow proper break in. (which I did)
However, Now that I am aware of consumption issues, I will check oil every weekend.
Just for the record, your oil light is for low pressure, not low oil. Once you see that light, you need to shut that thing down ASAP or lose your engine for sure.

This isn't strange. I changed my oil last November and won't change it again until late August. If you aren't putting that many miles on the car, there's no reason to constantly change it.

I do check the oil every time I wash the car or get gas, though.

The oil light may as well not be there. When I was going down the road after about 4k post oil change, I started hearing valvetrain noise. When I got home, I checked the oil- no reading. Drained it out- less than a quart.

Nice way to find out about your oil consumption, whee.

So, yeah- moral of the story, don't rely on the oil light.

Also, OP, it sounds like your engine was faulty. If things are as you described them, your oil change intervals had nothing to do with the failure.

The VQ35 and 37 engines have been known for sporadic oil consumption issues. Just enjoy your new engine and keep an eye on your oil level. Every 1k miles or so starting out and every couple of thousand miles after that (after you've verified no excess consumption) is enough, imo.

Take the oil cooler out and have the dealership look into your issue. You should be covered under the drivetrain - they ll most likely look in your oil changes schedules. if they realize or get out of you that there was an oil cooler involved, you are screwed.

Best of luck friend.

I strongly disagree that he will be screwed. If the engine is burning oil, there's nothing the cooler is going to do to impact that.

If there's a leak, however, that could be different.

The dealer will blame it on the aftermarket oil cooler to get out of forking over a new engine under warranty.

---------------------------------------

OP, you said the car was in an accident? How bad was the accident?

And you were going 8,000 miles between oil changes? :confused:

If they see the oil cooler, they WILL point it as the source of the engine problem and as such will impose the labor/part costs to the owner. They will not care about the burning oil issue. PERIOD.

Best course of action is to take the oil cooler out, take the documentation for the oil changes and make your case about potential oil burning issue and see where that takes you.

i run a car dealership and we celebrate what the factory pays for a big job like an engine, we have no interest in arguing with a customer over coming up with 8k for a new motor!! The factory is very strict with claims of this magnitude though not the dealer, we want the work!!

...wait. I just dont get why people wait THAT long.. over 4k almost 10k to change oil.. wtf?

This isn't the '70s anymore. BMW recommends an oil change even 15k/year on some vehicles. I think it's the same on my mom's new Benz.

...yeah.. but using their own oil. Not other brand oils. Idk i guess youre right but ill stick to my 3.5-4k oil changes

/offtopic
You have a very nice G with cool rims.
/offtopic

There was no oil cooler on the car.

Trade for the nismo ? Lol Thanks bro

We don't own BMWs...

Whether the oil is good for 3k or 30k is really not the issue... the issue is that if you don't follow Nissan's maintenance schedule they have every right to deny your warranty claim if that failure to follow causes the damage.

I'm sorry if it hurts your feelings but there is no rational explanation to not changing/checking the oil level for that long of a period. Even if you own a BMW and have 15k intervals, you would still be insane for going any extended time (1-2 months) without checking the level. You argue that it should be Nissans fault since they know the car burns oil... well doesn't that mean YOU know it burns oil too? 7k on a car that burns oil?

In addition if the car had a bad knock and the check engine light was flashing it was not wise to drive/rev the car even if you went right to the dealership... it was likely that the damage was already done but you definitely avoided any chance of saving the block that way.

I do agree that if the level was that low that the dealership should have noticed but you also should have at a minimum asked them to change it while you were there since it was so long since your last change.

I hope it works out and they end up covering it but in the future you have to help yourself and not neglect recommended maintenance and then deny all responsibility for the premature failure. Even if just to satisfy the document requirements for any warranty repairs... I document everything I do on the car with receipts and mileage just for that reason. IMO the dealership has SOME fault in this but majority is yours.

:iagree: couldnt of said it better

hmm let me think about for a bit longer :icon17:

OP best of luck to you.

i feel horrible when i go past 4500 miles on my oil changes, i even baby the car until i get the oil changed.

I do all my own changes, usually about every 5k and that's km's not miles. I check out oil levels frequently in between changes and use only AMSoil full ester. I have never experienced abnormal oil consumption, luckily, and I did indeed follow proper break-in procedure.

OP, you are not 100% at fault for his and I believe Nissan should pony up the new block. You WILL, however, have to be more diligent with your maintenance in the future. These engines are high performance, and require a lot more attention than mom's Taurus....

Good luck with Nissan, I am sure you will come to an arrangement with them. Consider this a learning experience!

You should be checking the oil each time you get gas.

????? really? thats a lot!

Yep. I mean its only the most important fluid in the car.

Turn the car off while pumping (you should be doing this anyway) Once your done pumping enough time would have passed for the oil to leak back to the bottom of the pan and check it. Will take all of about 1 minute. Its good insurance.

I do so more like once every 2 weeks but I have also never taken the mileage past 3k between changes.

Good advice for the little time it takes. For those guys that can't find the time because your so busy to take an extra minute at the pumps, have your mom or someone else who is responsible do it for you.:shakes head:

I follow a simple system for all my vehicles, 370Z, Twin Turbo 911, Silverado pickup. 5K miles between changes. Simple to track and remember on the odometer. Redline in the Z, Mobil 1 Turbo Diesel Truck 5W-40 in the Porsche, and plain old dino oil in the Silverado. The Chevy just passed 150K miles and doesn't use a lick of oil. I've used this system in all my old musclecars, BMW's, Toyotas, etc etc since 1980 when I started driving. NEVER had a single oil induced failure in any vehicle.

Anyone who tells you that you need to change the oil more frequently is just spending your money. Frankly, I probably don;t need to change it that frequently, but like I said, its a no brainer way to track on the odometer.

HOWEVER...I do check the oil every 2 weeks or so...checking on fill ups is not overkill, I would check at leaast every other fillup at a minimum.

I have a 2010 with only 7k miles and I change mine once a year with Redline. My Z is only a weekend car and is it ok to just change it once a year because I put very little miles on the car?

It won't hurt it...and frankly a once a year oil change isn't going to break the bank. That's what I'd do, for whatever its worth...