I'm screwed

[Sigs]

I am new here.. I miss my old "Myspecv.com" community very much as it was a very useful and friendly car environment. Either way, my name is Josh. Get to know me. I'd like to post here more, but since I don't own a 370z [yet] I feel I don't have much to contribute to the community.

Okay.. back on topic. I've recently had some problems with my '02 Spec V. I thought everything was taken care of and getting back on track... well I was wrong. After checking the oil today, it seems like there are only 2 quarts remaining (full tank is 4.2 I believe) I'm not leaking.. and somehow that much oil has disappeared in LESS than 3 weeks and 600 miles. I still owe a substantial amount on the vehicle as I've only had it for 27/72 month loan x_x.. I'm pretty sure fixing it going to run me at least 2-4k$ which is almost a VQ engine swap. Any advice on what I should do here.. I'm really down about this.

[Trips]

[CCCLXXZ]

i recommend paying up to get the loan back into the positive... its not going to increase in value!

[shumby]

man sorry to hear this. But you might take this as an oportunity to upgrade the engine may be bore it out.

[Red370]

seems like a waste honestly. See how much you'll get for trade, if your only a few grand upside down, you should be fine, i'd get rid of the sentra asap.

[JoeD]

Wait...you financed a 5-year old ~$10K (at the time) used car for 72-months? Why the hell would would you do that?

And people still wonder why our economy nearly collapsed not so long ago...

[Sigs]

Originally Posted by JoeD

Wait...you financed a 5-year old ~$10K (at the time) used car for 72-months? Why the hell would would you do that?

And people still wonder why our economy nearly collapsed not so long ago...

I needed a car.. I was young, stupid, and that's what I thought I could afford x_x.. lesson learned

[bullitt5897]

Ok so you have no leaks that you can find or see... There is one of two possibilities that I can see here:
1) You do have a leak somewhere and just havent found it (my guess)
or
2) You have an oil scavenging issue with your motor which cause the oil to leak out through your exhaust. (an easy way to tell is have a friend sit on the side of the road and drive up and down the road to see if any kind of smoke comes out your exhaust on heavy accel or deccel)

I watched a porche 911 loose 3 qts of oil in one track session!!! we gave him a few bottle of oil and told him to take it to a dealer ASAP!

If I were you I would take it to the dealer and have them take a look at it... but dont let them do the work... just find out whats wrong

I hope this helps and welcome to the community

[kannibul]

Originally Posted by JoeD

Wait...you financed a 5-year old ~$10K (at the time) used car for 72-months? Why the hell would would you do that?

And people still wonder why our economy nearly collapsed not so long ago...

Most banks won't even allow that. I'd hate to think what the APR is on a loan like that =/


I refinanced our 2005 Civic (because the loan was set up for a balloon payment (thanks to a shady dealer that didn't explain it as such..."you can just keep making the same payment until it's paid off, you won't have to refinance" - BS!)

Anyhow, I did that last December, for 4 years - it was the longest I could do, and, had I waited until May/June where the balloon payment would be due, I could have only done it for 3 years.

I financed it with as much as I could get (which was more than the pay off amount) and used the remainder to eliminate my motorcycle payment, which still had 2 years left on it as well.

In the end, I know I'm technically paying for my bike still, and "lost" money (in the sense that I'm upside down on an 05 civic) - but my payment is lower, and the interest rate is lower than both of the former loans. The end result is that freed up money to pay towards credit debt, which now because of that...I'm ahead.

Should I (we, actually) manage to stay focused on "living spartan now" - I could have *all* of my debts wiped out by the time I'm 39. **ALL** of them. Then I can live like a Sultan.

Motto:

Spartan now, Sultan later.

[Sigs]

The piston rings are 99% likely what's wrong with it.. it was a big problem on that year 2.5 engines.

So I failed to mention I work at a Nissan Dealership, but that's only because I'm fairly new there.. I talked to a few of the mechanics I would like to keep the car as a beater.. but I figure in the meantime I might do some upgrading to the engine. Anyone else feel free to suggest anything. I'm all ears.

[boardkat]

as a former spec v owner that was on engine #3 and tranny #2 when it sold, i feel your pain. luckily, all my repairs were under warranty. the QR25DE is a rock solid engine (outside of the 2002/2006), but the damn precat breakup and butterfly screw issues cratered it. i had to run a stock setup for autox, so that's why i had recurring problems. but you should be able to find a good-running 03-05 QR25DE shortblock for $600-$800. drop that in, gut your pre-cat or get a cat-less header, loctite those butterfly screws in the intake manifold, and your engine should be fine for a looooong time. or if you're in an emissions free state, talk to travis and do a VQ swap. he'd also be a good guy to contact for a used QR25DE block - he used to have a lot hanging around his shop.

i definitely feel your pain

[Sigs]

Originally Posted by boardkat

as a former spec v owner that was on engine #3 and tranny #2 when it sold, i feel your pain. luckily, all my repairs were under warranty. the QR25DE is a rock solid engine (outside of the 2002/2006), but the damn precat breakup and butterfly screw issues cratered it. i had to run a stock setup for autox, so that's why i had recurring problems. but you should be able to find a good-running 03-05 QR25DE shortblock for $600-$800. drop that in, gut your pre-cat or get a cat-less header, loctite those butterfly screws in the intake manifold, and your engine should be fine for a looooong time. or if you're in an emissions free state, talk to travis and do a VQ swap. he'd also be a good guy to contact for a used QR25DE block - he used to have a lot hanging around his shop.

i definitely feel your pain

I have not been able to find any of travis' info since the shutdown of MSV. That was something I was really considering..

Also: I have no idea what NJ laws are on that.. but there is always "paying" for private inspection

[boardkat]

i PM'd you his email addy. used to run fi-r.net, but it looks like he's setup a new spec v site, since it redirects to MySpec-V • Index page
good luck!

[ZeeRay]

Originally Posted by Sigs

The piston rings are 99% likely what's wrong with it.. it was a big problem on that year 2.5 engines.

So I failed to mention I work at a Nissan Dealership, but that's only because I'm fairly new there.. I talked to a few of the mechanics I would like to keep the car as a beater.. but I figure in the meantime I might do some upgrading to the engine. Anyone else feel free to suggest anything. I'm all ears.

So what were the rings doing? Carboning up and hanging in the pistons, rubbing away, gaining gap?

I only ak because it would seem that there has to be an aftermarket for these engines with better than original parts. Or so one would think.

[Sigs]

Originally Posted by ZeeRay

So what were the rings doing? Carboning up and hanging in the pistons, rubbing away, gaining gap?

I only ak because it would seem that there has to be an aftermarket for these engines with better than original parts. Or so one would think.

I'm still awaiting a diagnosis... I'm having a nissan mechanic (who happens to tune evos) look at the car tomorrow and help me decide what we're doing x_x.. I'll update soon.