bofa

iTrader: (23)

Hey guys, I was hoping I'd never have to post an odd question like this but I'm trying to figure out what the issue is...

I had my Borla TD exhaust a few weeks bad. Since then, nothing but horrible leaks in the exhaust. I finally had it welded.

The guy that welded it did nice job but there were a few remaining pinhole leaks so I was taking it to hm again today. On the way to work I noticed my oil pressure was not changing as dramatically as normal. I ended up doing some quick decelleration and the oil dropped to amost 0 each time and the oil light came on. I tried some brisk accelleration and the pressure would not get even 1/4 way across the gauge.

So I got the small leaks fixed and the exhaust seems pretty solid. However, I will confess that I did not switch out the gaskets from the cats to the exhaust when I installed the exhaust. The car only had about 1000 miles so I didn't even think to pick them up. I can now hear a different leak and I'm 99% sure it's coming from those gaskets. I did pick up a pair and plan to switch them this weekend.

So.. down to the question- can an exhaust leak cause the oil pressure to drop like above? Or is this the other issue people were having with the sender unit? I searched and didn't see this question come up so I figured I'd be the dumbass to ask.

davidv

iTrader: (2)

You can remove the entire exhaust system, and the oil pressure will be OK.

bofa

iTrader: (23)

Thanks... and f#ck...

I guess I'll be calling Nissan. The car is new and has less than 2000 miles... great.

Wired 24/7

iTrader: (2)

Forget calling nissan, just get an oil change and see if pressure goes back to normal.

I still remember the first oil that was in the car, the pressure was always very low but the light never came on. Changed the oil to 10W-30 and the pressure was much higher, but within normal limits. Lately I've been running 5W-30 and it's a little lower, but still higher than the initial oil in the car.

Brocken

iTrader: (3)

Do not do an oil change!
It sounds like you have the same problem I do. Brand new car, 2k miles, oil pressure dropped almost to zero and oil light came on. Took it to the dealer and it was a few quarts low. Engine is consuming oil somehow.
This is on an '06 Revup.
Just took it in for my second checkup and it's definitely consuming oil.

You want to get this documented as soon as possible. If you do an oil change yourself you have no way to prove to the sVC dept that it's losing oil. Take it in their ASAP and tell them you want to start an oil consumption test. After that and they document it's low on oil call Nissan and open an incident with them.

Brocken

iTrader: (3)

Also, check the oil yourself. It's tough to get a good reading and you might have to give it a couple tries.
If the oil pressure light flickers on that usually means you are at least a couple quarts low.

Wired 24/7

iTrader: (2)

I never said he had to change it himself.

Take it to the dealer, tell them the oil light is coming on, and make sure they get it in writing. But by all means, get an oil change while you're there.

bofa

iTrader: (23)

I checked the level last night and it seemed fine.. kinda hard to tell with that ridiculuously twisted dipstick. But I did it a few times and it seemed fine.

By call Nissan, I meant call the dealer... sorry. I'm going to replace the exhaust gaskets tonight and see if I can get it in tomorrow or Friday.

Should I be worried about driving it in the meantime? I suppose not.. it's under warranty.

Brocken

iTrader: (3)

yeah, it's a chitty dipstick. You have to look at the underside where the hashmarks are to get a reading. There's usually oil residue all the way up the dipstick from pulling it out so it's hard to get an accurate reading.
It could just be a bad sensor, but there's a good chance it's one of the oil consuming engines.

bofa

iTrader: (23)

Let's hope not...

Wired 24/7

iTrader: (2)

How long did you wait after shutting down the motor to check?

bofa

iTrader: (23)

About 15 minutes

bofa

iTrader: (23)

Well, I was on my way to my third muffler shop when I had to stop and get gas. As I was driving I was trying to listen to hear where the rattling was coming from and I thought of something....

For anyone that has ever ridden a Kawasaki you know that can usually hear the valves clicking, but it's normal and not the result of any problems. I started to wonder if the oil pressure issue was more of a oil burning problem rather than an electrical problem and if the sounds I was hearing was the result of low oil.

So when I stopped for gas, I checked the oil level again and it this time the reading was pretty clear and it was low. I picked up 2 quarts and put 1 and a half in. I drove it off.. and NO RATTLING. I drove around for about 15 minute testing hard accelleration and decelleration and no problems.

I can't believe that the engine was rattling that freakin loud from that problem. So good new is the exhaust is fixed.. but now I think I might have one of those oil-burning 350Zs. WIth the 1.5 Qts, the level seems fine, so that means I burnt 1.5 Qts in 2,000 miles...

Any input or advice?

Wired 24/7

iTrader: (2)

Yes my advice is the same as before.

CHANGE THE OIL, filter and all.

ESPECIALLY before you cry foul and your engine is burning oil.

It is normal to lose some oil, about 1 qt / 3k miles. It's gonna happen period. The only way you're getting a new motor is if your car is an EXTREME case...which would more than anything be an indication that it hasn't been broken in properly...

bofa

iTrader: (23)

Ok, good... I don't want a new motor.. I just want it to run right. I had too many problems with my last car. Now I'm a little gun-shy about modding until I'm sure she's running clean. I'll have the oil changed next weekend go from there.

Are you stating that all the guys with the motors that are burning oil didn't follow the break-in procedures?

Brocken

iTrader: (3)

Yeah, that's my question to Wired-are you saying because I'm having oil consumption problems that I didn't break my engine in properly?
You have not experience the problems being discussed here and I don't think you're qualified to make judgements.
I broke my engine in properly and I blew through at least 2.5-3 quarts or more in 2300 miles....that's not normal by any standards.
Telling him to change his oil is not going to fix the problem. it's just going to delay him getting to the root of the problem. And if he's hearing loud rattling from low oil it's probably not just 1.5 quarts low...more like 2-3 quarts low like mine was. For the oil pressure light to come on it's proven that your car has to be at least that much low.
Bofa-I really recommend taking your car to the dealer and telling them exactly what happened and how much oil you added. You really need to start documenting this now in case you do have a oil consuming engine. Tell them you want to start an oil consumption test and make sure they put everything in writing. Then call Nissan and open a case.
There are too many diehard Nissan fans trying to tell those of us with problems that we're not having problems. 3 quarts of oil in 2300 miles on a new engine is NOT normal. Changing the oil is NOT going to fix an oil burning issue. You're just masking the problem till the oil becomes low again.

I thought the people who had problems with their Nissan's were just whining...but now I'm seeing the reality of it. I always thought Nissan was great for reliability but it's clear their are some problems that Nissan needs to address. They recalled many 2.5 Altimas and Sentras this year...it sounds like they use some of the same components on the 3.5 engine in our cars. Obviously they're having issues with quality assurance in their manufacturing, many companies do. The sign of a good company is when they acknowledge those problems and preventatively fix those issues...that's not the case here with Nissan. You have to fight tooth and nail to get anything done.

Anyway, my point is that your oil consumption is not normal like some are insisting. There are several other people with this exact same problem on '06 Z's and have gone through oil consumption tests and had engines replaced or cars replaced.

Wired 24/7

iTrader: (2)

I am not accusing everyone who has burned oil of not breaking in the car properly. I didn't mean to make it sound like that, just saying it could be a contributing factor.

First of all, I have experienced oil consumption but it was within the normal limits . I consumed about 1.5 quarts in 5k miles. That falls within the normal 1 quart/3k miles.

Second, bofa is still on the initial oil that is in the car. That car could've been sitting on a dealer lot for 1 year, during test drives driven too harshly, gone through extreme temperature cycles, etc.

Third, I have already remarked that the inital oil in *MY* car always had low pressure, which became normal pressure when I did an oil change.

Fourth, oil consumption CAN BE a serious problem. So I do recommend that bofa takes the car to the dealer, gets an oil change, and tells the dealer to put down in writing that the OIL LIGHT came on and that they should be wary of consumption.

I also agree he should start a file with the dealer just in case there turns out to be a problem but the car is very new, and obviously needs an oil change ASAP regardless.

That's not what I'm saying. bofa did not list numbers such as "X quarts burned in XXXX miles"

obviously your car is an extreme case and must be dealt with accordingly. And no I'm not saying it's your fault

What bofa did, simply adding oil as a bandaid fix, I don't recommend because the dipstick is too inaccurate to enable you to decide how much oil must be added.

The way I measured the missing oil in my car was by draining all the oil, collecting it in a drip pan, and pouring it back into some quart-sized oil bottles. My whole oil change yielded 3.5 quarts, hence I lost or burned 1.5.

Also, since I was concerned about my oil level, I sent a sample to blackstone labs and had them analyze it. There was no fuel in my oil and everything was normal for how many miles I had, the only abnormality was slightly low viscosity. All that means is I waited a little too long to change it, as it had started to break down already (cheap dino oil).

Check out my thread here for info.
https://my350z.com/forum/maintenance-and-repair/215900-a-5000-mile-oil-change-interval.html


brocken - the reason I'm hellbent on trying to get bofa to get an oil change ASAP is (a) sounds like he needs one to properly protect his engine, and (b) you just can't trust the initial oil that came in the car. Nobody has any data on it. Is it 5W-30? 10W-30? How many quarts were added? How long has it been sitting in the car?

If you're going to check for oil consumption, best to do it on a FRESH change of oil where you know exactly what went INTO the car, and you can check exactly what comes OUT of the car after 3k or so miles. That's what I did, and I'm glad I did it.

That may be the case, or maybe that is NOT the case. You don't actually know anything about bofa's oil consumption, or whether he is consuming serious oil FOR SURE. For all you know, they could've added too little oil to begin with at the factory, and he could be "consuming" at a perfectly normal rate (like I am).

Wired 24/7

iTrader: (2)

One last note, the initial problem was stated that the PRESSURE was low, not the LEVEL. The oil light indicates low pressure IIRC, not low level.

It's clear that the dipstick is not very accurate because within a couple days, bofa checked the oil once and said it looked fine, then checked it again and said it looked low.

The correct course of action has been, and is still, to get an oil change ASAP.

Edit: *status confirmed* I just checked the owner's manual. Oil light = low oil PRESSURE (explicitly states that it does not mean low oil LEVEL, and recommends to use dipstick to check oil LEVEL). Manual states to contact a dealer ASAP, no doubt to get an oil change.

bofa

iTrader: (23)

Thank you guys both for the input. I'm definitely gonna get an oil change this week or weekend. The car was built in 4/06 so it was only 3 mos old when I got it. No telling if it started with enough oil but I will request the consumption test. I currently have a K&N intake (not the typhoon) and Borla TD exhaust.. think I'll catch any crap about those?

bofa

iTrader: (23)

Any help on my last question?