AZZGUY

Yes sir! If that's your thing check your oil every morning - I have more fun things to do. Owned a number of autos and havent lost an engine yet! Dip away dude! I have a better thing to dip!

AZZGUY

Just use common sense - watch the oil pressure and tem - if they change do something. Dont wait til pressure drops to zero or temp is at top of red!! Is that too difficult???

NOZ4U

About 2 months ago I noticed that my oil pressure gauge was only reading right below 30 (which is normal). But under accleration it wouldn't go past 60. I immediately took it into the dealer and got and oil change thinking that I was low on oil. After doing an oil change everything was fine and the pressure was good. Now after 2 months and about 2200 miles it's doin it again. At idle it sits right below 30psi however under hard acceleration it doesn't go above 60 (or even to 60).

If there was a problem with the oil pressure wouldn't the oil light come on? Would it come on for the pressure or oil level? Would the CEL come on if there was a problem? I'm going to the dealer today to have an oil changed and making an appoitment to have the check the pressure sending unit.

Anyone else have this problem?

palmerwmd

noz4u:

the oil pressure light comes on whenb the car is running and pressure is below a given value, usually a very low one.

Since your idle pressure is good, I suspect a faulty pressure sending unti before I suspect the oil pump.

Fred..

NOZ4U

Someone told me the oil light comes on when the oil level is low not when the pressure is low. The oil light never came on. However after an oil change, everything is fine. I'm thinking that the oil is thinning out some how and loosing viscosity thus loosing pressure.

palmerwmd

Unless the Z is somehow different than all otehr modern cars the oil light is <not> an oil level indicator, bad bad info.

Now to be sure, when your level is low enough you will see oil pressure drop

For it to thin out that much it would have to be some pretty weak oil.

You arent running a 5w-30 non syn, in high ambient temps are you?


Have you explained all this to your dealer?
Did they check the oil pump and /or oil pressure sending unit?

Fred..

NOZ4U

I'm running Amsoil 5W-30 in Fl. I've described all the above to the dealer but before I go and leave the car for them to hunt and peck, I'd like to get a better understanding of what could be causing this. I guess it could just be burning oil. But wouldn't I see white smoke coming out the exhaust if I was burning oil?

palmerwmd

I didnt see before you were runnign FI

Forced Induction need as a <minimum> a strong 40 weight oil, even in winter.

I'd say redline 10w-40 is the thinnest oil I'd dare run in any FI set-up.
RL 10w-40 is compl;etely free of polymeric thickeners BTW one of the very very few off-the-shelf multiviscosity oils to be able to claim this particular feather.

I see you are in Florida so Mobil1 15w-50 would not be too thick.

Before I got my Z I was part of the SR20det community and no one in the know, in Florida ran less than a xw-50 weight oil for this FI Motor.


When you go FI, manufacturer oil weight recomendations go out the window.

AMSOIL is a good brand but 5w-30 is simply too thin for a SC'ed car in Florida.

Also keep in mind that the bearings on the VQ35 have some of the largest clearances seen in a Nissan Motor in the last couple decades.

Fred...

PS: If you are burning a <lot > of oil you see Blue smoke I dont think you are burning enough for that.

NOZ4U

No SC here. Strictly N/A. Dealer + Amsoil reccomended 5W-30. This also happened when running 10W-30. It only seems to happen after a couple of thousand miles of running the car hard. My car usually sees 5000-5500RPM at every other shift if not every shift.

2003z

iTrader: (7)

I just read a problem like ours in popular mechanics. It said there is no smoke because its burning in the cats

Da Gimp

I am in the middle of an oil consumption test by the dealer right now. Last time I went in, they said it burned 1.8 quarts in the last 1500 miles. They said if that rate keeps up, then I get a new engine. Not sure if I should be happy or not. Maybe I can get them to put in one of those 2005 track engines

King Tut

iTrader: (1)

Nah, keep the torque of the other engines.